Matthew and Lucas have been in first grade for exactly a week now. WOW! Last Tuesday, we went to Open House to walk around the school, Northwood Elementary, and meet their teacher. The school is gorgeous, the classrooms are spacious, and everyone we met was very nice. Miss Fisher, their teacher, is very enthusiastic and very nice. I felt better after we left the Open House. I had seen where they eat, the playground, how near the bathrooms are to their room, etc. All that important mommy stuff. Then Wednesday came. Their first day of school. I stayed home from work in the morning so we could all four go together to get them to their room. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, got our school clothes on, and were out the door. We had to wait a few minutes inside the door until the bell rang and the kids were dismissed to their rooms. Matthew and Lucas were very excited, and a little nervous. Lucas said he could feel the butterflies floating around his tummy. Up until this day, he had been complaining of his tummy hurting off and on, and not eating much. Both very NONTYPICAL of Lucas. I had it figured out it was nerves. So, we began the walk to the room. I was holding Matthew's hand and Derrick was holding Lucas's. We found their spot at their table, and put their backpack in their cubby. All was great until I bent down to say good-bye to Matthew. He looked very apprehensive and like he was holding back his tears. So, of course, that's when I started to get a little weepy. I hugged and kissed him and told him to have a great day, then went to Lucas's seat. I bent down to hug and kiss him and could barely get it out because I was really starting to cry. They had some work on their desk and started right to it, and we left. As soon as I walked out of the room, I was sobbing. Of course, my level headed husband says they'll be fine, etc., but that didn't help any. I dropped Derrick off at home to get his truck and left for work. I sobbed almost all the way to work...about a 20 minute drive. I was really sad that they were doing something without me, and that they were in a "strange" place. Oh well. Of course, I was very eager to pick them up. As soon as they spotted me in the line, they waved like crazy. As soon as they got in the car, before I could even ask, Lucas said, "School was great!" Matthew totally agreed and it's been great so far. They are coming home from school so happy and can tell me so much about their day. I think my favorite thing so far is what happened the first day. Miss Fisher read them a book called "The Kissing Hand". In it, the raccoon is nervous/sad about leaving his mom on the first day of school. So, she kisses the palm of his hand and he puts it to his cheek during the day to comfort him. Everyday since then, Matthew has asked me to kiss his palm either before bed or before I leave in the morning. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted me to kiss his hand, and he said, "No, I still haven't used the one you gave me yesterday."
We've had several more showings on our house, but no offers yet. We signed to build with Dominion last week, and the digging starts in October. Hopefully we'll sell our home and be able to move on. If not, it's not what God wants us to do right now. He's never let us down before, and He is only working for our good. So, we'll see.
Miss Natalie is moving a lot, and I've been rather uncomfortable the last few weeks. I told Derrick I feel like Violet on Willie Wonka...the little girl who ate too much and swelled up. We start soccer this week, and then add karate and scouts next week. It's busy, but it's kind of nice, too.
