1st Day of Kindergarten

Well, the day has come and with no tears, I might add. With jittery tummy's and the giddiness of what is in store for Maddie today, this was the start of our day:

5:45- Maddie wakes up and comes downstairs.....she is up but not really. She sleeps in our bed for a little bit until I get up at 6:20- Then she is REALLY UP!

7:00- "Let's go, Mom, I am going to be late!" she says! I respond that school isn't open yet and besides Ally isn't even up yet!

7:40- Pictures outside and then we are on our way. Maddie has a beaming smile on her face. "I am so glad that I am big now!" she says.



7:50- We have arrived at Armstrong Elementary! I have barely parked when Maddie exclaims, "Mommy, unlock the door, unlock the door, PLEASE unlock the door!"

7:52- Maddie sees her friend from Bearfoot, K.K., they are not in the same class but they walk in together chatting about their backpacks and hair. :-)

7:55- We say our goodbyes in the classroom, Maddie says "Hello" to her teacher and sits down at her table, across from our neighbor, Hudson, and is already laughing with him! Her beaming smile hasn't changed a bit from this morning, although she already looks bigger sitting in that classroom.

This year is full of change and excitement. Maddie is going to Kindergarten, the new baby is on the way, I will start working part time in order to pick up Maddie from school, and Ally will be starting a Mother's Day Out program at a local church next week while I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My mind is reeling will all that I have to be thankful for right now. This is an amazing year and it is full of new things to come and I am ecstatic to see where this "path" takes us!

With a jittery tummy and the giddiness of what is in store for our family, I feel like it is the 1st day of Kindergarten for ME too! I don't know what to expect but I know that I will LOVE it!

Thinking about Maddie

(Maddie had spent the night at Poppy and Baba's. Ally was missing her and had been thinking about Maddie all morning....)

A quote from Ally this morning on our way to school~
"Maddie is WILD, wild like a wolf! AND a lion!"

Oh Ally! You hit the nail on the head! :-)

A Proud Mama

There are many reasons that I am proud of my girls that I have never written out for the "world" to see; however, today I am compelled to write about the recent events that have led to me think of how REALLY proud I am of both of them. Here is a proud Mama's take on it all....

An overview of the past week: It all starts with a game of hide and seek gone wrong...Ally knocked her front tooth back, on Maddie's knee; a 1st trip to the dentist, Ally didn't eat or drink (except very small sips) for almost THREE days, we were worried about dehydration, a trip to the Dr., she has strep, force-feeding her food and liquids AND medicine.....aaahhhh, she is FINALLY eating! Then an ear infection- all in less than a week- what is next!?!?

It was a traumatic week for Ally (and her mommy :-))but during it all she did better than I had expected. Her 1st trip to the dentist, although not under the circumstances that I was wanting, went remarkably well. Her tooth was sore and she wasn't swallowing but she cooperated, took her x-rays and let the Dr. look at her tooth. My sensitive, precious, funny little Ally was brave through it all, the dentist, the Dr. and back to the Dr. again. She is back to her old self and I am proud of the way she is handling her tooth in a "funny" position and all the medicine that she has to still take including ear drops, which until this time have always been hard for her to take. She is evolving into such a big girl with the way she has been handling certain situations and I am so proud of her. She still reverts to her old ways on occasion, like not wanting to go into her class this morning, but how wonderful it is to see her harnessing her emotions for the better.

And then there is Maddie....through Ally's trauma she stepped up her "game" as the big sister. When Ally was laying on the sofa, exhausted from no nourishment, she would kneel down in front of her to reason with her as only a big sister could. "Ally, I will give you a dollar if you drink something!" and "Ally, if you don't drink something, you will have to go to the hospital and you will cry and I don't want you to cry." She tried her best and was even frustrated when it didn't work. She wanted her old Ally back. (We all did!) Maddie reached out and tried to understand Ally's predicament and I am proud of this sweet spirit to her sister b/c I know that she would do this for any one in need.

I know that God put things in our life to remind us that He is there and to lean on Him through it all. It seems that when thing go astray, our human nature is to plan out what steps to take to fix the problem, instead of trusting God to take care of us and those we love. WE didn't get Ally to eat and drink again, the DR. didn't fix the problem but it was the many prayers offered up on Ally's behalf that made all the difference.

Maddie's Prayer: "Dear God, please help Ally to eat and drink again so she will not be sick anymore and please help her tooth to feel better. Amen" A simple prayer but exactly what Ally needed.

A proud Mama's prayer: "Dear God, thank YOU for blessing me with two precious, smart, amazing and testy :-) little girls who I feared that I would never have. They give me joy and fill my heart with a love that only comes from you. I feel blessed, in awe, loved and in love from all that you have given me. Thank you! Amen"