First day of Kindergarten

My little girl is officially in grade school. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I remember my mom saying that and thinking, "Are you kidding?!" Now, as a parent, I completely get it. And although I still cherish the season when she was a toddler, it is so rewarding to see her off to "big school" as she called it. She realizes that kindergarten is different than preschool. She will correct me though, if I call it school. She wants it to be called kindergarten. ;)

I was a little nervous to drop her off because the last few months of preschool, she would cry when I first dropped her off. I wasn't sure how she would react to kindergarten. I tried to not make such a big deal out of it, because she's too smart for that. But, she did get brand new shoes and a brand new backpack which I think helped a lot. The night before it took me at least 30-45 minutes to get her to sleep because she was "so excited!"

Here is a picture of her with her new shoes and new backpack.


A closer look at her pink camo backpack (wish I wouldn've taken a better picture of her shoes.  They are so cool!)



Here she is being silly.



I think she feels a little more comfortable at this school because we are within walking distance.  It's on the same street as us, about 3 minutes of walking time.  So, we walked to school for her first day, since she has afternoon kindergarten we have to time to do that.



Once we got there, we waited for her teacher to come to the back gate and let the kids in.  It's a closed campus, so unless you go through the office, you are not allowed in.  I love that.  Once her teacher came, Savannah gave me five kisses and two hugs and went through the gate to stand in line.



Here's another shot where you can actually see her teacher too.  I was shooting through the chain link fence, so it was a bit of a challenge.



I have to admit, I got a little choked up while she was standing there.  Not as much as when she started preschool, but a little bit.  I turned to the mom next to me as I started to say "I think it's harder on us than them," when I noticed she was bawling.  Her son was so cute though.  His little brother who was about 2 1/2 was crying so he says to him "When I get home, we'll play roller coaster like 5 times!"  Every one was saying "Ah..." when the dad says, "Yah, who do you think the roller coaster is?"  LOL!

I waved to Savannah a couple more time before her teacher told the kids to blow us kisses.  As soon as she was out of site, I walked home.

When I picked her up, I asked if she had fun.  She said that she did, so I asked her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said.

"Okay."  So much like her daddy.  Everything is on a "need-to-know" basis, and I guess I just didn't need to know.  LOL!

I was so excited for her first day, and I know she was too.  The best way that I could've and did prepare her was by praying and letting her know that Jesus and His angels would be with her.  I just trusted Him that she would be fine, and she was.  It was also comforting to know that she was exactly where the Lord wanted her to be.

Thank you, Jesus, for the beautiful little girl that I have the privilage of calling my daughter.  Thank you that you love her more than I ever could and that you always have her best interest at heart.

I'll miss you, Grandma Vi...

I have to be honest.  When my parent’s first told me that Grandma Vi had past, I found joy.  I was joyful because I knew where she was going.  To be with Jesus.  It was that fact that I pondered upon. I know that we will all miss Grandma Vi, but as Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”

I know that God the Father will accept Grandma Vi.  Not because she was part of the quilting club.  Not because she fed the homeless.  Not because she attended a church service every Sunday.  These are not the things that will make her acceptable to God.  Only Jesus can do that.  It was His blood, and His blood only that washed away her sins so that she could be with our Father in heaven.  As Jesus said in the gospel of John “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”   Even the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Grandma Vi believed in Jesus.  She believed that He was the Son of God, that He died on the cross for the remission of sins, and then was raised again on the third day.  She believed that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16.

Isn’t that wonderful!  We are all here to celebrate the life of Grandma Vi.  But, according to the truth of Scripture, she is still alive!  She may be absent from us, but she is present with the Lord!  She has everlasting life!

Although I’m going to reflect on the memories of her life on earth, her life in heaven is only just beginning.  Halleluiah!

There are so many wonderful memories I have of my Grandma, it’s hard to know where to start.  One of my first memories is sitting in her rocking chair with her, sucking my thumb and holding my blanket while she “patted and shooshoo’ed me.”  She’d rock back and forth in her chair gently patting my back as she softly said, “shoo shoo shoo.”

Another fond memory that her and I shared was baking at her house.  Before I was tall enough to reach the counters she’d have a card table out in her tiny little kitchen so that I could help her bake.  She let me do everything from measure to mix as long as I had my hair net on.

When I got a bit older, she taught me how to do more complex things like knit and quilt.  It must have taken a lot of patience to teach a 7 year old to knit.  That was my Grandma.

As a child, I would spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  I remember waking up before Grandma and Grandpa would tell me to go climb in bed with her.  I’d step out of the bed onto the creaky wood floor and tip toe into her bedroom.  I’d slowly open the door and climb into her bed.  Of course she’d wake up immediately.  We’d stay there for a few moments before she got up and made Finnish pancakes.  I was allowed to eat as many as I wanted.

Even as I got older, and I’m sure my brothers will agree, I still enjoyed spending time with Grandma.  Although I got too big to be patted and shooshoo’ed she would still comfort me with hugs and kisses.  I knew that if I ever needed anything I could call Grandma and she wouldn’t even think twice.   Whenever I’d call her on the phone she’d say, “Is this my favorite granddaughter?” or “Aw, Tooter!”

And she never lost her sense of humor.  The last time I saw her I asked her how she was feeling.  Her reply?  “With my fingers.”

There are so many wonderful memories that I have of Grandma Vi, but the one that I am picturing now is her standing on the front porch waving goodbye as we drove away from her house.  This time though, she’s no longer alone.  My Grandpa is on one side and Jesus is on the other.