A Walk through the kindergarten

Yep. Today was the big day. The first day of "real" school for my 5 year old. No more play clothes and no more sleeping in...for either one of us.

The day started for me about well, midnight. My daughter screamed out in her sleep as she was about to be consumed by a giant squid. "No, honey, there is no giant squid. Go back to sleep." I told her. She rolled over and went back to sleep. Three hours later she cried out again. This time it was a swarm of mosquitoes. "No, honey, there are no mosquitoes. Go back to sleep." This time her slumber lasted a half hour. This time Daddy had gone missing and we could not find him. "Honey, daddy is very asleep in our bed. He is fine. Now go back to sleep. You need to be well rested for your first day of school!" She went back to sleep after a bit more reassuring.

My slumber ended there. My alarm went off about a half hour later. I laid in bed and prayed for my daughter. I didn't know if she was anxious or just excited or maybe it was the brownie she had at 7:00p.m. before bed. Whatever it was, I was frustrated that she didn't get a good night's sleep the day before school. Regardless, I woke her about 7:00a.m. and we started our day together.

I made her and me breakfast and we talked all about her first day. Parents were able to stay for an hour to get their child situated. Thank goodness. She needed me for at least that long. (NOT!) I had ironed her uniform the night before and had already made her lunch. Her brother woke about 20 minutes before departure time. We all ate. We all brushed teeth and we all yawned as we got in the car. We hit bad traffic right away. Of course. Then daddy almost got in a wreck in front of us as we were taking 2 cars. Thank you Lord that you helped me to get out of bed and cover this day in prayer before it began!! My son cried most of the way to the school as I had not allowed him to climb into his carseat by himself. I tried to nicely explain that we have started a new "schedule" and it did not include him doing things slowly by himself. (It sounds horrible just typing that. I have adjusted the schedule tomorrow to accommodate traffic and brothers and their carseats. So that puts me waking about 4:30 a.m.)

As we arrived at the school daddy was busy snapping pictures. I think we could actually make a cartoon if we put the pictures in a pile. He snapped like every 2 seconds. I think he was a little excited and proud of his little girl! My son did not want to keep up and found several thing to play with that simply would not fit in the schedule. I tell you what, If I want to make it anywhere on time he just must be carried!

My daughter's classroom was organized chaos. All of the parents were busy labeling their child's school supplies. We were to put pencils, markers and crayons in their pencil box that the teacher labeled with their names. The rest of the supplies were piled or placed at various stations around the room. The whole time that I was working with my daughter a little boy named Samuel who sits at her table, had his mom talking at him (not to him, at him) a million miles an hour in Korean. It did not seem to bother my daughter. She was just excited to open and close her pencil box. Tears filled my eyes as we emptied all of our Target bags. All of my preparing was done. All of my coaching like, "Eat your lunch. Bring home your lunch bag. Don't talk in class. Make sure to wash your hands after you go potty" was over. I had done all that I could do and now I had to, gulp, leave.

It was time for the parents to bid adieu to their little ones. My daughter had already said goodbye to me several times before the teacher was ready to dismiss the parents. "Just a second. Mommy can stay one more minute." She was ready, I didn't have a choice. My son had been ready to leave the second we got to the school. "I want to go home," was all that I heard besides all of the Korean that I could not understand. My head was spinning. My mind was racing and I had to leave my precious gem in classroom with 12 little boys and 5 other girls. I cried a bit on the way to the car until my son looked at me and said, "It is just me and you and daddy." I think he was just as excited about my daughter going to school as she was.

It has been eerie in my house today. It was so quiet I had to turn on the tv. My daughter is definitely the life of my every day party. My son and I enjoyed a quiet lunch and played together just the two of us. I got a lot done around my house. Boy, what a change.

I don't have a scripture today, just a principle. The only way that I was able to relax today is knowing that I had prayed and committed my daughter to the Lord today. He was in control. He is watching her. He is sustaining her. I felt more burdened than ever before to pray for my kids. I can't waste any time. Prayer for our families is so important, and not just when they are getting ready to start school. I need to be praying for my children daily. Every day! The same should be true for my spouse! I was just overwhelmed with the responsibility that I have as a mom and a wife to keep my family covered in prayer.

I had some warriors praying for me today as I took a big step into a new season. Thanks for your prayers! Prayer works. I want to see a worn spot on my carpet from my consistent prayer life! Help me Lord. Help me to maintain consistency in my prayers. Not because I have to, but because I desperately need to!

Quiet Time

Ahhh. This morning my husband blessed me with a wonderful gift. He decided to take the kids to a movie. It had been stormy all night and the rain had continued into the morning. After several days of excessive heat warnings and cabin fever, the kids were excited. I think I was actually more excited. What would I do with 2 hours of quiet time in my own house?

After getting the kids in the car and kissing their cheeks, I headed inside. I picked up a few dishes and kind of wandered around. What should I do? It was weird. I did not know what to do with myself. I could clean but I felt like that would be a complete waste of good time! :) I did decide that making my bed was okay, while I decided to figure out what I would do. After I made my bed I sat down and just listened to a CD I had put a few moments before. I had listened to this particular CD several times before. For some reason, though, I just soaked it in. I closed my eyes and really focused. Wow. I actually was able to process something. I wasn't interrupted by a fight (which is common in my home these days) or a "Mom, I need help." I just completely immersed myself in the music and peace. What a blessing peace is.

If you are anything like me, music helps keep you sane. However, my children have realized that there are CDs made especially for kids. Every time we get in the car I hear, "We want to listen to our songs." My car used to be sort of my hideaway during a difficult day. Not any more with songs like, "The Crashing Dinosaurs" or "Birthday Party at Your Place" or "Let's See if We Can Scream One More Time" or "Eat spaghetti Eddie" or "The Song With Only 5 Words that Lasts 5 Minutes." Yes, I made up all of those titles but I am quite sure someone could come up with music and lyrics that my kids would love and I would despise. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for Kid's Praise Music that teaches my kids how to worship. However, the problem that these CDs cause is that my kids fight over who gets to be the "rock star." If my son is singing he quickly pauses and screams "No! I'm singing" at his sister before joining the song again at the chorus. My daughter then just sings louder so she can't hear her brother singing. Ugh. I'd be better off rolling down the windows and letting the sound of traffic in!

Yes, 30 minutes of my music with no interruptions was fantastic. Listening to worship music is one of my sacred pathways. If you have not read the book, "Sacred Pathways" I highly recommend it. It talks about the ways each of us as individuals relate to God and best hear him. I would have to say that usually the Megaphone and Flashing Billboard get my attention, but sometimes like today it is the peace that reassures me that I have a savior who loves me. Thanks God for peace. Thank you that you not only give us your peace, You are the gift of Peace. Help me to grab hold of the peace you offer so when my world seems to clang with the issues of life, I would easily hear your still small voice.