And it Starts . . .

It rained the first day of summer vacation this year; it was a lovely way to start the summer with the kids home. To go full circle, I was hoping that it would rain the first day of school too, but it ddn't. It's raining today though (4th day); we had some really spectacular thunder and lightning throughout the night, and during the early hours of the day. For now, the rain has settled, but the sky is still dark and overcast.

Erik left for Lost Canyon on Sunday night for his yearly retreat with the Flinn scholars. He returned yesterday, bushed and tired beyond belief. Before he left he gave the kids their Father's Blessings for the start of the new school year. On Monday morning Joseph confessed to me that he was a little worried about school (He had been looking forward to being in the same class with all the kids from his primary class, but at the last minute the school added a new teacher and put Joseph in her class. I believe he is the only one out of the group of 7 who got moved out of Ms Bevan's class). Anyhow, he told me that he had closed his eyes really tight during his Father's Blessing, in hopes that this school year would be a good one.

(Maybe I should have taken First Day of School pictures, but as you can see . . . Erik took the camera with him . . . and by the looks of it, had quite a good time with it!)

Monday morning went really well. All the kids woke up nice and early, and everyone was dressed and ready to leave for school by 5:30. Christine, of course, started early morning seminary this year as well as high school. Her first response about school, when I picked her up that afternoon, was, "They sure don't hesitate to give you homework on the first day!" Yep, welcome to high school! She had a good day, and has a lot of good friends already.

(This is really a picture of Jalen Andrew's ear. He got into Christine's makeup, and used the eyeshadow applicator like it was a Q-tip, and had a beautiful shade of brown all over the inside of his ear)

James looked absolutely petrified when I left in his classroom - a whole different look from when I left him last year in kindergarten. He made it through the day though, and even had a good time. He's managed to find the bathroom too, and is using it regularly. Yay! He's earned 3 stickers so far, and he held up 4 fingers as he left for school today, signifying that he's trying for 4 days of being dry.

Joseph, came home thrilled with his teacher! I can't tell you how relieved I am! I really feel that this teacher will be a better fit for him. He's dealing with a bit of a bully already (he ended last year dealing with him, and it started all over again this year); however, he stood up to him the other day, when he was making rude comments about Joseph, and told him to "knock it off" (he and I practiced saying those 3 words, not too harshly, not too weakly, but with just the right touch of annoyance). So far so good. He wore clothes that didn't match today, and I asked him to change, but he answered that he liked it, and he could handle anyone's comments about it. Okay.

Rebekah is in junior high this year, and seems to like it okay. She's made some new friends, which she is pretty excited about. She's revved up for volleyball open gym and tryouts, which starts next week. She has a good attitude about it, and is excited for the chance to try.

Jalen Andrew missed the kids terribly the first day, and kept pointing to their pictures in the hall, making me repeat their names over and over again. We're enjoying eachother's company though, and he is my right hand man, as I go about doing the daily chores. He's really good at throwing clothes into (and over) the washer! He's putting himself to sleep at nap time. He cuddles up on his blankets on the floor, opens a hymnbook, and sings himself to sleep. I transfer him to his bed after a few minutes, where he takes a very long, very restful nap. It's lovely!

I'm getting a lot of things done around the house, and reminding myself that I can't undo 2 1/2 months of summer in just one day, or even 4. There is still plenty to do, but I'm encouraged by how much I have already accomplished.