First Day of School 2010

Gracie is in 2nd grade this year and has Mrs. Anderson.  I can't even believe that!  She's in "Tiger Reserve," a combined 2nd and 3rd grade class for advanced students.  They move at an accelerated rate and have many more opportunities to do some really neat things, projects, and field trips than a regular 2nd grade class.  

Parker is in ALL day Kindergarten and has Mrs. Mills.  This was a hard jump for me!  I'm just so used to my little pal hanging out with me all day.  The night before the first day of school Phil gave the kids a father's blessing.  I bawled the whole way through them!  It is such a helpless feeling to send your kids to school and "feed them to the sharks" so to speak.  These blessings are a comfort to them and to us.  I've been so worried about Parker going to school because I was worried that he'd get too tired, that he get too hungry, or that kids would hurt his feelings and head cry, but I am blown away at how great he is doing!  He is such a big boy now and is doing great in school!  

The week before school (at their open houses) I showed Parker and Gracie how to get to their classrooms from the drop off point in front of the building.  So on the first day of school Parker was excited to get to his classroom all on his own.  But I wanted to take them to their classes the first day!  So as Gracie, Parker, Chase and I were walking into the school Gracie and Parker held hands.  Oh my heck, it's like one of the best things a mother could see!  We dropped Gracie off to her class first and her and Parker hugged before we left her!  So cute!  When we got to Parker's classroom, he just wanted to walk right in and I was like, "Wait!  I need a hug and kiss!"  I had to try hard to hold back the tears until I got to the car.  I made it to the parking lot and the tears started flowing.  When I got home, Chase and I walked in and it felt so empty and lonely. :(  I started crying again!

I started last year having Gracie ride the bus home because the parking situation over at the school is horrible and such a pain to find parking (especially in the winter with piles of snow everywhere) and our stop is the first one after they leave the school.  So as anti-bus as I am, I felt like it was a good thing to do.  So this year Parker wanted to ride the bus home on the first day of school.  It was so hard for me to let them on the first day, but I did it.  It was so weird to watch my little Parky get off this big bus!  Gracie made sure Parker sat by her because she wanted to take care of him and show him where to get off. :)  They both had an awesome first day of school and really loved it!  The second day Parker cried a little while at school because he missed me, but he's been good ever since.  While Gracie has been giving me great detail on her day (something she hasn't done in the past), Parker can only tell me about lunch, recess, and the movies they watch during rest time!  Haha!  

I realize more and more each year as the kids go to school and are exposed to so many evil things, that we are so blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.  But even more so, the fact that we can't really be blessed by it if we don't teach it to our children.  There is a lot of pressure on us as parents to really establish the teachings of the gospel and our kids' testimonies in the home.  We're a work in progress and always will be, but I find a lot of comfort in knowing that Heavenly Father will watch over and protect our children because of our diligence to teach them what is right and to follow the promptings of the spirit.  

Good luck my little babies on this year of school!  I'm so proud of you both for the great little people that you are and for your sweet and tender hearts!