School started this week for our kiddos and it’s the FIRST TIME EVER that all three went to the SAME school. I got choked up Monday morning while praying for them before they left; I was just so excited they would all be together. It was also the FIRST TIME EVER that I dropped my kids off at school and didn’t call my mom crying. I called my mom – I just didn’t cry.

The school where they are all attending starts at 9:00 AM so we had a nice leisurely morning before they had to be there. Honestly, this is one of the things I am most excited about this year. We had breakfast together – it was “National Pancake Day”, so we had pumpkin pancakes. We spent time with God together. It was so great.You can see the verse we looked at. . . this is Bubba’s picture. I wish I had a recording of his voice saying, “This is me now and God is with me and loves me completely (God is represented by the smiling sun in all of Bub’s pictures) and this is me when I am old and God is still with me and loves me just as wholly and completely.” Seriously? Happy mom moment for sure.

Little was committed to riding the bus even though I was going to have to drive her siblings in the car right behind her (their paperwork is finished yet.) I walked out with her, gave kisses, and waved her off; she has the same bus driver as last year and it was “home-townish” to see and greet someone we knew.

Walking KB and Bubba up to their doors wasn’t as intimidating for me as it was last year. For some reason there weren’t as many dogs and Little wasn’t with me to stop and talk to the ones we did pass. Bubba had a death grip on my left hand and I was so focused on silently praying for his day that all else seemed small. KB said, “The first day is always nervy and then. . . it’s the second day. Bye, Mom.” Gotta love her.

Bubba did NOT adhere to her “rip off the bandaid” approach; instead he attempted to rip off my pointer finger. He said the words, “I wanna go back to TPAAK, Mom, ” and I saw the lip begin to quiver. I whispered a prayer in his ear.

It literally hurts watching our son build up enough nerve to do something like walk into a new classroom. I could NOT be more proud of him. I could see him shaking and eye contact with his teacher (who was greeting everyone at the door) was not an option, but he did give a fist bump and walked in.

Can I tell you one of the great blessings of the day? I had dropped the ball and not gotten the kids’ medical forms signed and so I had to go back up to the school at 1:00PM to give Bubs and Little their medication. Little was, of course, in heaven being back at school and she threw back her pill and headed out with barely a wave. The beautiful thing was Bubba. He walked in talking and left talking. . . they were doing a bingo game and the teacher had changed a diaper and this boy was born outside Colorado, and on and on. Happy Heart.

When I picked the kids up and started walking down the street toward the van, I listened to them chatter about the day. I asked Bubba, “So you’re okay with being here instead of TPAAK?” and I could swear that I heard angels sing as he answered, “Definitely!”