First Day of School!

It was the best of times....It was the worst of times.

Naomi was soooo excited to start Kindergarten, and Freja was so excited for Naomi to start Kindergarten:) They were both up at the crack of dawn and had their chores done before I asked. Naomi was dressed with her headband on by 7:00 AM. So the first day was going well. We got their brand spanking new chore chart checked off, ate breakfast, brushed teeth, did our devotional and they even had time to play a little bit, before it was time for Naomi to hop on the bus. I had offered to take her, but we had been to her class the day before for the open house. She knew that a good friend of hers was in her class and she insisted that she would take the bus.

So at 8:45 we all went to the driveway next door and anxiously waited. When the bus arrived there was a split second hesitation before Naomi started walking. We got across the street and she let go of my hand and wasn't even going to look back but I grabbed her and gave her a kiss and a hug which she rushed through and off she went.

I only cried a little bit, but the cars that were stopped waiting for the bus to load were really supportive. One guy gave me the thumbs up and the lady behind him clapped which made me laugh. So, Dusty went back to work and Freja and I went inside. Freja had burned through her 4th grade reading lesson and was letting Bubbles out while I quickly checked my email when I heard her scream. I ran outside just in time to hear the THUNK. Bubbles had been hit by a truck.

It was awful. Freja was screaming this gut-wrenching cry. Bubbles was lying motionless making this awful sound. The poor guy who hit her came up and apologized and I just told him to help me get her in the van. We got her in without moving her too much while Freja went and found my keys. Our office worker had called Dusty and he came home and we were off in about 10 minutes after the accident. Unfortunately, poor Freja thought the whole thing was her fault. We explained over and over that it wasn't but she felt awful.

It was touch and go for Bubbles. She didn't have any broken bones but she had internal bleeding and a collapsed lung. There wasn't anything we could do so Freja and I went home and tried to keep our minds on school. We actually had a very good school day. I think both of us were just trying to stay focused on our work rather than Bubbles.

Freja begged me not to tell Nomi. She missed Naomi and wanted to play with her and didn't want her to be crying. I told her that I wasn't going to lie to her but I'd try to downplay it. We went and picked up Naomi and she had an awesome day. She was so excited. She kept saying she loved it. When we got home she asked where Bubbles was and we just said at the vet. She didn't ask any more questions so we didn't tell her until it was time to go get her and move her to the ER Animal Hospital for the night ($$) at that point it was looking optimistic for Bubbles.

That night Freja and I were talking about why bad things happen, and that He turns all things to good. With incredible insight that is way beyond her years she says "I have been having a hard time believing everything, and because of this I have been praying really hard and God showed me that He is there and is listening".

We have continued to pray and Bubbles has continued to make a miraculous recovery.

The girls have had a great week of school and both are growing and thriving so much. Naomi has loved school and all the kids and it is so good for her to have her own thing, but she's been melting down in the evenings. She has such big days and has to be so reserved all day long so she comes home and is so excited to be home that she just uncorks, but I'm sure that will pass. Freja and I have been having a great time together doing her work. She really needs this one on one time and has had a major attitude change for the better just this week alone. The curriculum we are using is like it was made for her, and she even loves even the math program we chose.

Freja and I have even been going out to the trampoline for recess and doing a mini gymnastics lesson. She loves that. Earlier this week, I won the cool mommy of the year award when she had a friend over and I gave them both a basic lesson AND a demo in back to front tucks and full twisting layouts. Yes, I can still do them, although I now know that the reason there aren't more 30+ gymnasts is simply that the leotards just wouldn't look as good over the Depends it would require. I was a little sore the next morning, but the look of pride and the wink that I got from her when her friend was clapping was so worth it.

Freja and I have been studying China this week so the end of the week we had a China Party. They helped me make Chinese stirfry and eggrolls and we ate them on the floor sitting on floor cushions just like the Chinese. To top it all of we had fortune cookies and watched Mulan. Having a "party" is a great way to get kids to eat lots of weird new vegetables!