Back to School

So today starts the kids first day back to school! WOW!

Stephanie is in 8th grade now, Ethan is in 5th, Nicholas is in 2nd, and baby Lexi is not a baby anymore and in the 1rst grade! After a year of homeschooling we decided to put the kids back into public school. Lexi and Nicholas had already been pushing to go back since about February of this year. Ethan didn't seem to care one way or the other. Even though home schooling last year was not that bad, with Jason working out of town it was just too much for me! I think it will be good to have the kids back in school and give all of us a little time away.

Today was really hard for me to send the kids to school. I was excited for them, I think they all have great teachers, but I was not ready to say goodbye to summer and send them off to school again. A lot of my friends think I am crazy for missing them or wanting the summer to be longer....but I can't help it. I was thinking about it today and realized that a lot of my parenting ideologies were learned back in the small town of Siloam Springs. I was reading a blog from one my "Siloam Friends" talking about how sad she was for the families who can't wait to be apart from each other and back in school again. I know that she put a lot more eloquently than I am and I am not trying to bash anyone here....I was just thinking that I agree with her 100%! My children are still so small (even though my 11 year old would not kiss or hug me goodbye today) and having them in school all day long with the influence of some other person....I really sort of hate it! I know how great my kids are and how smart they are, I just pray the teacher will see those same qualities and help them reach beyond themselves to achieve more than they thought they could! You know? No one believes me when I say I miss the kids already but I really do. I am already looking forward to 2:30 when I can go pick up the younger three from school and hear all about their day!

I have gotten a lot done today and I will admit that it is nice to mop the floor and not have little footprints making it dirty again as soon as I turn around....but then again, I know that those days are quickly slipping away and it makes me sad! They are growing up so fast and having them back in school again after having them home for a year...it makes me want to scoop them back in closer and just have them home a little while longer!

This post is almost sounding depressing and I don't mean for it to be! I know that they will have a good year and God has a plan for them this year in school and I know they will be fine! Of course I had to take multiple pictures this morning before they headed off to school. Stephie went to school with her friend this morning so I did not get any pictures of her all ready to go but I still managed to snap a couple bathroom shots (since this is where she spends more and more of her time anyway) The primping of a teenager!

So enjoy the pictures and hopefully I will do better at updating my blog now that I have so much FREE time with all 4 kids back in school! :-)