Emma's First Day of School!

I had it all planned out. My house would be spotless. We would play games together with the kids and then get them to bed early. Emma would wake up rested and excited for her first day of school... But this is what really happened. Gabe got a stomach bug (his first ever) on Sunday night. It started around 5 pm. He threw up all over our table at Braum's. Emma had requested ice cream, so we headed to Braum's for hamburgers and her orange sherbert. At first I thought Gabe must have eaten something that just made his stomach upset. But we soon realized he was sick. He couldn't keep anything down. Not even a glass of water. And Emma was almost sick worrying about her poor brother. We got home, cleaned up Gabe and Jeff headed back to get Emma her ice cream. After dinner, we were running back and forth between the toilet and trash cans, trying to get Gabe there in time. He was just throwing up over and over. I felt so bad for the little guy. We had to wash several loads of blankets and sheets. We did get Emma down at 8. But every time she heard us running to Gabe's room, she came out to see if he was ok. I was so worried that she was going to be exhausted the next day. At 11:30, she came out as I was cleaning up Gabe. I took her back to her room and told her to rest for her big day tomorrow and I would take care of Gabe. What she said next is "typical Emma". "But, but, mom! This is way bigger than school tomorrow!" My heart was so full. She is so compassionate and tender hearted. I just wanted to cry right there. I gave her a big hug and helped her back in bed. At midnight, Jeff and I finally got to bed. I slept on the couch upstairs so I could hear when Gabe started gagging again. I was exhausted and anxious for my little girl's big day. I prayed and prayed on the couch. That God would heal Gabe. That he would rest well. And that God would please give my baby girl the rest she needed for her first day in school. We were up again at 3:30 for one more throw up episode. I think Gabe had about 6 different times where he was sick. Emma was up at 3:30 too. I was up at 5:30 the next morning. I was getting ready when in walks my cute, little man. "Good Morning, Mommy! I all better! I can eat ice cream now!" I gave him a big hug! I was so relieved he was feeling better! He was such a brave, little guy the night before! About 6:15 Emma came downstairs talking about how pretty her flowers were. Daddy had snuck in the night before and put a vase of pink and purple flowers for our princess to wake up to. Along with a little poodle... She loves puppies :) She was happy and excited to go to school! We had a nice breakfast together. And had plenty of time to enjoy the morning without rushing out of the door. We headed out about 7:30 am and took some pictures in front of the house. Emma was just chatting up a storm with Jeff and I on the way to school. We get there and park and walk to her class. Emma was excited to see her teacher, Ms. Huh again. We find her table and get her settled there. We waited until other parents were leaving before bending down and telling her we couldn’t wait to hear about her big day! And we would see her in a little bit! I was very proud of myself for holding it together! I teared up when I bent down to give her a hug. But she was happy and fine with us leaving! What a relief! Jeff, Gabe and I headed out of the door. And as soon as I was outside, I couldn’t help but cry… I am so proud of my girl! She is so confident and happy! She is a good friend. She is compassionate and tender hearted. She is giving and kind. And you want to be there to make sure everyone else knows how special she is. You want to be there to take away any hurt and fears that she has. And to let her know that mommy and daddy love her so much and we are so proud of her! I prayed for my sweet girl all day. That she would have a wonderful day. I was so anxious to get her at the end of the day. We got to the school about 15 minutes early. And the line to pick up the students wasn’t moving at all! It took us 30 minutes to get to her! I was thinking, “She’s in there crying wondering where we are! She is probably exhausted from last night and such a long day at school!” We finally get up to the front of the line and out comes a beautiful, little girl with a huge smile on her face!

“Hi guys!”

“Hi, Emma! How was your day, Sweetheart?”

“Oh, it was a lot of fun! We did art and PE. We got to run back and forth! And my teacher is really nice! I was talking to a nice, little boy when I was waiting for you to pick me up. He is in my class. It was a long time until lunch, but I found my note you wrote me! And how come there wasn’t a show at lunch?”

“A show, honey?”

“Yeah, there is a stage in there?”

“Oh, they don’t put on a show while you eat sweetheart :)”

On and on it went… She had a GREAT day!!! Praise God! She and Gabe played and played when she got home. I think they really missed each other. We had a nice dinner together. During dinner, Emma said, “They didn’t even pray at lunch time?!?!?” Jeff and I explained that school would be different than at home and church and her last preschool. We tried our best to explain why they don’t pray in schools; and how sad that is for our country. Emma gave us a look like she just couldn’t believe it. We played a game of Sorry after dinner, had baths and stories. And it was off to bed to do it all over again tomorrow! God is so faithful and good. And I thank him for watching over our princess today.

Emma with her flowers and poodle...

Emma and mommy on her first day

My two sweeties

Our family

Emma

On her way to school!

Emma's table

Emma and mommy

Emma and her teacher, Ms. Huh

Saying goodbye...




Picking her up!


She had a great day!