“I am so BIG!”

(WARNING: This is, once again, a very long post. I can’t help it!)

This weekend Morgan and I were discussing her first day of school and how first grade is different from kindergarten. I explained that she would be at school all day and would finally be able to eat lunch at school. I then told her that the bus driver wouldn’t make her wait on the bus for me to come down the road - that she was big enough to walk with all the other kids. She got very excited and her face lit up as she exclaimed,

“Oh, I am so big!”

Saturday was officially Morgan’s 6th birthday. We have been celebrating all month but she still wondered about her party. I had to explain several times that there would be no party this year on her birthday and she was still confused as to why we had not given cards to all of her friends telling them to come over.

She had already opened most of her presents, had a party with Aunt Sharon and Uncle Rick, and had bought a new pet shop playground with her birthday money from grandparents so, there wasn’t much left to do on her birthday. I finally admitted that I had one more present for her. When her friend came over with a gift I gave in and let her open the last two presents.

["I'M WITH MY BFF"]

I thought Ashton’s shirt was cute when she came in our house but I never guessed there was a matching shirt in the gift bag. Morgan was thrilled and quickly put the shirt on. They are so cute!

Then I brought out the big box from my bedroom. Anxiously they all tore into it, trying to guess what it could be. (I didn’t wrap any of the gifts this year unless you count cardboard and plastic.)

“A tent!”



Morgan is always asking me to help her build a tent in the living room. Sometimes she would just sit under the large sheet draped over chairs and watch a movie. Then, Zane would come crashing through and we would have to build again.

The new tent doesn’t fall flat when Zane bulldozes through and it has a really cool tunnel too. The kids played in it all afternoon and Morgan insisted she was going to sleep in it. It’s just right for two!



Happy Birthday Morgan! You are so big!






Then Monday was the first day of school.



We have new clothes. . .

new school supplies in the backpack. . .



and COOL new shoes! It must be time for school.

I took Morgan to her first grade classroom, pried her off of my leg, reassured her that all would be well, and then hurried out to the hall so she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. Why is it still so hard to leave her? Brittany is the one I should really be worried about. (There are vicious wolves at the high school.) She is the one I should be crying for. I just hurried into the high school parking lot and asked which door she wanted to be dropped off at. I guess after all these years of seeing my prayers for her safety answered I don’t worry so much about her. (And I have equipped her with some mighty weapons to fight off those wolves. She is not one to be reckoned with.) She was also running late so I didn’t get any pictures of her. I will catch her though!

The kids just keep growing older and getting bigger. I guess there comes a time when all you can do is pray for them. Pray that they will do what is right even when you are not there to remind them. Pray that they will do some good in the world. And pray that they will return safely home.