liberty’s 1st day at pre-k!

if i were to be completely honest, i’d have to admit that the night before my heart was feeling quite panicky. so i did the only thing i could do – i prayed. not for my heart to catch up with my head. not for dad to help me find a good excuse to back out. though both of those ideas did flood my mind. instead, i prayed Dad would give me intense, abundant peace. knowing that if he did, i would be willing & able to do what he was calling me to – either way.

by his amazing grace he answered my prayer. intense, abundant peace. and liberty was able to go to her 1^st day at pre-k. and i was able to survive her going.

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i love her good morning smile. she loved her 1^st-day-of-pre-k moon cake. on this day i was once again overwhelmed by how big she suddenly looks… and of course, that wisp of hair. intense, abundant peace.
love the hand-me-down dress (thanks carrie!). love her independent attitude (captured in the pose). intense, abundant peace.absolutely love them together. love the panda backpack, lovingly bought in chengdu (the land of pandas) in ’08 – and the fact that it also accompanied sterling on his 1^st day of pre-k. intense, abundant peace.
love the hugs & smiles. thankful for his excitement. love everything about them – down to their matching shoes – about the only thing that is the same! intense, abundant peace. love her! love her standing by the door, ready for adventure. intense, abundant peace. love us together. i even love that giant metal, bomb-shelter style door and the basement threshold to the waiting world. love my arms around them. intense, abundant peace. love that we got to take them – all 4 of us, on bikes. love that we had the time and frame of mind to pause and capture this moment. intense, abundant peace.love that she happily went to school and her class. love that she was totally fine without me. i even love the fact that i shed some mommy tears. intense, abundant peace.but most of all, i loved that i could watch their every move! i love that she has opportunity to make friends. so grateful that Dad graciously replaced all my sadness with contentment and yes, even joy. intense, abundant peace.

i love that after we dropped them off jarod asked me to go to the grocery store with him (using the ‘distraction’ method) and that he reaffirmed our decision and held my hand while doing so. i especially love that the hardest part – the 1^st day drop off – is over. intense, abundant peace.i love that when i returned home i had a good 3 hours to study. i love that i was able to study without interruption. but most of all i love this reunion run and smile! intense, abundant peace.

don’t get me wrong, the day wasn’t without a few moments of struggle – mostly as i wrestled whether my inability to grasp this language was worth handing my youngest baby over to strangers. i love that when i suddenly became overwhelmed in my language study jarod encouraged me. love that when i missed the sprouts Dad once again filled my heart with comfort. love that when it was time to pick them up we were able to do it together, me peddling my brains out to get to their school to “see my babies”. intense, abundant peace.i love the giddy excitement that was on their faces when they saw us. i loved holding them in my arms, heart to heart, again. loved that we all survived liberty’s 1^st day at pre-k. intense abundant peace.

love his intense, abundant peace.