Rachael's First Day of School

I can't believe the day is finally here!!! Rachael, our little miracle angel, is going to school!! We've been talking about it for months since we arrived here. At AF North International School, children who will be 4 years old before October 31 get to attend IY1 (International Year 1), or Pre-Kindergarten! Rachael just makes the cut having an October 8 birthday. She's so smart and outgoing and social and willing to learn. We know she'll just love the new setting, no matter how hard it is for me to give her up during the day (sniff, sniff).

Poor thing. Her backpack is almost bigger than she is! We don't have her real lunch box yet, so she has to carry a much bigger insulated bag for right now. Hopefully Amazon will have that to us soon! =)

Adam was able to go with me to drop her off for her first day. Walking into the school, we ran into 4 different NPC families all dropping their kids off as well (it's a big school, so this was unexpected =). Rachael was stopped on the sidewalk by a teacher. See the red apple on her dress? They give those to the little kids to help direct them to where they need to go. We were sent to Rachael's new classroom and introduced to Mrs. Sarah Geilen-Rosenberg. She's great!! Rachael found her cubby, put her things in it, and was just as excited as she could be. Then, we had a small, awkward moment. Apparently, Adam and I had not communicated clearly enough to Rachael that going to school meant that she would be there, and we would not. I was already struggling to hold it together as we were sending off our first-born child into the big world (dramatic much?). I gave her a hug, and moved to leave (as fast as I could so I wouldn't start bawling). She gave us three adults a quizzical look, almost scared, and we had to explain to her quickly what was going on. She sobered up for a minute, and wanted to give me another big hug (Don't lose it!!!!). Adam got his squeezes in, too, and we left while Mrs. Geilen-Rosenberg took her hand and walked away from us. I didn't cry walking to the car, but it was hard leaving her behind. I know this is going to be such a good experience for her, and I just need to focus on that =)

Whether she struggled with us leaving or not, we don't know. But, she came home on the school bus smiling, though very tired. After a quick snack from leftovers in her lunch box, she perked up and answered questions about her day. She loved it! Just like we knew she would!

In the 'bus.' It's a big taxi van, actually. All busing to the school is done through charters. Some kids arrive on luxury motor coaches, some in taxis =) Rachael is going to hate me for this picture when she gets older, though =)

What a sweet little girl our Rachael is. We love her so much. She has been through way too much in her very short years, yet she continues to smile and light up our lives. No one ever told me how hard it was going to be watching my kids grow up, the overwhelming pride I would have, the bittersweet passing of one phase to welcome the next. Rachael, we love watching you grow and learn. You are beautiful. We have fought so hard for you, and you have fought even harder for us. We love you and feel so blessed to be your mom and dad. Have fun at school!