My Babies are ALL in school!!

Here's something funny....My last post is from September of last year....the day the boys started Preschool and 1st Grade.  So it's one year later, and I've been a terrible blog keeper upper.  I had so many good intentions, and then of course, life with four young boy happened.  Enough said.

So today we embark on a totally  new journey....Kindergarten started for the triplets at a new school...Sioux Falls Christian.  They join big brother Tyler who is starting second grade there.  I have so many mixed emotions about this step for us!  All summer long I have been telling people that they are ready, and they need school, and they need to stop fighting, and school will be awesome for them.  And I still feel like that.  I feel overwhelmingly blessed that we are able to send them to SFC and join this amazing community in raising our children together in Christ.  But who will make sure they don't get hurt at recess?  And who will help them through the lunch line?  And what if they get lost?  Or hurt?  Or what if someone is mean to them?  Of course I know this whole business of school is about learning lessons in and out of the classroom, but for FIVE whole years, it's been ME teaching them these lessons and talking through them with them.  I've completely wrapped my life around these little guys, and have made it my life to teach and protect them, have fun with them, and learn with them.  So it feels like I'm letting them go.  Three of them all at once.  My mind goes to all places....and makes me wonder if I did enough to prepare them for this, and how the days that seemed SO long and tiring at times could seem like they went so fast!  Wasn't I just squishing little newborn preemie Andrew's cheeks together in the NICU to help him learn how to suck on a bottle?  And wasn't I wrestling Micah into that helmet just yesterday that helped to round out his precious flat little head?  And weren't we just laughing at baby Derek put cooked carrots on his head at the dinner table (oh wait....that still happens sometimes)?  And wasn't I just teaching Tyler that newborn baby brothers don't like to wrestle yet?

Oh these days have been hard, but in a way, I feel like we've survived a super hard stage of having triplets.  We sleep at night now.  They're getting more independent.  And now they are in school??!!  This mama's life is changing drastically.  And while I'm more emotional about it than I anticipated, it's such amazing changes.  And I'm so grateful.

Andrew, Derek, and Micah are all in separate Kindergarten classrooms with separate teachers and friends this year for the first time. We requested this, and they were SO excited about it.  This morning I couldn't believe how they all just went happily into their own separate lines, said, "Bye mom!" and that was it!  Watching big brother for the last year and going to some days at SFC's summer care program was great for easing them into this.  I already can't wait to hear their stories at the end of the day.

Tyler has made huge strides this year, too!  Like, HUGE.  Last year, when he started first grade (he attended Kindergarten at Central so it was his first year at SFC), we had lots and lots of tears and fears.  Evan had to drop him off and slowly back himself off of the playground day by day to ease Tyler into this.  And today....Tyler went into a new line, with a new class, with new teachers, and happily waved good bye with a smile on his face and walked into school.  Praise Jesus for answering all of those prayers!!!  He is making Tyler into a more confident kiddo. One of my prayers for all of my kids is that they realize at an early age who they are in Christ....to find their identity, peace and joy in Him.

So now I'm sitting down for the first time in a long time, and thinking about all of this.  I'm going to get my life organized and have about 600 projects at home, things I WANT to do, things I NEED to do, things to do at work for Evan, etc. etc.  I've been working a bit at Estate Planning Solutions, the law firm Evan and I opened January 2016.  The things Evan doesn't like to do, I love....like Marketing, HR/Hiring, PR stuff, website etc.  It's been amazing to have this to take on together.  So I'l be busy....just a different kind of busy.

Here are my babies:
Derek:

Tyler:

Andrew:

Micah: