First Day of School

Today Anah started her first day of school ever! She never went to school in VN and I homeschooled her the last year and a half, so this was her first day of nonmommy school! I was so concerned that she would feel abandoned again, like she was in the orphanage at age 4. I guess the year and a half home and her ability to comprehend have shown her that she is safe and secure with us! She did start to cry as I was first leaving (to wait in the hall and see how she would do without mommy), but she quickly stopped once I was out of sight. I explained to her that she was going to stay to play and learn with new friends and that Mommy and Daddy would pick her up later in the day, after lunch time. After half an hour of hovering in the hall, I left (after checking with the teacher for the third time ;oP ) to make sure she was doing well and letting the staff know I was staying in town for the rest of the day in case they needed me... ok, so maybe mommy was more anxious than Anah, lol. We live 45mins-an hour away from the school, so I didn't want to be too far away. Bob and I have decided to drive her and pick her up every day. She could have gotten bussed, but she would have been the only student on the bus and since she is nonverbal, we didn't feel comfortable with it. Let's face it, we weren't even fully comfortable sending her to school, even though we know it's the best school for her and we were blessed to get her in there.

We have been entrusted by God with our wonderful children and we take that responsibility VERY seriously, we discuss, research and PRAY and only then decide what we feel God would have us do with each child and their abilities and needs. I am praying this will open Anah's communication up and her independence. She is so capable but has such orphanage behavior that she is fearful to do things by herself for fear of getting in trouble. Here is a pic of Anah as M. and I drove her to school. Before we picked her up I drove home, dropped off M. so she could watch Jonathan and picked up Bob. I did tell Anah Mommy AND Daddy would pick her up, so I wanted her to know I was telling her the truth. The teacher and aides said she had a great day and had lots of fun!!! YEAH, Mommy and Daddy were so excited to pick up their big girl from school!! We were so relieved she had settled in and enjoyed herself, Praise God!