Rachel's First Day of Kindergarten

Well today my baby girl went off to school. She was so excited that she wanted to goto bed last night at 6:30 p.m. so she would get enough sleep and wake up early to go to the bus stop. So this morning we rushed around trying to find 3 backpacks, 3 pairs of shoes, 3 umbrellas and Rachel's nametag (her school makes the kindergarteners wear laminated nametags the first week or 2 with their name and bus number on it to make the end of the day easier). Finally we all headed out to the bus stop (a corner near our house where probably 10 kids get on together) to wait on the bus and take pictures. Then the bus came and everyone got on. Rose, David and Rachel were all sharing a seat and waving out the window. Then they were gone. *sigh*

Ok, I admit it. I was sad. It was a rite of passage; a huge milestone in the life of my youngest daughter. The dynamics of our family have changed again. Matthew and I have to adjust to being by ourselves every morning. This particular morning he wandered around the house asking where Rose and Gah (that's what he calls Rachel) were. But we had errands to run, so off we went in the van to get a few things done and keep Matthew from missing his sister too much. Then finally noon came and we headed to the bus stop again to wait for Rachel to come home. She arrived, very excited about the wonderful day she'd had and the friends she had met. And so it begins. . .