ready for kindergarten

Our summer has been packed full of beautiful moments and memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.  Not every day has been wonderful or easy, in fact some have been very difficult and painful, but all of it treasured.  When I look back over the past two months I see God moving and weaving His Story for our family.  Answering prayers.  Stretching our faith.  Teaching our hearts.  

I started the summer very apprehensive about Elie beginning Kindergarten this fall.  We have watched her grow over the summer and I am now confident that she will be just fine starting school in a few weeks.  She participated in a dance camp through her therapy office this summer.  She loved everything about it.  It was her first experience doing an extra activity just for her.. without her brothers and sister.

At the end of the week, the class put on a recital.  This smile on her face says it all....

Her next big adventure was Vacation Bible School.  I had signed Elie and her brothers up months ago and thought nothing of it at the time.  As the day drew near, though, it  hit me....  this would be the first time I would drop  Elie off at an event... by herself... with other kids who did NOT have special needs.  She attended pre-school this past year, but the class was all children with different special needs and the teachers were trained specifically to help kids just like Elie.  I was a mess the days leading up to the camp.  

"Would she have fun?"

"Would she make any friends?"

"Would she be able to participate in everything?"

"Would kids make fun of her?"

"Would the teachers understand her challenges?"

I picked her up from class that first day anxious to hear how things had gone.  She was all smiles.  She had made a new friend.  She had a great time.  She participated in every activity.  She was so proud of her craft and had memorized the verse for the day.  Her confidence grew.  And I began to see that she really is going to be okay.  I know there will be challenges this fall, but I have also seen this summer that she has the independence and determination to survive in a mainstream classroom.  She is such an inspiration to me.