1 Day Down, 171 More to Go!!

The first day of school is now under our belts, and it was not without a few tears but overall went very well. Kenny and Matthew woke up and bounced out of bed this morning, and proceeded to giggle their way through the early morning routine of dressing and breakfast. I don't know who was more excited, Kenny or Matthew. Dominick took the morning off to go to school too, so all 5 of us, Joshie included, traipsed down there.

I planned on staying for awhile, and ended up there until lunch time. I think for the very first time, I began to get a hint of how overwhelming this new world is for Kenny. Sitting next to him at his desk, watching his eyes bounce from object to object in the room, it was obvious that even the decor of a standard 2nd grade classroom is overstimulating. Throw in 20 other kids and a language you don't understand and I honestly don't know how he can handle it, I know I couldn't. His teacher is simply wonderful, and really feels for his circumstance and found ways to include him without making him feel out of place. Our entire elementary school "family" is awesome, and the Principal had already let all the other teachers know about Kenny so they could watch out for him as well. This school is a place of love and acceptance, a place of high expectations for kids who often are assumed to be able to only achieve only the barest of skills. With a high Hispanic attendance and a lot of ESL learners, this school is often seen by others as being only worth what it's test scores indicate rather then exploring the very unique, warm environment that helps its students flourish. They have to start somewhere, and I can't think of a better place for Kenny to get his start.

Then, in another real "God Thing", I was stunned to learn that the high school down the block in this tiny farming community (graduating classes there run about 60 or so kids...very small) has an exchange student from...Kyrgyzstan. To top it off, she was already scheduled to be working as a mentor in the elementary school. She will be here for the school year and I was able to meet her today. I don't know how much contact Kenny will be able to have with her, but I know everyone is aware of this "coincidence" and will know they can turn to her if the need arises. I walked away from school today just shaking my head at God's ability to care for all of us in ways that never cease to amaze me. This is no coincidence at all, this is God taking care of Kenny. With all He has done to watch over him, I can not begin to imagine what great plans He has in store for this little boy. So although I was told there were tears a couple of times while I was gone, I need not worry for this little guy is in the best of hands.

Matthew and Kenny both had me in stitches yesterday. We have two of the Leapster alphabet/spelling toys for the fridge with all the letters, and I walked into the kitchen late yesterday afternoon and saw that Matthew had spelled out "Kenny I Love You", much to my surprise. I called Kenny in and read it to him and he got the biggest kick out of that, and then he asked me to help him spell the same back to Matthew, so together we spelled out the message to Matthew. When Matthew walked by and saw what we were doing, he then really started laughing and said "Tell me when you are done..." which we did. Matthew then grabbed the letters and topped Kenny one last time. The results are in the photo with this blog along with our first day of school pictures. My strange little family sure does have a great sense of humor.

So, our first day is completed, the boys are tucked in bed, Joshie is mine again for another school year, and all is right with my world!