good-bye Kindergarten, good-bye 1st grade

Today Matt and I helped host small good-bye gatherings in each of the younger boys classes.  Isaac wasn't interested in help, so we bought some treats and he ran his own show in his classroom.

John Paul's face tells you everything you need to know about his experience.  My boy was excited to be the center of attention! ha!  His classmates asked really great questions ("How do you say unicorn in Chinese?") and he's had a great semester with these buddies.

and Luke!  I wondered if he was too young to start kindergarten, and honestly we thought about not enrolling either of the little guys, but I'm so thankful we did.  And Luke is rocking the whole deal!  He has just thrived in this place with these people, and his teacher is more than I could ask for!

I also got to pop in and thank the cook who has provided breakfast and lunch for my 5 every day this fall.  Y'all, that's 50 meals a week she served to my kiddos!  You better believe she's one of my heroes (and also the State of Minnesota, which funded the eating! ha!).

I had a long sweet lunch with friends and then picked up the kids, one teary-eyed and red-faced already, and it was just the next-to-last day.  Tomorrow will be a doozy.  Bye to school, bye to Grandma and Grandpa, hello to the van for the next few days.

Even though these departures just get harder as the kids get older, we will cling to the truth, that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  And cling to the ultimate Truth, that we were created for eternal relationship, and that painful goodbyes point us to the one who will never leave.