Sami Started School!

Front step photos to remember this day forever!~

 He was SO excited!  And proud!

 All Smiles....

 Kaleab wishing Big Brother well on his first day!

 Proud mama!

Excited Dad!

Sami was so excited for his first day of school!

A few days prior to the start, when we were driving home from soccer, Sami admitted, "Mom.....school....scared."  When I asked him what scared him, he commented, "so many kids."  We talked about the normalcy of this fear and how God is with us wherever we go.

I even shared with him how fear is not of God, and anytime we are afraid, it is the devil trying to take our eyes off of God.  I assured him it is okay to feel afraid, then encouraged him to give God his fear every time he starts to feel afraid.  I told him that oftentimes I will say the name "Jesus" quietly out loud, and just doing that can take away my fear.  Or at least give me the confidence to do whatever it is afraid.  That seemed to ease his heart a bunch!

I also shared with him that because we believe in Jesus, and we have Jesus inside our heart, all we have to do is quietly say aloud, "devil flee!"  and the devil has to leave us alone!  He really liked hearing that!  A peace overcame his face.  He asked me, "Again.  What do I say?"

I reminded him, "devil Flee!.....I love Jesus!"

After a few practice rounds with me, he felt much better.  Or at least his face had that glorious smile of his again!

The first day was actually last Monday, August 27th.  I am only now getting to blog about it because we had a FUN and packed week last week!  {More blog posts to come on that!}

I kept trying to think of things to share with Sami so that nothing would take him by surprise his first few days at school.  You know, raise your hand to talk; don't hesitate to ask your teacher if you don't know where to go;  ask your teacher if you need to go to the bathroom.  You get the idea.  Oh yeah, and I educated him about substitute teachers, and how they only fill-in temporarily.....and his regular teacher will return in a day or two (thanks for that one, sweet Caycee!).

The first day I gave him a card that talked about how I BELIEVE in Him and how his belief in God gives him reason for confidence.  The card even had a yellow rubber bracelet {you know, that kind every kid wheres these days} that said BELIEVE.  He put it on right away and fiddled with it on the drive to school.  After we prayed together on the drive, he seemed so much more calm and confident!

Sami and I both felt confident as we walked into school together.  Him, me, Kaleab.  Dad was part of the morning but could not go to the school with us.  Sami practically skipped up the steps to his homeroom.  It was so sweet!  The previous visits and tours of his school sure helped build his confidence for the first day!

So, Sami did GREAT!  What I didn't expect, were the rolling tears down my very own face, upon returning home!  I was so SO proud of my sweet son for being so brave on his first day at American school!  I was confident he was going to do wonderfully!  I was sure he was going to pleasantly surprise his teachers with his English, math and reading skills.....not to mention his amazing heart and fun personality!

So why the tears?  I believe I was mourning the previously missed milestones in my sweet son's life.  I believe I was already missing having him home with me and Kaleab all day!  I believe I was sad to think of how busy things were going to be from here on out; and I was afraid of how much harder it would be to create days like we had this summer.

I worried that Sami's precious heart may get tainted by America.  Don't get me wrong, I am SO PROUD to be an American........but I am NOT so thrilled with the All-American attitude of materialism, taking care of numero uno, trickles of continued racism, the drive to succeed at any cost, and the desire for more......more.......and more.  I worried about the teachers.....did I leave him in good hands?  {are any hands as good as mine and Jeff's?}

A few prayers later and many tears later, God helped me realize that what I was feeling was normal.  He reminded me that Sami is in our lives forever now and busy or not, we CAN and NEED to MAKE time for each other and being FAMILY.  God also reminded me that He has watched over our sweet son for all the days of his life, thus far, and He will continue to do the same forevermore.  Yes, God has commissioned me with the privilege to be this amazing boy's mother, but I am not to forget that Sami is a child of God and that God will continue to protect and provide for him, while also guiding me in how to be the best Christian mother I can possibly be to our boys.

These sweet reminders brought peace to my heart.  Can't say they totally stopped the flow of tears, but the tears were more positive and light, I must admit.

So how was his first day?!?!?!?!?

He bolted out a strong "GOOD!" when I asked him the same question!  He beemed with joy and pride when he walked out of school and saw us standing there waiting for him.  I swear he practically skipped on over to us!  {big grin}

And my heart was filled with joy.