Whew...

This week has been a doozy...

The boys started school today. (My head throbbed a little when I typed that sentence, by the way.) Also, we are starting to crumble a bit from the cumulative exhaustion of having a new baby and moving to a new place. My nerves are a little frayed, to say the least.

So, all that being said, this week has not destroyed me. (At least not yet...)


By what I can only describe as the providential hand of God, I feel like I have been plucked multiple times from going completely and utterly berserk.

First, during a time when we were feeling particularly homesick for SC, we got an invitation from one of our sweet neighbors to come over and do a little craft. Happily, it was not a craft that I had to participate in; rather, it was a crafty activity for my boys. (Just to clarify: I hate to do crafts. HOWEVER, I really think it's adorable and special for my children to do crafts--as long as I don't have to help them in any way whatsoever. This craft fit that bill.)

It was fun for the kiddos (they made stepping stones, by the way), and I got to chat with some really nice, really fun moms. Win-Win! Also, several of the kids are in first grade, so it helped reinforce to Henry that he *does* have friends and that going to school wouldn't be a complete, horrific disaster.

And, even though we are feeling pretty sad about not finding a church here yet (we've visited a new one each week and none of them have been the right match), we did meet a bunch of boys who are William's age at this last one. I also had a nice long chat with one of the aforementioned boys' mothers, who is relatively new to the area and so knows what it's like to be the newbies.

Yesterday, with the mounting stress of the first day of school, I was just the tiniest bit ON EDGE. We did last-minute back-to-school shoe shopping (always super fun!! oh, wait. actually, not fun at all.) and various running-around insanity. By the time evening arrived and I realized that we had no idea where the kids' lunchboxes were (still packed in a big cardboard box, perhaps?), I kinda snapped a little. Thankfully, the boys were keen on the idea of "brown-bagging it," so I ran to the grocery store and bought some lunch bags.

When I got home, I was exhaustificated.

It was now 8:30 pm--the boys were finally tucked in bed, the baby was squawking in his bouncy seat, and I was still trying to find all of William's REQUIRED school supplies...

DING-DONG! (Doorbell.)

I say to George: "That's it. I am going to KILL whoever is at the door. I'm just going to kill them, and that's all there is to it."

Lo and behold, it was that lady I liked from the church we visited. She wanted to bring us some fresh-baked banana bread and wish us a good first day of school. She also wanted to give me her phone number in case I ever needed anything.

My murderous feelings deflated with an almost audible ppfffffffffffft...and I felt truly grateful.

Wow, people are so NICE. And here I was planning cold-blooded murder. Oh, my...

I took a deep breath and exhaled a little prayer of thanksgiving...and went to bed.

This morning, bright and early, we met up with the neighbor buddies (and their moms and dads) and took the most adorable walk to school you ever did see. The distraction of all the kids and the almost parade-like atmosphere of our walking party kept the boys (and me) from being too nervous.

Once we approached the big brick building where I would leave my children with strangers all day, we hear a kid call out: "HEY, WILLIAM!!"

Whaddaya know...it was the ONE boy that William met who is in his fourth-grade class. And it was a sweeeeeet boy. A boy who'd lived in town forever, but had been homeschooled up until now, and so this was his very first day, too.

Well, he and William just started chatting like long-lost pals, and decided they wanted to walk down to the fourth-grade entrance all by themselves, thank you very much. (No moms necessary...) The boy's mom and I just laughed and gave each other a big hug for support, and left feeling like our sons would be ok.

Henry, in the meantime, was lined up with the first graders looking, frankly, a little shell-shocked. (But, then again, so did all the first-graders.) When the lady in charge called out (much like a drill sergeant) for them to go into the building, Henry shot me back a look not unlike the look a person gives before click-clacking up the big hill on a really scary rollercoaster.

But he'll be ok. At least, I think he'll be ok...

He'll be ok. (Right?)

(I'll let you know...)

PS. Yesterday, after returning from our crazy back-to-school shopping, I found the sweetest envelope in my mailbox. It was filled with handwritten notes from the girlies in my old bible study back in SC. I can't even write about it without welling up with tears, but let me  just say thank you...your timing was perfect, and your notes were even better. I love you guys...