And Suddenly We Have a 2nd Grader.

Just like that, Ryley's in 2nd grade. It's scary because 2nd grade is the first year of school that I actually remember clearly. Our baby is suddenly more than a baby -- she has strong opinions and makes good suggestions. She's becoming less and less "baby" and more and more "person" every single day.

We wrapped up 1st grade with a flurry of activities. Ryley's class had an awards ceremony on Thursday, in which she was given an award of courage. That has indeed been the theme of the year (situation explained below)!





Here are Ryley and her wonderful teachers Ms. Major and Ms. McLean.



It was "crazy scarf day" in case you wondered. :-)



Ryan accompanied the class to Field Day on Friday. He's such a good daddy!







All year long, Ryley has struggled with a particular girl in her class that we'll call "Sally." This girl has ended up being a real bully in every sense of the word. The mean things she does to Ryley (and to other kids) are completely random and senseless. The ironic thing? Last summer, I had made it a matter of fervent prayer that Sally would be in Ryley's class. She and her family attend our church, and I had thought it would be nice for them to get to know each other better since (I assumed) we are all believers. Boy was I wrong!! Ryley may have grown in her character because of her dealings with Sally, but I think we all wish they hadn't been in the same class. This time around, I am praying that God directs the placement of each student, according to His infinite wisdom. :-)

This whole situation with Sally has been rough on Ryley because we have told her she is not allowed to be near her. This makes children's church difficult and uncomfortable for Ryley because she has to consciously sit somewhere else, and if Sally follows her, she has to move, which I think is awkward for her. So this past Sunday, Sally was being really sweet to Ryley as we were entering the church building, and Ryley whispered to me and asked if she could try sitting next to Sally. I agreed. Big mistake!!! Sally hid Ryley's participation ticket so she couldn't get candy at the end of the service and even hit her at one point. Oh, the malice!! My heart breaks when I picture Ryley searching her seat for her ticket while Sally tells her that she hid it because she didn't think Ryley deserved it. When Ryley told me about it later, I could hear the utter confusion in her voice...Why, Sally? Sally also told Ryley that she wouldn't be attending the same school in the fall, to which Ryley replied, "Good!" I was proud of Ryley's response!!

Anyhow, in celebration of the long weekend, we decided to do a Shrek Marathon. We watched "Shrek 2" on Saturday and "Shrek the Third" on Sunday, culminating in our 3-D theater experience of "Shrek 4-Ever After" yesterday. So fun! This sign and set-up was all Ryley's idea and doing!!!



Today was the first day of summer break, and Ryley spent it like this:



She camped out under my credenza at work, watching movies and writing in her diary and creating her birthday party plan.



She actually seemed pretty content. Unfortunately, this will not work out all summer long. I have actual work to get done! Not to mention, Ryley deserves to have a summer not cooped up in my office!!!

So let me tell you what God did.

We have had difficulty finding a place for Ryley this summer, and as other working moms know, it can be stressful to figure out the summer months. Though we love her school, we have been increasingly unhappy with the leadership of her school's after-care program; they showed a PG-13 movie, don't really supervise the playground, etc. We really didn't want her under their influence for the entire summer, and if possible, we prefer a Christian environment. So I asked God to show us what to do, and I felt Him answer that He would take care of it.

So I called the retired home daycare lady we used last summer (it was my understanding that she retired last fall), and it turned out that she was planning on doing just one more summer of daycare before retiring for good! We were so excited to hear she was still available. Then, in mid-May, her husband was in a horrible accident, and she is now in Louisiana at his bedside indefinitely.

Back to square one. I was going to call Ryley's old preschool to inquire about their elementary-age summer program when I found out that the entire preschool was closing at the end of May. I then e-mailed the lady that used to run it, just to see if she had any suggestions, but I've never heard back.

We've been completely stumped, and I prayed again, "Lord, please show us what to do!" He gave me peace and said again, "I've got it under control." But that's hard to believe sometimes. :-) Then, yesterday, God brought to my remembrance that my friend Sarah teaches at a small Christian school not even two miles from our house. I wondered if they offered a summer program, so I called her, and it just so happens that they do! I called them this morning, and we visited them this afternoon. It's cute and fun...Bible-based, cheaper than her school's shoddily-run program, and very friendly. Ryley skipped to the car as we left! I could tell that she felt safe.

So hooray! Ryley has a place to go!

In the meantime, she and I enjoyed a fantastic day in my office and at lunch together.




My 2nd grader is excellent company. :-)