Thanks Mom, you're the best!

So this marks one of the days I have dreaded since the day my little boy was born.

                         River James May

                           May 23rd, 2005  

Today he woke up and brushed his teeth, combed his hair, picked out his own clothes, and put on his shoes and backpack and was all ready for his first day of kindergarten.

He was READY!!!....but his momma wasn't. As we walked him to the bus stop I was very nervous about letting him get on a bus all by himself and leaving his momma standing there on the sidewalk alone.

The bus was late...too late. So we decided to take him to school ourselves. And I am so glad we did. The Lord blessed me with a memory and visual image I will have in my head for the rest of my life.

Laike and I walked River into his school and led him to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. I helped him through the line and showed him what to do and told him to go find a seat while I talked to the lunch lady. When I was done I went up to him to take his picture eating and said our goodbyes.

As I was walking away, I heard a little voice say "excuse me, I need help opening my milk". I stopped and turned around to look at him and the lady was too busy and not hearing his little voice. My heart strings were tugging...."should I go and help him?"...."should I walk away and let him figure it out?".  Needless to say I turned around and went back to help my little boy open his milk and explained that he needs to be louder when asking for help. His reply was, "Thanks mom, you're the best".

I said goodbye again and turned around and started walking out the lunch room, I got into the hall and looked through the windows to see my beautiful baby boy gazing at me with a smile and a small wave. My heart sunk, and the tears started flowing.

Wednesday August 25th, 2010 was one of the longest days I have ever had. I missed my son. Waiting until 3 o clock was like waiting for Christmas to arrive. Rodney, Laike and I were down at the bus stop waiting and waiting for what seemed like forever. Our hearts skipped a beat as we saw a bus coming, as it got closer we realized it was not his. ahhh it was torture.

Then there it came, bus #205 and it stopped and the doors opened and around the corner approaching the stairs was River with big smiles happy to see us!

He was home with me again and I made it through the first day....barely might I add. 

It feels as though we are sinning

This is our first time living outside of Michigan and 

many culture shocks have come with it.

What do you Michiganders think of when you see a photo like this?

Here are the many things I think of:

GAS MONEY!!

many month's of savings

spare change

a gallon of milk

going out to eat

renting a movie

buying baby formula

Spending Money!!

This is the culture shock we think of the most. Rodney and I grew up with our families saving pop cans and we saved pop cans and if things ever got tight, we could turn to our stash of pop cans in the garage. Things are different here in North Carolina....we throw them away...in the GARBAGE!! This is insane for us to even think about doing. 

We are also use to this:

 Money, money, money!!

and MEIJER!

My lovely hard work of saving pop cans could award me with $35 to spend on anything of my choosing at Meijer's. A new purse, sunglasses, and even shoes!

There is no Meijer here in North Carolina and there is no waiting in stinky long lines to return your pop cans to get a few extra bucks.

This makes me sad. 

So every time we throw our pop cans in the garbage it feels as though we are sinning. And we would like to apologize in advance to our fellow michiganders, that if and when we come to visit, don't yell at us if we throw one of these beloved cans into your garbage. 

Sunny with a High of 95

This morning I woke up for the first time in our new home, with the sun beaming through the windows unto my face. I laid there and enjoyed the moment.

We arrived on Wednesday night around 7pm and started unloading the back of the pickup truck. Unfortunately we live on the 4th story of the apartment building. So Rodney had quite the work out cut out for him.

The entire time we were unloading the truck, lighting and thunder was flashing and booming in the distance. The Lord provided and held out the rain until the exact moment our last piece of furniture made it through the doors to the building. And then the downpour started. Sheets and sheets of rain were falling from the sky.

We still had the U-Haul to unload, but we had 3 problems: It was pouring rain, it was 10pm and we were exhausted!

We went and found a hotel to spend the night at and got a good night's rest. Then back at it in the morning. We finished unloading the U-Haul and said our goodbyes to Phil and Carlene.

What a blessing they were. To not have to haul the trailer 650 miles and the incredible help they were at helping us unload. Thank you so much!!

We spent the day out and about, here are a few things we did on our first day in Winston-Salem:

Enrolled River and Laike in school at Diggs-Latham Elementary

Went to the ginormous Hanes Mall that puts the Grandville Mall to shame

Ate at Chick-fil-a, and it was amazing!!! Yummy yum yum

Kids rode the carousel and did the bungee cord bounce at the mall.

Bought some nice smelly soaps and candles to make our new home smell like home.

Went to Walmart, and bought some needed supplies for the fridge and home.

And that was about it. :)

We are excited to continue to get lost as we explore this beautiful place.