~she looked around and she said,~

"...I've got the whole house to myself... and I DON'T like it!"

Today was the first day of school and we had excited and nervous childen up at the crack of dawn, before the alarm clocks. I need to point out, however, that our teenager was not one of those early risers! This was true, even though a few of those early risers had been up several times during the night with the cough that never ends, even once it has been "treated" (i.e. whooping cough). They couldn't sleep because they were wondering when they could start dressing in their uniforms. It is hard to believe that we have 7 of them actually leaving for school on some days (Elsie Mae goes twice a week to a K3 program.).

"First Day of School" shots require the panorama feature for our crew!

At first, Mary Michelle though all the excitement around the house this morning was great. She crawled from person to person, giggling and laughing, even bringing the brush to me and plopping down in front of me like she wanted me to fix her hair, too.

However, as I started to walk away with the rest of the gang, the silence, according to Tim, became overwhelming and she decided to fill it with weeping, wailing and many tears as she searched the house for someone OTHER than her daddy. She obviously adores her older siblings and is going to be a little bit lost on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Jonathan and Elsie Mae only go for half days, so at 11:30, Tim, Mary Michelle and I walked over to the school, stopping by the office to drop off the lunches that I'd not gotten packed in time for the rest of the gang to take with them (because part of what I'd planned to put in their lunch - sliced cucumbers - were liquidy mush in the crisper drawer of the fridge no longer edible necessitating a quick trip to the grocery store first). The munchkin squad seemed to have a great time today. Elsie Mae informed us that school is the most fun of anything!

And how did Mary Michelle spend her morning? Very clingy as she tried to eat helped me fill out additional paperwork needed by the school, as well as trying out green beans and rice for the first time -my green splattered jeans and white shirt will attest to that (I'm not sure what she liked more - the taste or the watching it fly out of her mouth as she blew raspberries). It will be fun to hear how the day goes for the rest of the crew... and to watch Rebekah's first volleyball game as well as Bren's second soccer game. What a day, the first day of school, 2009!

We also noticed the first leaves

beginning to drop and flutter...

Fall is just around the corner!