Mustang Sadie

Since school started, oh, over a month ago, I figured I needed to get my "first day of school" blog posted!!!

Sadie started first grade at her new school on August 12th. She and I had a rude awakening that morning since we were so used to walking to school (which took all of five minutes). She even headed for the front door several times the first full week of school and I had to remind her that we were going out through the garage to get in the car and drive to school.

The first day of school was a Friday so it was also a Spirit Day and they did not have to be in uniform.

Sadie enjoyed posing.

Which I think made her get more excited about it. (She's "raising the roof"!)

Here she is headed to the school's door with her new Mustang purple lunch bag (it lasted about a week) and a ponytail (which lasted about thirty minutes).

We were too late to get a photo with her teacher (we were not tardy but got there too close to start time to get that photo). Mrs. Nelms is wonderful and has been teaching first grade there for over twenty years. I have heard only wonderful things about her from parents (and from my junior high students who were in her class).

I was scheduled to be at her campus that morning for my elementary school rotation so I was able to experience her very first Chapel with her. They start every day with Chapel and it has been such a blessing! Sadie is learning so many devo songs and hymns as well as all of our patriotic songs since they close each Chapel service with The Pledge and a patriotic song.

(See the very tall boy with wavy hair in her row? That is Seth.

We have heard all about him and then some from Miss Sadie...)

Sadie seems to have adapted very well to her new surroundings and already adores her teacher. Hooray!

***

The school's first Mustang Mission (service project) was to collect new and gently used shoes. Through the Ozark Water Project and a guy dubbed "the shoe man," these shoes will be sold to raise money in order to build a well and bring clean water to Haiti (and Africa and some other countries, but I think our mission was earmarked for Haiti).

We cleaned out our closets and came up with 23 pairs. My sister, Karalyn, donated 9 pairs. But MeMe and Pappy (Brad's parents) surprised us by asking their church, Broadway Street church of Christ in Marked Tree, AR, to donate shoes. When we went to visit over Labor Day Weekend, they announced at church Sunday night that they had shoes to give Sadie and she turned to me and said, "They are so kind!" We were shocked to see a pile of boxes by the door ready for us to take home! We barely fit them all in our car since we had Tex riding with us. Luckily, we did not have to use our roof rack, as I could only imagine us driving down the highway spewing shoes all over the place...

Overall, the church donated 112 pairs of shoes!!!!

Sadie was in awe and a bit excited about it.

At the end of the two weeks, the school was just shy of their goal of 3000 pairs of shoes (an average of 10 pairs per student). They collected about 2700, though, which was enough to build one new well that will have a plaque with the school's name on it.

Thank you, again, to Broadway Street church of Christ and to Karalyn for helping show Sadie the true meaning of compassion through your generosity!

We look forward to more Mustang Missions as they have several throughout the year. I will keep you posted, and may be calling on you for help!