the end of an era

Tomorrow is Luke's last day of preschool.  Well, actually instead of having school they are having a class picnic with another class from his little school.  And then after Memorial Day, he will go back to school for two weeks of extended school - the school offered this so that the preschool would end at the same time as the local public schools.  However, due to all the snow, Luke is still going to finish school before the public schools. Anyway, tomorrow is his last official day of school. 

A few weeks ago we went to our last preschool performance.  It was bittersweet.  I love {love} the little academy that both John and Luke have gone to for preschool.  It is associated with a Nazarene church and has super small class sizes with amazing teachers who really love teaching.  Luke has grown and developed so much under these teachers.   On any given day, Luke will be playing by himself and burst into song.  And not just any song, but 'Jesus is my best friend' or 'I will follow' by Chris Tomlin.  We pray that these songs take root in his heart and stay there.

All the pictures I got of Luke turned out really blurry or I took them right as the kid in front of him blocked my view, so I don't have any really good pictures to share.  But here is my favorite picture from the night.  What a hoot!!

Luke was so happy to see us, even though we drove together as a family, he kept waving to me from the stage.  Then when he walked by us, he flashed this huge grin.  John snapped this picture as all the kids were walking out. 

I must admit I'm a little bit more than sad that Grace doesn't go to this school.  Due to the fact that Luke and Grace are only 12 months apart, Grace should be finishing her first year at this school.  And in the fall, she would have the same teacher that both John and Luke had for pre-Kindergarten.   So it was very bittersweet to attend my last preschool performance at this school, because if Grace was typically developing - we'd have one more year of preschool.  Oh well.  Such is the life of a mom with a special needs child.  Some things are harder than others to take.  Unfortunately, this one makes me sad. 

On a more positive note, I'm so happy for this school and the growth and development we've seen in Luke this past year.  And we have decided to send Luke to Kindergarten there in the fall, so it is not the end of my affiliation with this school.  At the end of next year, I may tear up a little bit every time I drive by this school.  But for now, we have one more year there.