Ordeal

I am just trying to breathe.

The past 5 days have been some of the most stressful days I have experienced in a long, long, time.

Many of you know what we have been going through, and your support and encouragement has helped us get through this amazingly tough time.

If you don't know: Our 4-year-old daughter, Ava, was left on a public school bus for 3 hours on Wednesday afternoon. I don't want to go into all the details of the past 5 days, or all the details of that dreadful day, but, as you can imagine. WE. ARE. DEVASTATED.

I am still struggling with this a lot. I can't sleep, I have no appetite----I am just distraught by the entire events of that day. Thinking of my sweet Ava sitting, alone, in that bus for hours makes me want to weep. We are praising God, though, that she is home safe and sound. This could have been catastrophic, so we are thanking God He brought her home safely to us.

We are firm believers in the public school system, and this Developmental Preschool and their staff have helped Ava in amazing ways.

BUT.

The school system failed us. The school system failed Ava. In ALL WAYS POSSIBLE.

This was so much more than a mistake. This put my child's life at risk.

God tells us, that, "All things work together for good, for those who love Him."

We believe that, and we WANT this to work for good. For change.

But, we also believe that the appropriate actions must be taken!!!

I hope this encourages you to get on the horn-----Call your schools, make sure they are TAKING ATTENDANCE. How do they KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CHILDREN? What procedures and protocols are in place for the bus drivers?? How are they ensuring your kids are SAFE?!?!?! Don't become complacent and figure that schools are following protocol and doing everything they should be----they just might not be, like, we, unfortunately, found out.

In our case, we want to be a voice for our beloved daughter who doesn't always have a voice.

So, I guess it's a new week, but, since it's going to be busy and consuming, I've realized a meal plan is more important than ever!

Here's ours for the week:


Monday: Spaghetti with homemade Meatballs, Green Salad, Homemade French Baguettes. I'm going to try THIS recipe.

Tuesday: Shredded Pork Nachos, homemade Guacamole, Salad, Smoothies

Wednesday: Chicken Delight (Freezer), Corn, Pumpkin Rolls (freezer)

Thursday: Meatloaf (freezer), Mashed Potatoes (freezer), steamed Broccoli

Friday: Homemade Pizza