Courage

In the span of a few weeks my sweet little baby girl turned 5 and started Kindergarten.

It is still a little too much for me to handle.
We did some major contemplation when deciding about school for Ruby and in the end we felt best about sending her to Kindergarten this year.
I still am trying to emotionally accept this, but Ruby has seemed too embrace it whole heartedly and is absolutely loving it.
Before she began school I decided that we should start a new back to school tradition.
Each year we pick a word, a scripture, and a quote for the year.
This year our word is 'COURAGE'.
I originally picked it because Ruby was a little nervous about school but soon realised that it applied more to me that anyone else.
I needed the courage to follow what I felt we were being inspired to do (aka send Ruby to school), the courage to send her to school, the courage to be completely involved in her schooling and to always be her advocate, and the courage to parent her as Justin and I feel we should.
Plus I want her to have the courage to make new friends, to be herself, to choose the right, to remember what she has been taught, to be a good example, to be a friend to all.
We all need courage.
So I thought it was an appropriate word for us this year.
I am amazed how many times it has come up in the last couple of weeks alone.
I chose the scripture found in Joshua 1:9
 'Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'


And this quote by Thomas S. Monson



So as we embark on this new journey in life I hope that we can have always courage.