Such sweetness.

There is a boy, D-, who has just been loving on K- all year. He thinks that K- is better than sliced bread, a bag of chips and all that.

I may have shared the story of leaving one morning, and K- was particularly clingy. D- came up behind her and hugged her and told her that she could let go of me and he would be hugging her so that she would still be hugged.

Oh, make my heart melt.

There was a day during the canned food drive that K- was so excited to line up her donation for the day that she dropped her back pack and lunch right where she was standing so that she could get her things up on the table. She scooped up her back pack and standing behind her was D-, holding onto her lunch for her.

Right up until construction season started (the week before spring break), D-'s mom would drive past us walking. She said that it was the highlight of his morning to see us walking to school.

If D- is sick, K- prays for him. In fact, he had been out for several days. We walked up just as they drove up and she waited to see if he was in the car. He was and they both hugged and hugged. After that, they walked hand in hand all the way to the school.

A few weeks ago, it was D-'s birthday. We had gone to Amish country the weekend before, so we bought him a chocolate lollipop with sugar balloons on it for K- to give him.

Today D- felt the need to share.

I always call K- after school to see how her day was. She told me about this box and heart necklace that D- gave her.

Folks, it is the sweetest thing.
Bless his heart. He ran across the parking lot and said to K-, "Here is your necklace." My mother-in-law said that she said, "Oh, okay!" She didn't realize what it was until she opened it in the car. They had cleaned out their cubbies today and my MIL thought that it was one of her necklaces that got left behind.

From K-, "It is a heart and you know what that means, Mommy! D- loves me!" Okay, I don't doubt that he does love her in as much as a 6 year old boy can love a girl that equally shares his passion for Star Wars. We've had the no boyfriend talk with K- and she is good with that. I mentioned that it was a lovely love-from-a-friend kind of gift.

She was delighted. I was happy for her. D- is a very good boy and very respectful. I think that he is a wonderful friend to pal around with. I'm thinking that D- and K- need to get together a few times over the summer to play.

I look at them right now. All of the kids, actually. They all stick up for each other. They love on each other, particularly in K-'s class. I fear that all too soon that will end. I don't want it to. I don't want all that petty funky school crap for K- that I had to go through.

For the time being, we'll take being friends with boys and girls alike as a good thing.

Smiles in my day:
- Though K- had a very rough time unwinding for bed, it appears as though she is now sound asleep.
- The opportunities that our school system offers. The school sent invitations out to all children in K - 5th grade to attend a co-sponsored program by our school district and the local zoo. There will be free admission to the zoo, a free back pack and school supplies given, entertainment, face painting and a couple of local mascots there. Since we let our zoo pass lapse (but we picked one up through the botanical gardens), it will be nice to visit the zoo one last time before summer ends!
- Chatting with some fun, regular customers today. (Not that the non-regulars were a bad thing!) It warms my heart to see repeat customers. It confirms that what we are trying to do is a well received thing.

An aside:
This evening as Hubs and I were watching TV, the local homeless shelter called. This was the homeless shelter where we were volunteering when I was pregnant with Bailey (and before that, actually.) For the first time ever, they were phone banking for donations. I made a pledge of a fairly nominal amount, knowing that they could feed a handful of people with that donation. Still, when I got off the phone and told Hubs who it was, he was stunned. Our Christian run homeless shelter needs help. They are very well run with impeccable books. However, the economy has been in the dumper for quite some time. More and more people have needed to seek their services. I would like to at least double the amount that I pledged to them. Would you consider praying that not only do they get the funding that they need, but to also allow us to help them out in a generous way? It sounds like a weird request, I know. They are really good people doing wonderful things. Though we haven't been able to continue our volunteer work with them on their campus, they hold a very special place in our hearts. Please consider keeping them in your prayers for us.

Have a wonderful day!