First Grade Love

So...it's taken me awhile to actually be able to write the story that I am about to share with you. But finally, I feel brave enough. About a month ago, a very good friend of mine who was serving as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan was in a helicopter that went down. :( I feel extremely blessed to announce that he has survived, made it back to the states, and is in a wonderful facility that specifically addresses the needs and injuries of wounded warriors. :)

Since deployment, my class has been in contact with my good friend, sending Christmas cards, letters, a Valentines banner (, and of course Skyping! My firsties love the power of Skype and it served as a great motivator for writing stories and journal entries that we want to share. If you ever have the opportunity to skype friends near and fear, I highly recommend. I've never had more motivated writers!

Once my friend made it back to the states, I was provided with an address that I could mail cards to. My brain was seriously on overload just thinking of what we should, shouldn't, can, couldn't do. I finally settled on modifying a pinterest find and it worked out beautifully! 

Above is the original Pinterest find. God bless Pinterest!

Below you will find our creations. 

In an email from my friend's father our "oversize card" was mentioned, right after he mentioned visits from a pretty important General of some sorts. Crazy, cool huh??? Yup, first grade and I felt famous for a minute. Of all the things to mention! 

On another note before I go, I just want to share one heart-warming vignette. For about 2 weeks, I refrained from telling the firsties about this event. I just needed to know that I was in control and had accurate information to share. Here's what happened after I spilled the beans... 

Student 1: "When did you find out?"

 Me: 2 weeks ago.

Second student: "But why didn't you tell us?" 

Me: "I didn't want to make you sad, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Student 2: "But WHY didn't you tell us?!?!"

Me: "I didn't want you to be sad."

Student 2: "But you should have told us because...you had to be sad all alone, and we could've given you hugs."

Thank God for 6 and 7 year olds and their ability to feel endless compassion for others.