Adorable Awana moments

So tonight before Awana started, one of my sparkies, Kameron, pulled a candy bracelet out of his pocket and said "I got you this for Thanksgiving." "Awww, thanks!" I said. "It has a heart," he continued, "It stands for I love you." It was freakin' adorable. "Awww, how sweet!" I opened up the bracelet and put it on.

Five minutes later, his sister comes over and Kameron pulls out another candy bracelet, to which she promptly exclaims, "Those are MINE!" Uh oh. "You stole them!" "Kameron!" I said, "Did you steal these bracelets from your sister?" "We share the same candy jar," he replied. "Yeah, but those are MY Hannah Montana bracelets!" his sister retorted. I felt quite bad. "So, this bracelet is actually yours?" I asked. "Yes, but you can keep it," she said. "Awww, thank you sweetheart," I said, and she gave me a hug. It was really sweet.

Despite his misguided actions, Kameron really is a sweet kid. Later that night he gave me his coloring page (just like he does every week, it's so sweet), only this time across the top it said "I love you Ms. Lee". AWWWWWWW!

I'm kind of sad, though, because his mom told me tonight that they're moving to Abilene in February. So sad.

And while walking down the stairs from story time to game time, Madelynn grabbed my hand and held on the entire way down. Not because she needed me to help her in getting down the stairs. Just because she wanted to. My heart just melted.

I really really really love my sparkies. I look forward to seeing them every week. It's obvious that they really look up to me and think I'm one of the greatest things on planet earth. I'm guaranteed a lot of love and laughter every week. I don't know what I would do without my time with them every week. Go crazy, probably. Just being with them reminds me of so many things...I think hanging around little kids helps bring everything into perspective. The way they view the world is so refreshing. Sure, it's limited, but at the same time I wonder if it's more in focus than mine. The way everything excites them, and they love you because you're...you.

It also reminds me that there is a world outside of Baylor...a world that is composed of more than college kids. Seriously. In any given week, my only interaction with non-college kids is with my professors, with maybe my adoptive family at church (of whom I really need to see more of), and with the sparks on Wednesdays. As much as I love Taylor and Jordan and Stephen, and Austin and Anna, and Shane and Emma, and all my other friends...I really think that if I were to only hang out with them, my life would be incomplete. Interaction with other generations is something I desperately need. My Sparkies are a Godsend to help with that. They remind me that the world is fresh and new, exciting and full of possibilities...and that life is amazingly simple.

I love my Sparkies so much.

Next week is "decorate your leader" night. My kids are really excited about that. I'll definitely be taking my camera...should have some interesting pictures :)