childhood crush, part 2

I cannot describe how blessed I feel with so many aspects of my life. I could bore you to death with a long list of things I feel are sweet mercies granted to us. I'll spare you the list, but I won't spare you just this one thing...

We have so many precious children in our city for my girls to play with. They have made special bonds with the other kids here, and I hope that regardless of what the future brings, these are friends they will always have. (It's very likely, since I don't plan on letting go of these kids' parents!)

Each child here has their own special things that we love about them, and Emma and Samantha love telling make-believe stories about their friends, love telling us little things they say to each other...they just love these kids. This mama's heart is so full of thanks at the friendships they have.

Here are Emma and Samantha with Clara Anne and Chloe during a recent music class - we were "studying" Brahms' Lullaby:

And Malachi and Emma putting on a puppet show one evening:

They love each of these kids. But there is this one little boy that Emma especially loves...

...and I ask you, what's not to love about a boy like that? It's true - Emma has a special place in her heart for Alex. They love playing together (I think it's mutual...?) and Emma talks about him All.The.Time.

The other day during school, I gave Emma a quick break so I could grab something from the other room. I came back and this is what I saw:
It says (in case you're not used to reading notes by 5-year-olds): Dear Alex, I love you. (Picture of Emma). I reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaalllllllly love you. From Emma.

This is not a weird boyfriend-girlfriend kind of thing. She just likes playing with him and being around him. We've had talks about why we like Alex (I said, "Because he's respectful and kind to me and always volunteers to pray during prayer time and I like that." She said, "Because he's older than me and said he would take care of me. And he has warm skin.") We talked about how having the right kind of friends would make us love Jesus more and want to be more like Him. (And that's just as true for me as it is for them!)

We also have recently had talks about how it's so important to show love to all your friends, even if you especially love one or two. We've talked about making everyone feel included and special and loved. They are making progress in this area and I'm proud of how they are learning to serve others by being selfless. I'm so thankful that because of the sweet friends we have here, my daughters are growing in character, faith and Christlikeness....and having a great time doing it.

Thank you to the sweet parents who are raising their kids to love the Lord, and who let us walk with you. Thanks for sharing these precious times with us.

(And just for the record - I'm completely 100% unopposed to Emma and Alex sticking together! He's a great kid - and his twin brother is just as precious!)