Kendyll's Program & Project

It's officially Thanksgiving break around here, and I think we're all excited to have no school for a week!

Yesterday was Kendyll's Grandparent's Day program, which is one of the things I loved most when we first looked at Providence for our girls. It is a sweet time to listen to these children recite everything from poetry to scripture to old classic hymns. Here's our little cutie:

Kendyll and some other cute first grade pilgrim girls...
Even Abby Kate got to be a pilgrim for a few minutes...

Here are some of the grandparents (being blinded by the sun!)--Pops, Grandma, Gammy, and Papa Ron. (We missed you Grandad & Grankay!)

The family picture (minus Abby Kate, who is too loud for things like this...thank you Aunt Cassie for letting her yell at your house instead. :)

And, the best part of the day is the students showing off their semester projects. It is so neat to see what each child creates and is interested in. There is anything you can imagine!! Kendyll's project changed a few times over the last few months. What began as a plan to scrapbook about our trip to London, eventually changed to a completely different project (although we're still hoping to make a very cool book about our London trip eventually!).

Instead, Kendyll raised money by having her very own walk-a-thon, called Walking for Warmth. Kendyll set a goal to walk 10 laps around our duck pond, which ended up being about 5 miles!! Many family members and friends pledged money per lap for her to meet her goals, and she ended up raising $626 dollars because of all the sweet people who supported her. :)

Here we are in our family walkathon. It was so much fun, and really made us realize that we are ALL capable of walking 5 miles! Who woulda known?!We took turns walking with her, and got to jam to her Ipod along the way (which she LOVED). Mark did a Sonic run for us at Lap 7, so we could have an ice cream break before Lap 9. It was the perfect way to cancel out any burned calories with a banana fudge sundae!

Here's Kendyll's triumphant stance at the end of the 10 laps...followed by the quote "And I'm not even a little bit tired!" (Which is quite impressive if you know Kendyll at all. :) I think it was the ice cream sugar surge toward the end...)

After raising the money and completing her walk, Kendyll went to purchase 60 yards of fleece fabric with her money...enough to make 10 boy blankets and 10 girl blankets. For the next few days, Kendyll, Carlie, Mark and I made fleece blankets until our little fingers couldn't move any more.

Her final part of the project was truly the best part. We delivered the blankets to a local shelter, which provides transitional housing and counseling for children and mothers who have been victims of domestic abuse. These children lit up the room with their huge smiles, and they befriended Kendyll and Carlie like they had always known them.

They could not stop saying "thank you" and asking Kendyll how she made all of these blankets. You could tell they were thrilled with their new blanket, and we decided in the short time we were there, that we would definitely like to continue our involvement with these new friends. It made the entire project worth every minute...and it wil be something we'll never forget. Kendyll has mentioned them every day since then, and keeps asking what day we're going back!

Kendyll was so proud to have her Walking for Warmth book displayed yesterday. And, we are so proud of her huge heart that literally continues to expand bigger and bigger as she ages. Kendyll, I pray you will always have a passion for others in need, and that the Lord will use you in mighty ways!!

And...A HUGE thank you to all of you who were involved in this project and who not only sent your money for this cause, but also offered your encouraging words to our little six year old! :) She soaked in every email, and we truly appreciate it!