End of year gifts

I wanted to share with you what I gave my sweeties for end of the year gifts. I am so sad the year is over, but so excited to be getting married in a little over 2 weeks!

At our Pre-K graduation, I have my little ones an owl bag with candy and a slideshow I made with pictures from the year. It was so special for me to make. On each DVD I wrote a short message: "Owl" miss you! Pop this into a DVD player for a sweet reminder of Pre-K!"

If you are looking to make a video for your little ones, I highly recommend using Windows Live Movie Maker. It's super easy!

There are so many sweet and adorable ideas for end of the year gifts. What are you doing for your kiddos?

A Very Special Delivery from Afghanistan

Hi friends!

Once again, I apologize for my absence on the blog lately. To say that my life has been crazy busy is an understatement! I am currently in the process of getting ready for my upcoming wedding on June 9th, packing to move out of my current apartment and trying to find a new job. We are so blessed to have found a beautiful home and we are now under contract. We are closing a few days after our honeymoon so I will be spending the summer getting settled into the new house. We are so excited!

I wanted to share with y'all a very special package we (my class) received in the mail yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, one of my kids' parents approached me with the idea to send a care package to his cousin, who is currently in Afghanistan. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I got my sweeties together and we wrote notes and drew pictures to our heroes in armed forces. This was a very special time in our classroom.

Yesterday we received a thank you package from our soldier friend, Armando. How thoughtful of him to send us a thank you package!! The goodies inside were unbelievable.......

First up was a collection of Afghanistan money. Too cool! We compared our American currency with that of Afghanistan.

Pins he gave us.....

Items from his uniform. The American flag is placed on their uniform as a protective measure. When soldiers are in planes looking down at the ground, they are able to look through certain goggles to see the America flag through infra-red lenses. This lets them know they are good guys.

This was the COOLEST thing ever!! An American flag was flown in honor of us. This was so special to all of us. This is definitely going in a frame! How thoughtful of him.

This is the picture of everything we received.

What really made my heart smile was the fact that he wrote each individual child a lengthy thank you note. For him to take the time to do that really showed his gratitude. It touched my heart.

This was such an honor to receive this. I did not expect anything in return, but it completely made our day. If you get a chance, I highly encourage you to send a care package to a solider. It will mean more to them than you may know.

Have a great week!