Middle of July? We all do realize, don't we, that Christmas is nigh unto 5 months away?

So today I pick up four marvelous teenagers and drive them to a church to teach a Good News Bible Club to pre-school children, ages 3-5. It's a church in my old stomping grounds, even attended there when I was ages 3-5. I know that the cutest little girl ever goes there for day care, the daughter of, you know, the little girl I grew up with who scratched her name on the side of my dad's car with a rock. That little girl's little girl.

I mention to the teen girl in the group, Oh, I wonder if I'll see my little friend here today. Meanwhile, the activities lady is figuring how best to do the classes. She decides that two groups of about 25 children will come together and be taught first, followed by another combined group.

I'm having fun watching the action and settle in a seat to chill and observe. When the first class arrives, who should march through the door first, smiley head of the line, other than my little friend. I have to tell you, this was a God gift and served to merely crack me up for the rest of the day.

I ran over and asked, Do you remember me? Because I don't get to see her often and she just turned 5 years old. She nodded yes. And then we talked about how she and her mother visited my sister over night last month during a vacation. She was a hoot at my sister's. Her name is the same as my niece's and since my niece is 18, Little C was in awe. They were all gathered at the kitchen table and my sister was looking at the bowl of fake fruit on the table. She said, Little C, do you like pears? Little C turns her head to look at Big C, Do you like pears? Big C says, Yes. Little C turns her head back to my sister, Yes. Next question, Little C, do you like grapes? Little C turns to look at Big C, Do you like grapes? Yes. Turns head back, Yes.

You should just see how adorably cute this child is. She looks like Ramona from the Beverly Cleary books, a short dark brown pixie and the huge dark brown eyes just like her mother's. She is petite and delicate...and BRAINY.

Later Big C played her violin for everyone. She chose to play some dreary slow piece, for some unknown reason. It went on for a while and Little C is listening intently, completely absorbed. Then. She turns her head to look at her mother and my sister and announces with conviction, THAT SOUNDS AWFUL! My sister agreed and suggested Big C pick something with a little pep. I wish you could see this turn of the head. It's like a punctuation mark.

When it was bedtime Little C didn't want to wear her Pull-Ups (she wears them at night due to a little condition where the mechanism to get up to use the bathroom doesn't click on -- no problem, Little C, once when I was a teenager I got up in the night to use the bathroom but somehow I wound up in the closet and tinkled in a shoebox, where were my Pull Ups when I needed them?).

Okay, so I only mention this because when her mother asked her why she didn't want the Pull Ups, Little C said, Big C might know. Her mom said, Big C won't be able to see them. Little C, always a step ahead, said, She will hear them.

I tell you, a delightful child through and through. She tickles my sister and me to pieces.

So, back to Good News Club. I kept glancing across the room at Little C, who kept busy glancing at me, too, always with a shy grin. I simply can't wait to see her every morning (did I say morning?) for the next few days. I really need to get my little act together and go see Little C when her Grandma, my friend, watches her a couple afternoons a week. I asked her today, What do you call your Grandma? Grandma, she answered, with a big grin.

While we were chatting waiting for class to start, two other little girls scooted up to us (we were on the floor). Little C and I were talking about her vacation to the Carolinas. One little girl said, I went to Tennessee on my vacation. I asked the third girl, Where did you go on vacation? To a hotel, she replied sincerely.

During the actual club one of the teen boys taught the Bible verse. Then they played a game in order to keep repeating the verse. They made pretend sandwiches. One hand was the top bread for the reference, John 3:16, the verse was the filling, For God so loved the world, and the other hand was the bottom bread, reference again. For the filling the kids took their free hand and spread ingredients on the bottom bread hand. When all was said and done, they got to "eat" their sandwiches. Sometimes they made teensy sandwiches and nibbled them, whatever, it was very cute.

Anyway, they asked the kids, What kind of sandwich should we make? Peanut butter and jelly reigned. But one little boy kept shouting, Deli meat! And another little boy yelled, SUBWAY! So the Subway kid was asked, What kind of meat? He said, Turkey with white American cheese and mayonnaise. Okay, a kid who knows his mind.

When the lesson talked about Heaven the teacher told about the streets of gold. She asked, Are there any streets of gold down here on the earth? One little boy offered, Yes, in New York City. A little girl piped up, On an ant farm. Okay.

Then the teacher discussed how our hearts are very dark with sin. A little girl blurted out, How dark? Of course, the children had been advised to raise their hands before speaking, ha, ha.

At the end of the second class a little girl volunteered, in that precious little pipsqueak voice children 5 and under have, Thank you for the class. These children were darling, every which way. I'm thrilled DTD is going to be an early education teacher. She will be great at it. And her reward? A joy-filled career. When I taught 3 and 4 year olds for a couple of years at AWANA, I had a ball, it was the highlight of my week. I actually came home after the class each week and wrote all the cute things they said and shot them off for CDW. CDW and I are going to write a book off of our emails someday, we find them so highly entertaining, LOL, such modesty. Just you wait and see. Everyone else in the world writes a book, practically, so why not, you know, CDW and KEM? Early plug here :)

BTW, Earline is a banana tree. A little one, but a banana tree nonetheless. Earline and Buddy Raye, The Giant Fern, I think there's a book in there somewhere, too. But my friend, their mother, will have to write that one :)

Children make my world go round,
KEM