A Day at the Farm

A few weeks ago we took a few of our kids on a field trip to Ring Farm, and we just had the best time. All of the adults were responsible for a few kids throughout the day, and I had so much fun with my girls. They were so well behaved and had great attitudes the entire time. They spent most of the day making up songs about how much fun they were having and how much they love Cottage Cove. It melted my heart. 

We started off with a little school session. The kids learned about how corn and cotton grow, and even got to walk through a cotton patch and pick a cotton flower to take home. They also learned about miking cows, and had the chance to practice on a cardboard cow.

Makala and Brionna with their cotton flowers.

Sweet K'niyah learning how to milk a cow.

Next up was a hayride through the woods. I think this was my favorite part of the day. The girls spent the entire time laughing, singing songs, and making up silly chants. The destination of our hayride was a pumpkin patch, and everyone got to pick one to take home.

Singing on the hayride.

After the hayride we had a few hours to roam around the farm. We got lost in a corn maze, played on some gigantic slides, and climbed around on a tower of tires. They had glow sticks for sale, and a few of the kids bought some for themselves, and all of their friends. It warmed my heart that they were so willing to spend their money on their friends to they wouldn't feel left out.

Our girls. They called themselves "Team Go Fish" all day.

Girls with pink glow sticks.

I had more fun with the kiddies that day than I have in a long time. I always love it when we get to spend uninterrupted time with them and just show them love. We have some of the coolest kids at Cottage Cove and I'm so happy that I have the chance to get to know them.

fall break.

Our kiddos were on fall break last week, and it was just the best week. We didn’t have to worry about getting homework done; we just got to hang out with the kids. We had a lot less than usual, so we got to spend a lot more one-on-one time with them. We also got to see a lot of the older students that don’t get to make it on a regular basis during the school year. I had so much fun hanging out and getting to know the kids better. We played many games of kickball, football, and dodge ball. We played bible study games and learned the Hebrew alphabet. I learned that one of our kids has plans to play in the NBA someday. If that falls through his next choice is to be a doctor or a lawyer. It warms my heart to hear the kids talk about their dreams. I feel extremely blessed to be able to be a part of their lives. I love them so much and there is nothing else I would rather do than spend time with them. 

photo courtesy of my sweet friend Emily :)

lunch buddies.

My lunch buddy, K'niyah

Every time I walk into the school that most of our kids go to, I feel like a rock star. They don't expect to see us at school, so when they do they get excited. Everywhere I turn there is another kid saying "Miss Sara, Miss Sara!!" and asking for a hug. I can't even put into words how much I love these kids and how much they mean to me. It warms my heart that they are so happy to see all of us who work at Cottage Cove. Anyways, the reason for our visit to the school this week was for Lunch Buddies. Lunch Buddies is a program that allows us to go to the school and eat lunch with one of our kids twice a month. This was our first week, and I absolutely loved it. Having 50 kids in our building everyday, its hard to just get one-on-one time with them. Being lunch buddies gives us a chance to have some time to just be with them without being interrupted by a dozen other kids.  So the fact that I get to go eat lunch and hang out with sweet girl is such a blessing. We talked about her family, her friends in her class, and bible study. I tried, and failed, to get her to eat vegetables. At the end of her lunch time she gave me a hug and said, "Miss Sara, I want you to come eat lunch with me everyday." This was definitely the highlight of my week. I'm already looking forward to next Wednesday.