Girl Scouts

Hannah started girl scouts in January, mostly to get to know some other girls her age. Since she is only in school 2 1/2 hours a day, and most of that time is taken up with academics, she needed time to develop more personal relationships. She has had a lot of fun at the meetings, and has learned a lot about empathy and caring for others.

Some of the fun things they have done so far: 1) an art sale benefiting the Haiti relief fund. They spent several hours making their art work and manning a booth at our local Starbucks. They ended up raising $130! It was wonderful to see Hannah caring for people she has never met in a country she has never visited. 2) a "fun in the sun" sleepover. Hannah's group (all 5 and 6 year old girls) were invited to take part in the earlier portion of the area wide girl scouts sleepover. They dressed in fun summer clothes and played a lot of games in the school's gym. She had so much fun--especially getting to stay out until 10:00 p.m.! 3) a Father-Daughter Valentine dance. The theme was "Mardi Gras". 4) Pokeno night at Manor Care. Hannah and I had the opportunity to go to a local nursing home and play pokeno with some of the residents. They were a hoot! Talk about being competitive to win those quarters (and I'm not talking about the girl scouts)!

A fun side story about our visit to the nursing home. One of the ladies we were helping, Rhonda, was really wanting to win some quarters. After 6 games, she came very close, but never won. At the end, she dug into her purse and pulled out 2 quarters. She leaned over and whispered, "I want you to give these to Hannah because she did such a good job helping me." Immediately I thought of the story in the Gospels about the "widows mite". These quarters may not have seemed like much to the average person, but I knew she was giving to Hannah out of her relative poverty (this particular nursing home is for folks who don't have a lot of money). I was so touched by her generosity. Hannah and I walked her back to her room and were able to spend some more time with her. It was a treat for all of us!

We will have many more opportunities to serve our community and grow in our friendships over the rest of the school year through our girl scouts troupe. Sorry I don't have more pictures of all the events Hannah has been to! I keep forgetting to bring my camera!