Generous donations!

Yesterday I got the mail and one of the envelopes was from my uncle.  I said, "Kate, this is from my uncle who we made those two hats.  I bet it's a check."

When she opened it up, I said, "Oh, my goodness!  $100!  He owed us less than $50!"

Kate paused for only a moment and said, "He sent $50 extra, so we have over $500 for the orphanage!"  I could see the excitement nearly bursting from her.

Then later yesterday evening, our five-year-old neighbor came over holding money.  I called Kate in, and he handed her a $20 bill saying,  "This is from our family.  Thank you for the hard work you're doing for the kids."  Adorable.  My goodness.  Now I was ready to burst.

Tonight, I was out to dinner with some friends, one of whom had bought two hats.  The one who hadn't bought hats, took out her checkbook and wrote Kate a check for $50 for the orphanage.

I can't wait to give her that when she wakes up in the morning.  I can't wait to let her do the math, and see that we now have an even $600... on the dot!

Kate and I like to think of all the ways the orphanage could use the money.  The other day, when we had $500, it went like this.

She said, "How much does a shirt cost?"

I said, "Maybe a t-shirt is $4."

Then she said, "So, 60 t-shirts is $240.  Then they still have $260 left.  What food could they buy for that?"

"Well, I bet they could give them each a good meal for about a dollar each."

"So, $60 for everyone.  60, 120, 180, 240... so they could have four really good meals and a t-shirt."

It seemed kind of discouraging, when she put it that way, but I shook off the feeling of being small and powerless, and focused on what we did do.  I said, "That's four times they'll have nice full bellies and feel really happy because of what you did for them.  And they'll have nice new shirts.  And maybe they could buy diapers, too, so they feel nice and clean."

So, everyone of you who helped us, by sharing the sale on Facebook, by buying a hat, or by donating, you helped these kids.  You will bring them happiness!

Kate has already gotten really good at addressing envelopes, soon she'll learn about wiring money...
a strange skill for almost anyone to have in 2012, but even stranger for a six-year-old.