thoughtful surprises...

have i ever mentioned that i have the most thoughtful 6 year old daughter?  well, i do.  you see she is always thinking of others and things she can do or make for others.  lately, chris and i have been the lucky recipients of her thoughtful gestures.

last week when we went down our long hall to go to bed, these were waiting for us on our pillows:

we were so surprised, she keep this secret very well during the day - not a peep about it out of her.
this is what was inside the envelopes:

it was so very sweet.  she explained to me the following day that she didn't know who she was going to give them to at first (maybe her friends) which is why she wrote 'i like you' and not 'i love you' - then she decided to give them to us, so she drew the corresponding pictures to go with them.

she is also really into recycling.  always trying to figure out how she could reuse things i put in the recycle bin.  so, she recycled some left over thank you cards she had from her last birthday party to make us the wonderful cards...

last fall when i was putting john-john down for a nap, sweet, thoughtful ella came in and told me she was leaving me something on the floor to open when i was done getting the little guy down...

these were the treasures i found inside...

she does these things completely on her own, they are her own ideas and actions.  i am learning to be more thoughtful because of her.  the other day i was cleaning out my closet and found a pair of shorts and  a shirt i had bought for her (probably about a year ago - i do that at target - buy things on clearance and then save them for something) and i decided to give them to her for no reason, just because she is my sweet daughter.  but, instead of just saying 'ella, i got these for you', i placed them neatly on her bed with a cut out heart saying it was to her, from me and that i loved her.  it felt so good to have this special little surprise waiting for her.  and i had to bite my tongue several times that afternoon, wanting to tell her so badly about it, but wanted to wait for her to find it herself (and be surprised) even more.

it does feel good to do things for others.  i often have good intentions, but following through with them is  usually another story.  i am going to try now, because of her wonderful example, to do thoughtful acts for others just because.