My job ROCKS!!! This summer I get to spend nearly every day of every week with one of my boys....Jack or Tyler. They are so amazing!!! Three days out of the week I get to go to school with Jack and play with other kids who are mentally handicapped. It is the by far the best experience I have ever had.

*The other day, at the school, there were two kids waiting in line to be able to toss a bean bag. The boy turned to the girl and said,"Can I have a hug?" (but in his cute, not so perfect, a bit slurred way) "Sure!" she answered with a bit of a lisp. They hugged and held eachother for atleast 30 seconds. As they pulled away the little boy whispered,"Hannah, I think you're my best friend." She said nothing except for the GIGANTIC smile on her face. "HIGH FIVE?!" the little boy asked. It's then that they attempted to give eachother a high five. It wasn't perfect by any means, the way they said things didn't make perfect sense, they barely touched hands when they high fived, but those two kids were the happiest kids in the entire world at that moment.

I get to count on Jack telling me,"Allee, I like you." every day. He never missed a hug and any opportunity he gets, he wants to hold my hand. Tyler is learning SO much. I give him swim lessons everyday and he is such a trooper! The water hasn't been warm and I just keep dragging him in but at the end of the lesson, he is still laughing and smiling. I was reading a book at the Anasagasti's [Tyler's house] the other night about the benefits of having a child in the autistic spectrum. What a blessing it is to have these sweet spirits around us!

This morning my mom was telling me about a story in the 'Friend'. As she was telling me about it she started to cry.

"{My Brother Is My Best Friend}"
"My big brother has autism. It is hard for him to talk and make friends, but he is my very best friend. I take care of him when we ride the bus to school, and I make sure he doesn't get lost when we are away from home. I help him find his class in Primary and pray for him every night."
"I have faith that one day he will be able to tell me what he has been thinking all this time. He will smile and tell me I am his best friend too. I am so lucky to be his big brother. I love him."
Boston B., age 8, Texas

I know I'm not the nicest all the time and sometimes I get angry at my little guys because they won't listen, but I really do love them and I hope that I'm good enough to them for them to be able to tell me, when they're made perfect, that I was their friend and they liked the days that I came over. My mom has had a few run-ins with Jack and I know that she feels his sweet spirit. Camden made the perfect statement after playing with Jack one evening....

"Heavenly Father just didn't make me special like Jack. Huh mom?"


{Told you I have the BEST job!!}