Breathless.
In awe.
Astounded.
Bursting with some strange combination of heartache and joy that I had never felt before.
This is how I would begin to describe the incredible day my girls and I had when we embarked on our journey with Beaches Resorts and the Sandals Foundation. Our destination; the Mount Airy School in the Mocho Mountains of Clarendon Parish in Jamaica.
Our group of writers, photographers, bloggers and children rolled up in our air conditioned vans, unloaded into the heat, and made the short walk across the hot dusty yard towards the school house. These little people were waiting for us, just peeking out through their large classroom door. 
Everything they were feeling was written all over their beautiful faces. They were bursting with anticipation, waiting for their Christmas party to begin. What they couldn’t possibly know? Their guests for the day, the BeachesMoms, were equally giddy with anticipation and excitement. We dropped off the gifts we had carried with us from Canada, and waited for the celebration of the day to begin.
As the children filed out of the school, I snuck in and took a peek.
The rules of their school, not so different from home.
Their classrooms, clearly worlds apart from ours.
My girls and I had the extreme pleasure of lending a hand during the festivities. Pouring juices, and handing out cake and drinks to the patiently waiting crowd. 
We listened and clapped along to the performances of drummers, singers and spirited dancers. I was left with a smile, goose bumps and a couple of tears. So much sweetness, so much heart! It continues to amaze me that no matter where you go, children everywhere are the same.
Everyone was truly having an incredible time, and this dancer giving it her all in her socked feet, she was a show stopper! 
My heart melted a little more with each and every smile.
Soon it was time for Santa to arrive, along with a few more special guests!
I watched, holding my breath, wondering which children would receive the gifts we had brought from Canada. Suddenly wishing we had filled more then one small suitcase with presents. Desperately wishing I had thought to pack a bag of gifts for the teachers and Principal of this small but mighty school.
One of our gifts went to this little darling in the blue dress. A girl, who’s friends were quick to tell me, had Autism but they were looking out for her. They were her best friends; my heart. I left a little bit of my heart with her and with Jamaica that day. I knew then this is where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. Paying it forward with my own children in a very small way, spreading the word that we can make a difference in the lives of others with small gestures of kindness, love and donations. The Sandals Foundation is truly doing incredible things for their community. I urge you all to visit their site, see what they are doing, and help if you can.
This was an experience neither myself nor my girls will ever forget. 
This is the joy of paying it forward.
These are the faces that made me want to find a way to do more.
Learn more about the incredible things happening by visiting the Sandals Foundation website at www.sandalsfoundation.org, or following along on Facebook and Twitter @SandalsFdn A heart felt thank you to Beaches Resorts and Sandals Foundation for making this visit possible for me and my family.
wow , this post and pics brought tears of joy to my eyes, I wish there was more people like you in this world!! *sniffles* Thank you, and much love. xo
Truly, the pleasure was all mine! It was such a blessing to be able to meet these incredible children and pay it forward in a very small way. I hope to be able to return some day!
This post does my heart good. What a joy it is to see their beaming faces, and much respect to Beaches for organizing this amazing event! Kudos to the Sandals Foundation, and thank you for sharing!
Love that Sandals and Beaches are doing this. Paying it forward it so great. Thanks for sharing the experience and photos with us. Those are genuine smiles and those little faces!
Don’t you just love the joy beaming from those faces!! It was such a joy to pay it forward and was so blessed to be able to take my girls along on the adventure. The Sandals Foundation is truly doing amazing things.
What an amazing experience for your daughters! Brilliant and inspiring! Thanks
I will be forever grateful not only that I had the opportunity to attend, but that I was able to take my girls. Thanks for reading along!
What a lovely heartwarming post! So inspirational many thanks
I couldn’t help tearing up while reading this and seeing the complete joy on their faces.
Joy. I loved the look of joy on those faces!! I know they say tis better to give then receive, well there is no truer example of that then this Sandals Event. It was a joy for the BeachesMoms too!
A very touching and heart warming experience, for you and your family, god bless you for your kindness.
Thank you! Attending the Sandals Foundation event is one of those days we will never forget. I felt very blessed to be able to attend.
Paying it forward…what an awesome lesson you taught your kids 🙂
We were honoured to be asked to go along, so important to help out when you can 🙂
love it!
Thank you, we enjoyed every moment!
What a wonderful cause!!!
It was fantastic! Thanks for reading along!
but what if i want to climb the trees? :'(
You have to climb trees after school hours 🙂
Oh. Well that’s reasonable then. i approve of this rule.
It’s wonderful that your kids could come with you to do this. A great example to them of giving back.
It was such an amazing opportunity for my girls to really pay it forward in a concrete way. We’ve done penny drives, collected coats and school supplies but purchasing gifts and taking them to the Sandals Foundation event really hit home.
They truly are beautiful and this is a truly beautiful cause!
It was a Christmas celebration that I will never forget! Already wondering how I can pay it forward next year 🙂
oh my goodness. The smiles on the faces of the children are so precious and priceless. Such a wonderful foundation for doing all this. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us.
The smiles were contagious! So true and beautiful! Thanks for reading along, I loved sharing about our experience!
Oh mama, what an incredible experience for you and those dear, dear children. Love that Sandals and Beaches is doing this!
It was an experience of a lifetime! I adore that Sandals and Beaches give back to their communities, it makes me want to travel to their resorts even more!