Kevin (Special K) Daley’s visit with our son, Isaiah – STOP BULLYING!!

So I just wanted to share a glimpse of yesterday with y’all.  As most of you know, our son, Isaiah, has been the victim of bullying. Mainly because of the color of his skin. As his parents it has been heartbreaking. You see when we adopted our four youngest, color did not matter to me and Jamie (we are white). We love everyone and every child is a Gift from God created in HIS image, so the thought that we would ever have to endure this was beyond our wildest dreams. We, as his parents, have done the best we could with helping, but back in February we reached out to Kevin Daley (Special K 10 year veteran of the Harlem Globetrotters) and shared what we were encountering. He listened to our story and a few days later called Isaiah. That in itself was AWESOME and beyond what we ever imagined to receive from him. To know how busy he is and to think he cared enough to take the time out of his day to call Isaiah was AWESOME. It gave Isaiah courage and strength, but the bullying continued. Kevin checked in frequently on Isaiah to see how he was doing. Two weeks ago we had a very bad day with Isaiah at school and I emailed Kevin and he responded that he wanted to make a trip to Sylvania to talk to the school and Administrators of our School System. We got everything in place, but still in the back of our minds, we didn’t want to get Isaiah’s hopes up too much just in case he wasn’t able to make it. There were some funny stories in between like when Kevin asked me if there would be someone to pick him up at the airport. Now in my mind, I am thinking does he mean like a Limo driver (because every time I flew to any of my national appearances 20/20, GMA, The Today Show, 700 Club, etc and I’m just the coupon lady), we were greeted with a limo, so I said, like do you mean a driver or can I be your driver? LOL. . . so we were blessed to be able to be his driver!!

So here is a glimpse of our whirlwind of a visit with Kevin on Friday, 5/9. The day Kevin FOREVER changed Isaiah’s life!! It started out by Isaiah praying that Kevin had a safe trip and they would have a great day.  We arrived at Detroit Metro Airport at 6:45 am as Kevin’s flight was arriving around 7 a.m. Here is a video of the moment when Isaiah met his Hero!! The emotions on Isaiah’s face and the tears filling his eyes said it all. He was just overflowing with joys and couldn’t hold his tears of joy back.

When we got to the van I started to get in the back with the kids and Kevin said he would sit back there with Isaiah (that touched me). . you see sometimes it is the small things like that that so many take for granted, but we noticed them and noticed how Kevin made Isaiah feel like “Special I” from the time he arrived until the time he left.

Here is a picture of Isaiah and Kevin in the van on our way to Sylvania.

Now by this time Isaiah was feeling a little more relaxed and not so emotional. We immediately went to 101.5 The River Radio Station in Toledo so they could do an interview with Kevin and again, at the end he asked them if Isaiah could say something (something small to many, but something that stuck out to us and I know to Isaiah too).

We then went to WTOL, Channel 11, so he could do an interview there, went to get breakfast (which they had to eat in the van, LOL) and then headed to the school. Now by this time, Isaiah had quite the strut going on as he was feeling pretty important!! Once we arrived at the school, there was a lot of chaos.

Isaiah walked in and proudly introduced Kevin to the office staff, the assistant principal, the principal, his teachers, and the superintendent.

We then went in the gym and Kevin played a little ball with the boys and then got ready for the assembly. Here is a video of the beginning of his anti-bullying presentation at Isaiah’s school and listen to the shout out to Isaiah. Can you imagine being 12 years old and your Hero says I am here because of my friend, Isaiah. I think he instantly stood about a foot or maybe  ten taller!! Kevin also brought his friend, QTMC (Quest to Make a Change), AKA Steve Coleman!

What I think touched me the most was he didn’t miss a beat. He included Isaiah in everything. When he was being interviewed after the presentation, he went to speak to the media with Isaiah right beside him.

When we went out for lunch, Isaiah was right beside him.

It was like Isaiah was his side kick and Isaiah felt like a KING for the day. To see Isaiah looking up to him with that twinkle in his eyes just filled my heart with joy. We went to lunch and then went to Glenwood Elementary in Toledo (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this school),

headed back to McCord Jr. High so he could interact for a little bit with the kids, and then headed back to our house so Kevin could unwind before flying back to LA (yes, another 5 ½ hour flight in one day). Who takes a 5 1/2 hr flight (overnight) to spend the day with a kid and then flies back the same day for another 5 1/2 hour flight? Only someone who truly cares!  I can tell you that Kevin is the REAL DEAL.   He doesn’t just say something, but he lives it. He IS taking a stance against bullying. He does care about our kids.  He is one of the most compassionate, loving people I have ever met. I have been on many National TV Shows with “prominent” people and when the camera is not on them, they are not “quite as nice”, but Kevin, well, what you see is what you get and that is a whole lot of “SPECIAL”!!!! BUT the moment that touched me more than I can even express is when we were sitting on the couch once we got back to our house.

Isaiah was going through looking at pictures of Kevin on the iPad (from google) and in all these pictures Kevin is with other “prominent” people and I said to Kevin, “who was the coolest person you ever met?” To which he responded without hesitation,  “Isaiah” and then he fist bumped Isaiah and to see that sparkle in Isaiah’s eyes, well it was actually priceless and something I will never forget and words I know Isaiah will NEVER forget. To show genuine kindness to someone, so many of us take for granted. We think we are too busy to go that extra mile or we don’t want to get out of our comfort zone not knowing what to expect, but what Kevin did for Isaiah and our family, has changed us more than I even thought was possible. If you follow the blog, you know we are on year 2 of 365 Days of Kindness, where every day we do 1 act of kindness for someone and we do this because Kindness changes lives. It doesn’t matter if you change 1000 lives or 1 life, because every life is just as important and significant, so do what you can do, but if God gave you a gift, use it, and Kevin is using his gift.

We all want our kids to have role models, but I can tell you, this is one person that I know God placed in our lives. He is the GREATEST role model (next to Jesus) that Isaiah could have in his life. He has touched not only Isaiah but 100s of kids at McCord and Glenwood Elementary, and he has touched our family’s heart. He will NEVER be forgotten and will also hold a special place in our hearts.

I don’t believe it was an accident that Kevin started following me on twitter (I still don’t’ know how or why he started following me), but of course I followed him back hahahaha! Because of our faith, we strongly believe God already knew Isaiah was going to need Kevin to be his role model, his “BIG BROTHER”, his hero, and more importantly HIS voice! Isaiah wrote a note to Kevin and gave it to him at our house and it said “I wish you were my big brother” and this is what Kevin signed on Isaiah’s basketball.

That’s what I mean, he heard what we were saying and then used it to impact the situation even more. Our words have power and we can use them for good or bad and Kevin uses his for GOOD!!  Thank you Kevin from the bottom of our hearts! You know you are always welcome at our home anytime and we consider you family!! Thank you for caring about Isaiah (and all kids), thank you for taking a stance against bullying, and thank you for using God’s gifts to make a difference in this world and impacting Isaiah’s life FOREVER! We love you and will NEVER, EVER forget you!!

Be sure to visit Kevin’s website, StoptheBullying911  to get more information about him visiting your school.  Also, Kevin is in the running to win a $100,000 for his youth foundation, please be sure to vote for him 3x a day BY CLICKING HERE and share with everyone you know.  He deserves this!!

Saying goodbye is never easy, so we always say it is better to say “See you Later”. . . Thank you Kevin for being who God made you to be.  We are blessed to know you and our prayers continue to be that God richly blesses you!!!

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