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Mother senses God's hand...

It was Jessica Rudeen's first time flying with a toddler and a baby. She was unable to breastfeed her 4-month-old son before boarding, and as he screamed in distress, her 3-year-old daughter Caroline started to kick and cry that she wanted to get off the plane. Luckily they were sitting in the same row with a man named Todd. He reached for the baby while Jessica got Caroline into a seatbelt and started a movie on her tablet. Then Todd distracted Caroline while Jessica fed her baby.

During the flight, Todd colored and watched a movie with Caroline and showed her all the things outside the window. By the end of the flight they were best friends. Caroline even kissed him. What's more, Todd was serendipitously booked for the same connecting flight, and with his new toddler friend in hand, he guided the family to the right gate. He changed his seat on the new flight to sit beside Caroline again. "I was blown away by God's hand in this," said Jessica. "We could have been next to anyone, but we were seated next to the nicest man I've ever met in my life." Since then, Jessica has contacted Todd's wife, and the two families are planning to get together soon and pursue their new friendship.

Crumb from Indiana University

Oscar Arreaza, 67, is a convenience store cashier at the IU McNutt Residence Hall. In his home country of Venezuela he was a professor of genetics and statistics for 25 years before he and his wife moved to Indiana to help a daughter care for her children. He knew it would be hard to find a teaching job in the United States, so he worked a handful of jobs before becoming a cashier at IU. But he's more than a cashier, as you will see. When Arreaza learned that Mariana, his other daughter back in Venezuela, needs surgery she cannot afford, he put a cardboard box on his counter to collect donations for her. "I always try to help as much as I can," he said.

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Recently he told freshman Becca Richter about Mariana and asked if she could help him raise funds. She realized collecting money electronically might work better, and messaged her Pi Beta Phi sorority to see if anyone would contribute via Venmo. SEVERAL HOURS LATER, when Arreaza's shift ended, a group of students surprised him with his box, and a note announcing a $3,000 donation from the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.  Everyone screamed, "We love you!" "I was so touched," said Arreaza. "I love the students." By the end of the day, more than $8,000 has been donated by more than 753 students. Why?  "He makes everyone feel like you're his best friend," said Richter. "He's a sweet, pure soul who just deserves all the kindness in the world."

Til death do us part...

When Mike Seldon of Laguna Beach, CA, began dating Brittany Williams, her daughter Heidi was only 14 months old. Mike was always understanding when Brittany had to pause a movie on TV so she could feed Heidi and rock her to sleep, or break a date because of her responsibilities as a mom. He never stayed overnight when Heidi was there, until he and Brittany became engaged in 2015. After that he began doing fatherly things for Heidi, like tucking her in bed at night and kissing her goodbye when he left for work in the morning. Finally he and Brittany were married, and he recited two sets of vows.

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After promising to love and honor Brittany "'til death do us part," he kneeled down and made these promises to his step-daughter, Heidi. "I vow to be fair and honest with you. I promise to support you in every way I can. I promise to always hold your hand and brush your hair when you ask me to. I promise to tuck you into bed every night.  I vow to show you how a man should treat a woman through my relationship with your mom. And above all else, I vow to protect you, care for you, and love you 'so big' forever." There was hardly a dry eye in the church.

Arresting officer accepts invitation

Tiffany Hall first met Long Beach, California, police Lt. Jim Foster when he arrested her on drug charges. "I became a product of my environment -- drug infestation," Hall remembers. "Somehow Lt. Foster became part of my life. He would always take me to jail."  Foster recalls that "she had a unique personality,"and whenever he drove her to the station he'd chat with her about making better choices. Foster's kindness gave Hall the courage to turn her life round.

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Five years later, the City of Long Beach reunited Hall with her arresting officer. She presented him with an invitation to her college graduation, a ceremony Foster said he "would not miss for the world," adding that "the biggest joy of my professional career is from time to time having contact with people who find their way out of horrible circumstances and into life's success."

Dad's grateful for his girls

Greg Farnetti played football since he was a kid. After college he started coaching, and after marriage dreamed of a son who would love the game -- in his words, "a little me." He coached at West Blockton High School in Alabama for 25 years, but never got the son he dreamed of. Only daughters, two of them. To compensate, he "adopted" the 40 guys he coached each year, and life at the Farnetti home was all football, all the time. So his daughters were shocked recently when he said he was retiring as coach. He told them he realized they were growing up, and unless he paid more attention to them, he might miss something important. Both girls were touched that he'd end his career for them, and his older daughter, 17-year-old Jodie, repaid his kindness in a way he'll never forget.

                                                                                                                         Photo by Farnetti Family
As a child, Jodie often waited after school until her Dad finished practice. To pass the time, she'd kick the football, again and again and again. When she realized her Dad's last home game was Oct. 16, the Homecoming game, she asked the team if she could kick a field goal. They were all for it, so she arrived in full uniform, but her plans were almost spoiled. She'd been nominated to the Homecoming Court and at the game she was named Queen! She put on the tiara, and waited on the bench until she was called in. Then she took off the crown and ran onto the field to kick the final field goal as fans went wild. Afterward, Coach Farnetti had this to say about wanting a son. "I wouldn't trade anything for my girls, nothing. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I'd say, 'I want them two, right there,'" proving young Dads who want sons can grow up into old Dads who love daughters.

School bus driver helps student feel mothered

Isabella Pieri's mom died two years ago . She lives in Alpine, Utah, and her dad has tried to fill both parenting roles. He does well except for one thing. He has no clue about Isabella's hair. When she was younger it became so tangled and knotted that he gave her a crew cut. Since then she's settled for a quick brush and pony tail each morning -- until recently.

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Not long ago, she saw her school bus driver, Tracy Dean, braiding another student's hair, and got the courage to ask if she would braid hers too.  Since then, Dean has been styling Isabella's hair every morning. "You treat them like your own kids, you know," says Dean. And how does Isabella feel? "It makes me feel like she's a mom pretty much for me. It makes me feel excited for the next day."