“One year, he invited his whole elementary class to his birthday party and got no response,” Badham said. “There was a sign on the door that said ‘Due to no RSVPs, Mitchell’s party is canceled.’ Sara decided to throw a neighborhood party for him instead.”

Mitchell said he got the idea for the Lego truck after watching a YouTube video. Not only did he build it, he personalized it with red and blue striping and colored the USPS logo on the side of the truck. There is a driver in the front seat, complete with a cup of coffee and packages in the back ready for delivery.

“I thought it would be cool to build one,” said Mitchell Hoepner, who built a duplicate one for himself.

Mitchell Hoepner was just 4 years old when he first met Badham. The family once hosted a rummage sale at the house and offered lemonade for their visitors. Badham, of course, stopped at the stand for a cold beverage.

“She’s always been so polite,” Sara Hoepner said. “I told them to make sure they gave Michelle free lemonade that day. They were excited about that. Michelle didn’t want to take it for free so she went back to her truck to get a quarter or something.”