School is out for the summer!!!

Woo Hoo!!!
Another year behind me and another group of kids have passed through the halls of ALS. It has been a good year although trying at times, but for the most part very good. I know I must be getting older but I swear we just got this year started a week ago. The years seem to go by in a blurr. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to work with a wonderful group of teachers who love their job and are dedicated to excellence. It is also my great pleasure to work with the students and families that God sends our way. What a joy they are. We have all said it many times, we are all just like one big family at ALS which is truly a blessing. It has been a terrific year, but I am ready for my 7 weeks off to enjoy some family time, friend time, patio time, yard & flower time and some scrapbook time.

The Price of Children...

A freind sent me this. It was just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change.

I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!*
Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodlewreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match...

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!!
It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

This is why I am a great fan of Kris Allen...

I got this note from my daughter, Andrea, this morning....I think it says it all as to what type person Kris Allen is:


The pastor at NLC talked to Kris after he made it to the finals and told him we were all praying for him and praying that he wins etc. Kris told Rick not to pray for him to win, just pray for Adam’s soul because he has one more week. Adam is opening up and open to the idea of Christianity. He has said that he never knew what a Christian was or what they were about until Kris. Kris and Adam were roommates. So, let’s pray for Adam’s soul. God works in mysterious ways. I love Kris to death and think he can sing and is talented, but let’s face it…he should have been gone a long time ago with the little coverage he has had etc….God has a bigger plan…even if it’s just one soul. The Bible says all the angels rejoice when one soul is won for the kingdom of God. Pray pray pray!!! What a great reminder of what it’s all about…being that light in the darkness…and letting others see a difference in us.