To this day I still remember my very first teacher. Her name was Mrs. Apple and all the kids in my class thought it was funny to take her oranges. Yeah, we were cool. Or not. But twenty eight years later I still remember Mrs. Apple and can honestly say I still consider her to be one of my favorite teachers.

We've been so blessed with the teachers our girls have had. Miss Cheri was Lucee's Pre-K teacher and I have a very strong feeling she will always be one of Lu's favorites. It's a scary thing to hand your child over to someone else in an environment you don't control, but each day we felt like Lu came home a better person than she was when we dropped her off. Not just smarter, but a better person. She bonded with Miss Cheri and blossomed under her care and we will always be grateful for her and her gift for teaching.

At the end of the school year each of the kids received a clipboard decorated with ribbons and photos from the school year. On the back of each board Miss Cheri wrote what she believed was each child's Christian character trait and this is what she wrote about our Lu.

"Lucee's Christian character trait is friendliness. Even when her friends repeatedly pester her with questions, Lucee responds with kindness. Proverbs 17:17 says, 'A friend loves at all times' and Lucee truly does."

Miss Cheri not only taught Lucee, but she truly knew her and cared for her. Now before I start to cry here's the picture we snapped on the last day of school. And yes, I cried like a baby. A big, ridiculous, sappy baby.