Mario & Mariella became house parents two weeks ago & discovered this week she is pregnant with their second child. So this will be a great experience for all of the little girls they care for.

Dottie is still not walking much but will begin Wednesday going up & down the stairs.

Many, many years ago I was Director of Education at an institution for the mentally retarded. One morning the home economics teacher and I were watching as the dozens of handicapped children walked towards the building. They drug their feet; had messy hair and their clothing was mismatched.

I told the teachers standing near me to compliment each girl and the teachers stared at me as though I was from outer space. But they did! They said things like “Red is a pretty color for you” or “Your hair is nice and if you combed it to the left it would really be beautiful”.

the next morning the girls were wearing as much color red or whatever other color we mentioned and there was a happy high step of all the girls.

Compliments and encouragement can change lives daily. Be an encourager.