Our adventure in fairies

Agatha and I hosted a magical Fairy Tea today for some lovely girls. We studied Fairies all week by watching a fairy movie, reading fairy books, studying the art of Fairy Tea, dressing up, playing with paper dolls, and writing a story about what we have learned about Fairy Lore. It has been very fun for me because I love fairies and the break from princess everything has been nice. The tea was our culmination and was beautiful. Aggie posted about it so you can read her account. Funny thing though, I not much for this kind of thing (my girls know Santa is just a fun pretend that we play to remember the spirit of giving...) but while I was cleaning up this little ceramic figurine caught my eye. It was lying in my flower beds next to our tea table. The wings were broken off, so we repaired them. Aggie thinks the fairies flew over because our tea was so yummy, ate the crumbs, and this injured fairy stayed behind so we could help her. She thinks maybe the little fairy will come to life when we are sleeping. Maybe...:) She says fairies can see Jesus all the time. If that is the case, I really do want to be a fairy!

Lauren, My favorite Creative Arts Coordinator

Lauren is leaving. Me and my girls (and my husband's department) will miss her terribly. She was the best Creative Arts Coordinator that we almost had. I know life is calling her onward, but I hope God sends us someone who can fill her shoes. She is going to do amazing things for arts somewhere. But, I have to admit I still wish it were here. I will miss the trust I could put in her as a pastor's wife that my husband's ministry details would always be done on time to the best degree. I will miss how well we could work together and communicate. I will miss all the lunches and shopping trips I had planned after I exit this stage of life of infancy confinement. I will miss that Adam and I could ask her to do anything and she always considered our word interchangeable. I will miss how she viewed femininity and women in ministry. I will miss the example she would have been to my girls. I will miss her beauty. I will miss her. I will miss you Lauren. Come and visit us, please.

Happy Chinese Moon Festival

We attended a great local festival based on the Autumn Moon celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival or Festival of Lanterns. It was so fun. I love it when Homeschool Projects turn out perfectly. We studied the festival all day-making lanterns, reading about the fable and culture online, looking at pictures of dragon dances, the Moon Goddess, Mooncakes and lanterns, making dragon masks, reading picture books on China, and most obviously dressing up in ethnic costumes. Then we attended a wonderful little festival at the Riverside Heritage House and actually ate mooncakes, noodles, did tanagrams (Chinese math diagrams), made paper lanterns, got the girls names written in Chinese, listened to a Chinese Storyteller, and enjoyed the beautiful Full Moon and red lanterns strewn in the gardens. We even topped it off with Chinese Food at Mr. You's. My fortune said "You will always be surrounded by true friends." (I hope so-hint, hint) It was a beautiful night with my family. It was a beautiful night as a homeschool teacher. Fun, Fun!

Crying in the Carseat

Gwyneth hates riding in the car seat...we are growing and not every time in tumultuous, but many are. Hysterics, choking on saliva, choking on burp, giving herself heartburn, making mommy cry cause I can't pick her up and fix it. It isn't pretty. But Aggie is such a good sister. She calmly leans across and holds Gwyn's shaking fist through it all. She says "I feel bad for her, I don't want her to feel alone." My sweet girl.

Taco Station with Friends

We have eaten dinner with friends two nights in a row! And for a couple of introverts that is a record! Last night we had the Dunlaps over for fish after their workday. It was lovely to chat and eat together-they are wonderful, sincere people and a great addition to the neighborhood. Tonight we walked to Taco Station with the Diazes and their girls (Agatha loves them!). It was a great time. I am enjoying connecting with friends! Did you know Taco Station was the original Shell Gas Station in Riverside...I love Riverside history.

Little Sew-er

I am making Christmas Lists for the girls and this is on Aggie's. Isn't it cute? It would be so fun to sew side by side. And it is pink-Aggie says "I don't just like pink, I love it!" My Fancy Pink Girl!

Some Kind of Professional

I had a harried meeting today! We forgot to give Gwyn her GERD meds until 4 hours late so she was uncomfortable, arching, whining, grunting and urping chunky loads of breastmilk all over me in a work meeting today. The meeting was at a bookstore and I had no table which today seemed annoying even though I usually don't. I had to wash my hair today, but had no time to blow dry so it was a frizzy mess. I had time only for mascara which I made sure I wore so as not to get the comments-Oh, you look so tired! I am still in my chubby clothes (because I am still chubby) and my shirt was too big and my pants too tight. Neither really matched my shoes. Her kids thought the burps and drool were yucky and a bit disgusted by it. I tried to conduct myself in as professional a manner as possible, but with all these variables I felt a mess. My job is great because I can bring my kids to some things, but today that seemed a mistake. I tried to be professional when presenting my information, and luckily the parent is a friend as well...but I couldn't listen to her kids read with mine yelling in all our ears and I just felt rushed. Oh, and Gwyn pooped half way through so I had to leave early to have time to change her before picking up my preschooler. Holy Moley-a millennium woman with so many hats. I don't feel like I wore any ONE of them well this morning.

Cottingley Fairies

I saw a movie today on the Cottingley Fairies from England in 1914. It was quite fun and magical. I love fairies and am trying deperately to inspire my Little Princess Agatha to play imaginatively in the Fairy Realm. We are going to do a fairy unit this week in homeschool and throw a fairy tea on Friday. Maybe she will play fairies with me. Or maybe Gwyn will be my fairy child.

Broken needle Heartburn

I have recently taken up sewing again. I learned under the tutelage of my mother and Girl Scouts, but rebelled for a while. Now, I am embracing the organic mother that I am-so in comes sewing again. Anyway I was sewing a burp cloth out of some cool pink tattoo looking flannel and BAM-a broken needle. It's like a metaphor for this whole GERD madness of ours. Everything seems to be going along fine and then BAM heartburn, spitup and screaming. You really have to be paying attention, always maintaining, always watching to keep it from breaking-or GERDing! I feel like I am always on my toes. Don't bounce, sway. Don't recline, keep her upright. Don't hold across the abdomen while on my hip-across the chest. On and on. I can't wait until we grow out of it. Thanks to Dr. Sears for all the calming advice and information. I love that guy. Too bad he didn't write my sewing machine manual. I hate that thing. Where's Adam to figure out how to change the needle?

My little Orca

Gwyneth has begun to voice her frustrations-good for her. She has a funny, Orca-like squawk that goes with this face. It comes out whenever anything frustrates or bores her-so quite often! I did it back at one point today and she stopped for a second, looked me in the eye, and started at it again. Her personality is fun. I can't wait to get to know her as she grows. PS. I take my infants everywhere and this noise is really great in the middle of a lecture, or women's bible study, or business meeting, or lunch with a friend, or...you get the idea. Really great!

A Mother to follow in the footsteps of

My Mother. She is going through a lot right now. Her life is changing with emotional pain and questions daily, but a brighter and more peaceful future ahead of her. She is going the LA County Fair for the first time in her life and vacationing on the beach this weekend for the first time in years. She is taking time to enjoy her life and find happiness in her daily existence. I am glad for that. Mostly because her whole life up this point has been to find happiness for those around her instead of herself. Luckily, I was one of those people around her! She is very self sacrificing and made a beautiful childhood for me and my siblings. So many of my organic qualities I get from my mom. I call her a hippie behind her back, though I don't know if she would claim the title. She instilled in me the importance of healthy and fresh foods, nursing your babies, cloth diapers, recycling, sewing (she just bought me an awesome machine), gardening (though I don't live up to her example), respect and love for family, and conserving what the Earth has left. But more than all those ideals she taught me about love and providing for others. She has done so much for me and our family. She carted us all over to lessons and meetings and practices and performances and ministries. She always made sure we ate breakfast and dinner together with no TV and amazing food to talk over. She kept an sparkling clean house (changing the sheets weekly!) well stocked (I never remember running out of milk!). She taught us about responsibility with meaningful chores and managing money with allowances. She had amazing patience when I (with high anxiety as always) was screaming while learning to drive a car. She loved me and trusted me through some yucky boyfriend experiences. And she was always there when I needed her as a mom and now a friend. She is supportive and complimentary about my adult life without being intrusive or overbearing. She loves my kids more than anything, but never takes them out of my arms or asks to "steal" them away for the day (I hate that). She loves my husband as if he were her own. She is amazing. I have learned more from her than she knows. Thanks Mom.

Concentrating on my family

Today was hard. I am feeling overwhelmed. I have too much work-I think I need to cut back...again. I have too much school-to keep my credential...for work. I am loosing yet another close friend to a move I think. My husband's amazing, blessing on my life assistant is moving home to her family. I tried to get involved in a few ministries to connect with women again...and now with reflection think I moved on too quickly. The kids are very demanding on my time with a GERD infant and four year old who homeschools, doesn't watch TV and recently gave up her nap. My house is a wreck with laundry everywhere, dishes piled up and trash to be taken out. I have cried alot today. I have prayed alot today. But then my daughter and I came across this picture. I am nursing here, I am with my girls, I am a mom. That is where I belong right now. That is where I have chosen to be. I need to cherish these moments and be in these moments. Everything else can wait. It is lonely here though. I have girlfriends to raise kids with and they just keep moving away. What is that? I know they are a phone call away-but it isn't the same. I guess it all boils down to God and your immediate family. I need to be content in that. I need to depend on that. I still feel sad today, though. Maybe it is the rainy weather. Maybe it is the Fall. Maybe I just need to find the beauty in what is in front of me-those two precious girls.

My kitchen smells like butt

My husband has a bad habit of letting potatoes go bad in our pantry to the point of leaking liquid and stinking to high heaven. Nasty. It makes the whole house smell like butt. At least this time I figured it out before the maggots came! Seriously-there were maggots last time. I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

My great siblings

I found this on my sister's new site. This was the last night my siblings and I were all together recently. My youngest brother Steven is off exploring Italy and hopefully making the right choices and staying out of trouble. (Steve-if you check in here, comment-I miss you) My sister Krista moved to Texas to start afresh. And my brother Rick has been working on strong roots in the Hollywood area for a few years now. We went bowling this night for my mom's birthday. What a great night. I love my brothers and sister more than they know. Even when life scatters us I treasure the moments in life that do bring us together. We can sit and talk and joke more comfortably than anyone else. We have experienced a childhood that made us a little unit of inner trust. Our Mom made great sacrifices to provide for us and protect us and cultivate that sibling love. I miss them all and can't wait to be together again. Christmas at my house-Mom is cooking!

Wish I would have...

We all have "wish I would haves" I suppose. One of mine came up in conversation with my husband about one of my students. It seems most of us rush through life, esp. when we are young. I graduated from high school and went straight into a four year school. I had already done AP tests and community college courses to enter at mid year sophomore. Then I took 20-21 units a semester, plus summer work to graduate with a BA in 2 years. Why? I wish I would have slowed down and enjoyed the experience. Now at my reunions I don't see the people I entered with. I didn't have time to cultivate relationships with dear friends. It was such a rush, all I remember is reading philosophy all night (I damaged my eyes and now wear glasses because of the over reading) and stress, stress, stress. I have a student now who is determined to graduate High School and have an AA at the same time. Why rush? Slow down and enjoy the experience. Be young. I want my girls to spend at least a year traveling before they enter school full time. I want them to find themselves, have relationship and experience every moment of life. I want them to be at peace with themselves and love God. I want them to treasure the day they are in and not rush to the next. I want them to value this before they are 30 like me. Just take time today to experience your life, whether it hurts today...or it is a glorious moment of serenity. Just be in it, don't rush to the next goal or milestone. I wish I would have...but at least I do now. One day at a time...

Sisters

I am always "protecting" 4 month old Gywn from the craziness of her four year old sister Agatha. But, judging from this picture I think I need to lighten up. I need to lighten up about lots of things, but that is beside the point. I think I need to let their sisterly adoration blossom under my watchful eye. They are beautiful together.

My little Wonder Woman

She really is. Agatha is so gifted. She moves through music with singing, violin and piano in ways I only dream of. She is active with dance and movement beyond words. She is so smart that I am positive she will surpass me before I am done homeschooling her. She already reads some, writes some and understands abstract concepts my kinders didn't. She is so empathetic to friends that she is always involving the new kid. She is fun and her giggle is infectious. She tells amazing stories and she can talk with an adult longer and more sincerely than I ever could. People love her and I do too. Go check out her new blog that she has started as a part of our homeschool activities.

PS. Don't get me wrong...my above seemingly perfect child has opposites to all those amazing qualities including the annoying need to be the center of attention all the time, a overly loud voice that is constantly going, and a dramatic/emotional side that brings on big tears at playdates (which she inherited from me!). But, in our house we celebrate both sides of personality traits because without the bad, you wouldn't have the good.

Teething sucks

Why must babies go through such pain? Look at this face...She chews on her fingers all day and ran a fever most of the day. That shouldn't have to be her first year. And nursing a teether is always fun too. A bit pinchy. I wish I could take it away.

A little bit of fancy

Aggie and I had an extra hour this week and Gwyn was in a great mood, so we marched into a nail salon and ordered up two pedicures. We had so much fun with the hot water spas and massages. We even got flowers on our big toes! I painted hot pink to match Aggie on Gwynie's toes. It was a fun, fancy day with my girls-a glimpse of my future...woohoo!

Kid Music that Soothes My Soul

This is music for the soul. My quest in children's music is to find stuff that my kids enjoy and stuff that doesn't drive me crazy with low musical quality all rolled into one. I can't handle kid's choirs with echoey reverb and synthesizers-sorry kids. This is the find of my quest. I listen to it even without Aggie in the car. Elizabeth Mitchell is a folky alto who uses guitar, piano and funky percussion combine into tracks that just soothe as you ride along. We all (even my music connoisseur husband) sing with the wholesome, fun and quirky songs and somehow come out more peaceful on the other side. Elizabeth Mitchell is my new favorite. She has other three CDs: You Are My Sunshine, You are my Little Bird, You are my Flower and a CD/book Catch the Moon-all just as good.

A few of my other recommendations are For the Kids, For the Kids Too!, Here Come the ABCs, and Late Last Night.

Breastfed baby breath

Isn't breastfed baby breath the best? It smells so sweet. I was cuddled up with Gwynie last night, drifting off with that intoxicating smell giving me the mommy chills...it was a serene moment-and then reality hit as she squirmed and stuck her little finger all the way up my nose. Ah, the joys of co-sleeping.

Showering in the Dark

My baby girl Gwynie is a very alert little girl...so she wakes at the slightest sound. Babies need their sleep so we have created her womb room-she sleeps in the master bathroom (the quietest room) with white noise playing while she rocks in a travel baby swing (to combat the GERD). Now, I shower at night so I don't have to blow dry my hair (because who has time for that?)--so since she has moved in I have been showering in the dark. As I was shaving my legs by feel tonight I started pondering...showering in the dark is kinda like my Faith. I always feel like I am stumbling around in the dark, but somehow come out the otherside cleaner. You have to have faith that your Faith is enough. I have to have faith that I can feel all the leg hairs and not miss a line. I guess it boils down to I love God, I want to be like Him, I want to love people unconditionally like Jesus taught us. The rest is in the dark sometime, but I always come out cleaner on the otherside...

New friends, good friends

Have you ever met those people that you just click with right off? Bryan and Cristy are that! We have hung at a cast party, gone to Panera after church and had them over for dinner (which was amazing-my husband is an awesome cook...yes girls, he does all the cooking, I am infinately blessed I know) and I already feel so comfortable. They are so fun and relaxed, and their girls are perfect matches for ours (very fancy) But, they clean up before they leave, they are weight watchers, they watch shows we watch, they have interests similar to ours, they are just sparkly (once again a Firefly reference). I even let them hold my baby, and if you know me, you know that is a great sign of trust. We had the most wonderful evening of eating on the back patio, letting the girls play and chatting freely. Connecting feels good.

Where are the Undies?

I dressed my Preschooler in a rush today to get her out the door (we spent our morning watching a huge tree get cut down across the street). After she left with Dad I was cleaning up and putting her dirty clothes in the laundry...I found everything but the undies. Now we have friends coming over tonight so I really wanted to find the undies so they didn't sit on the couch and find dirty undies stuffed in the cushions or something. I looked everywhere-no undies. I picked her up from school and she came home, went to the bathroom and called to me--"Look mom, two undies!!!" She wore clean undies over day old dirty undies all day at school-NICE! Good job mom!

Infancy Flaky Friend

I am reviewing my day and realized I flaked on this friend for the second time because of my infancy confinement stage of life. Motherhood makes us so forgetful and our days have to flex so much!!! Holly is one of my favorite girls and I crave our times together. She lived in our home for a while, she married one of our best friends, Rodrigo and has become one of my best friends...I was in her wedding dangit and now I stood her up for lunch a month ago and coffee today! Holly, I am a big doof-I had a teething baby and I stayed home in my PJs with stinky pits until I absolutely had to go out to pick up Agatha from Preschool. Please forgive me. Why is it that we as women when we get busy we seem to sacrifice the thing we need most in our feminity-our connection with other women?

Mamma Fuzzy Drivers

I am little mamma fuzzy today...the world seems fuzzy due to my sleep deprevation. Adam and I lucked out this time around and got a GERD baby. Not only does this child use all different baby gear because she has to be upright all the time (no bouncers, baby carseats, co-sleepers, cradle hold slings...only upright in swings, excersaucers, johnny jumpers and moby wrap or bjorn carriers!), but she disrupts my sleep ALOT. She sleeps fine, but I am up...she sleeps her first sleep in a travel swing for four-ish hours-but enevitably I am folding laundry, on the computer, picking up, showering, watching CLAD college course DVDs (I'm taking 12 units on top of a part time job and full time mommy!), or the many other things I need to do without baby. Then I get to bed and she inevitably calls to nurse, so I bring her to bed. Now my first child would lay on her side and tummy to tummy nurse off and on while we both snoozed peacefully through the night. But, Gwynie can't or she urps in her sleep and chokes. She has to sleep upright on my chest, so I can't fall asleep until she is done nursing. Then I sleep sitting up on a boyfriend pillow with her on my chest-until she urps, chokes and sometimes pauses in her breathing. She's getting bigger, but it still scares me, so I sit bolt upright and rouse her breathing...over and over again, all night. Then about 4 or 5 she gets figety in her sleep because of her acid reflux or poop that won't come or gas or something. She sleeps till 7 ish, but once again, I don't. I should have gone to the gym this morning, but I tried to sleep while my husband had the girls. No luck really. I should have worked out-at least then I would be thin and tired, instead of chubby and tired...but, then maybe I would have fallen asleep on an elliptical machine again-I did that a couple weeks ago-really. Maybe I shouldn't be driving to dance and church later today. Be careful out there-there are mamma fuzzy drivers on the road.

a delay in the fancy

I am a girl who follows fashion. I read the magazines, I makeover people in my mind, I love mixing trends with my simple basics, I love wearing makeup and sparkly things, I LOVE a great dress and funky heels, you get the idea...I love being a girl. But this stage of life I haved dubbed in my more frustrated moments as "infancy confinement" has brought a delay in the fancy. As I sit here ready for a day of work meetings with my infant in tow, checking emails and typing one handedly while I nurse I survey the outfit I have assembled-no fancy. I know I'll get it back-in a few years...but, I no longer wear dangly earrings (they get pulled out by little hands), no necklaces (once again pulled and it's right where her head lays while sleeping in a carrier), no bulky braclets (hard for nursing), no dresses (once again hard for nursing :), not many heels (flats are better for balance with a baby strapped to your chest), no sequins sewn to my clothes (they scratch baby), no cute trendy purses (mine is a makeup bag stuffed in my diaper bag-which is a beautiful petunia pickle bottom thanks to loving friends and an awesome husband :), and most days no toenail polish or makeup simply because I can't find the time. Oh, to be cute, funky me again!!! I love my role as mother, and I make all these choices for the love of my infant, but I do miss my fanciness.

Ode to MobyWrap

I wear this wrap everyday, but today I wore my 15 lb. 3 month old for 7 hours in my MobyWrap around Disneyland...and it is awesome. Very Shiny (as they say in Firefly). My back does not hurt, and she had a great time. I am a seasoned baby wearer and have used Over the Shoulder baby holder slings, maya wrap slings, new native pouches, baby bjorn front packs...and this takes the prize (though I still have and use the others on occasion). I don't leave home without this one-and the best part is that Adam wears it too!

Waves, Giggles and an Uke

My husband always has music-he pounds out rhythms with his fingers, is always humming, knows every song on the radio from every era, and can play a whole slew of instruments. I am so jealous. (If only I had stayed with my piano lessons.) Once he said that he hated to vacation without a guitar because it was so relaxing to play. He hated being away from it for a week. Now he has a ukelele that he brings on every vacation. He just sits and music comes out. I love that about him. The sound of the waves, my daughter's imaginative stories and giggles of glee and Adam's uke are bliss to my ears. We took 4 beach vacations this summer, it is our favorite get away. We want to retire on a beach somewhere. I should have recorded a couple hours of this scence so I could play it while I am bustling through my day of activity and work this fall...ahhh if life could only be the lazy days of summer. I miss it already.

Both sides of the 4 year old coin

She is so wonderful...and challenging. We have taught her to be srong minded, to voice her opinion, to be creative, to explore and be free, to be active, to live her emotions--and on the other side of the coin we can end up with a stubborn, sassy, whiny, unfocused, figity, dramatic 4 year old. Not all the time, but the last few days I feel like it is alot of the time. I've always got a consequence ready to go, I'm always having to be on my toes with creative discipline measures, and I'm tired! She is work. She is worth it, but she is work.

isn't she lovely?

It is amazing how much you can love each child in turn. I thought my heart was full with Agatha. But, Gwyneth just melts in my heart. She is so beautiful, isn't she? I just want to cuddle up with her and kiss her yummy smelling little neck and listen to her giggle.

a full day of homeschooling

We had an amazing day of schooling today. We are structured unschoolers-in that we do unschooling which is childlead with a bit of structure to make sure we are doing something. Today we were so productive...we visited Great Gramps McIntyre and discussed how to look people in the eye while responding, how to behave in an older person's home, and how to be polite.

...we reviewed our five reading books and learned a new one with the words WE and HAVE. She shared it with Gramps to great applause.

We did this awesome research project and diagram report on a Sea Kelp Forest. Let me digress a description because the teacher in me is proud of this one-we researched Seaweed on Wikipedia and made kelp with waterballoon leaves and floaters on a string tied to a rock. They are in the aqua water in our punchbowl and there are fish taped to outside as the fish living in the forest. She made a diagram on a photo I took of the original find in Carpinteria that inspired this all. Then dictated a report of all we learned including that kelp is actually an algae! OK digression finished.

She "jammed" for her baby sister and played Twinkle Twinkle and Ode to Joy with harmony. Whew. It was a great day-I triumphed-I balanced a teething 3 month old and did all this with my hard to focus, very energetic 4 year old while Dad was at work...but can someone come over and fold my clean laundry?...all 7 loads of it. :) Too bad I am not a wonder woman who can do it all, hey?

spreading the gospel of gdiapers

I am officially a gdiapers fanatic! I had my husband-who loves graphic layouts-make me this great little flyer to carry in my diaper bag so I could hand out info to people with babies or pregnant moms (gotta be careful with this one-don't want to offer it to a woman who isn't pregnant but looks the part...woops!). I hope I don't scare them with my approach-and I always start off with "I am not selling these, I just believe in them..."-but it has been a great conversation starter for me as an introvert who tries not to be. I figure if I can get just a few people using them at least that's a little bit of landfill that won't be filled with rotting poop and plastic for the next 500 years. I handed out 10 at least at my daughter's preschool today! I found them online a while ago, but didn't order them until I saw them on Sofia Lance. Word of mouth is always best...so my word from my mouth is they are great and if you are having a baby check it out.

My Girls

Ok, so this is not the most glamorus shot of all of us. We are still in PJs and camping with more kids than adults-but that is why I love these women. Aside from our diffent personalities, parenting choices or opinions we are there for each other through anything. Whatever life brings my way I always lean on these women. I would trust any of them to discipline my children and feel comfortable doing the same with theirs. The old saying goes...it takes a village to raise a child-these girls are my village. I value their opinion and love above all others. We have spent nights at hospitals together, supported through lengthy adoptions, been there when pregnacies would not come or were lost or came as a suprise, helped pack and move homes when ministries changed, celebrating the new year, camping with our growing families, and just spent hours talking and loving and supporting at playdates, lunches, dinners, on the phone, thorugh notes and gifts and tears and hugs and bible studies and life! We were originally drawn together because all our husbands became pastors and worked on staff at The Grove Community Church. We were the young pastor's wives. (I don't think we can claim that anymore:) We are now middle-not young or old!) But, that original bond of pastor's wives as faded as God has called some of us on to other things and now we are bonded for life. I would do anything for these women and I know they feel the same. We are best friends and I love their support. I love our camping trip every year with our familes-and we are talking of a Spring trip with just the girls. I long for these times with my girls. I hope you find some friends as wonderful as these to surround yourselves with-I couldn't get through life without them. I am glad I won't have too. They are precious treasures!