When you ask God for a gift, Be thankful if he sends, Not diamonds, pearls or riches, but the love of real true friends.

Precious and priceless, so lovable, too; The world's sweetest miracle, baby, is you.

Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.

So every year when Christmas comes, I realize a new, the best gift life can offer is having friends like you.

Grief is a solitary journey. No one but you knows how great the hurt is. No one but you can know the gaping hole left in your life when someone you know has died. And no one but you can mourn the silence that was once filled with laughter and song. It is the nature of love and of death to touch every person in a totally unique way. Comfort comes from knowing that people have made the same journey. And solace comes from understanding how others have learned to sing again.

A mother's love is like an island, In life's ocean vast and wide, A peaceful, quiet shelter, From the restless, rising tide.

After the clouds, the sunshine; after the winter, the spring; after the shower, the rainbow; for life is a changeable thing. After the night, the morning, bidding all darkness cease, after life's cares and sorrows, the comfort and sweetness of peace.