Give each child a milkweed pod to take outdoors on a windy day. Help them carefully open the pods, and encourage the children to hold them high above their heads or run with them so the milkweed fairies can fly free! Circle time is a good time to enjoy the following fingerplay: In a milkweed cradle all close and warm, (Place cupped hands together) Little seeds are hiding safe from harm. (Keep hands closed) Open wide the cradle now, hold it high. (Open cupped hands, raise them above your head) Come along wind, help them fly. (Sway open hands in the air)

I like yours best, especially for a little 8 year old. I think a stanza with something like this might be helpful too: I know you'd like to be with me But God has a special plan for you - you'll see So do your best and happy be, I'm proud of you now and forever will be. I know when My GD lost her Daddy (my DS) at 8, she thought a lot about dying too.

Unity Candle ceremony: Personalized pillar candle and individual personalized tapers and gave each child a personalized taper. The ceremony was actually a Family Unity Ceremony. All children write a congratulation and thank you note to the bride and groom. Once the Unity Candle was lit, take turns lighting their tapers from the pillar and in unison, recited the following: "As I light my candle from the Unity Candle, I feel the warmth, love and excitement of my new, larger family. Thank you(BRIDE'S NAME or MOM or MOTHER) and (GROOM'S NAME or DAD or FATHER) for having given me an extended family to love and be loved by. Congratulations! I love you! Groom: "(childrens names), I want you to know that I dearly love your mother. We have become very good friends over the weeks and months and we have learned to love each other. As you have so graciously shared this wonderful woman with me, so will I share the love I feel for her with you. Together, we will learn much more about each other. I promise also to be fair and to be honest, to be available for you as I am for your mom, and in due time, to earn your love, respect and true friendship. I will not attempt to replace anyone, but to make a place in your hearts that is for me alone. I will be father and friend, and I will cherish my life with all of you. On this day when I marry your mom, I marry you, and I promise to love and support you as my own." Bride: "(childrenÂs names), I want you to know that I dearly love your father. We have become very good friends over the weeks and months and we have learned to love each other. As you have so graciously shared this wonderful man with me, so will I share the love I feel for him with both of you. Together, we will learn much more about each other. I promise also to be fair and to be honest, to be available for you as I am for your dad, and in due time, to earn your love, respect and true friendship. I will not attempt to replace anyone, but to make a place in your hearts that is for me alone. I will be mother and friend, and I will cherish my life with both of you. On this day when I marry your dad, I marry you, and I promise to love and support you as my own." The bride and groomÂs children then responded to the following vows when read by the pastor: (ChildrenÂs names), do you promise to love your mother and her new husband? Children respond: "I do." Do you promise to support their marriage and your new family? Children respond: "I do." Do you promise to accept the responsibility of being their children, and to encourage them, support them, and accept them just as our heavenly Father accepts us? Children respond: "I do." (Children names), do you promise to love your father and his new wife? Children respond: "I do." Do you promise to support their marriage and your new family? Children respond: "I do." Do you promise to accept the responsibility of being their children, and to encourage them, support them, and accept them just as our heavenly Father accepts us? Children respond: "I do." Today is the wedding Of more than just two. We're blending our families With love that is true. Today marks the birth Of a new family: One that is special For all here to see Today's a Day of Love Not Just for Us by Nicholas Gordon. Today's a day of love not just for us, But for all of those who brought us here. So please excuse us if we make a fuss Over you, the ones we hold most dear. In you we see the love we replicate By joining on this day our separate lives. Our choice was neither accident nor fate, But homage to good husbands and sweet wives. We hope to make a family just like yours, And be to our children parents much like you. You have been to us wide-open doors Onto a serene and peaceful view. We look to you with gratitude and pride. What joy this day to have you at our side!

Well, the book was still for sale on eBay, so I picked it up. Let's see if I can paste the story here: St. Bernard Sally, by Frances B. Watts St Bernard Sally from Orphan Dog Alley Was weary of being alone. Woof! She would wail, with a droop of her tail, “I wish I had folks of my own!” Each day she would hike to Traveler’s Pike And patiently wait in the bend. When people came by, she wished she could cry, “A dog is a person’s best friend!” But nobody took her. They’d all overlook her For the cuddly cats they might find. ‘Twas Sally’s bad luck to be big as a truck. She wasn’t the cuddly kind. Then one wintry day, young Tommy O’Shea Got lost in the neighboring hills. A posse went out to search all about The snow-covered ridges and rills. But they came home at night in a terrible plight. Young Tommy just couldn’t be found! “This job,” ventured Sally, “is right up my alley!” And off Sally went with a bound. “Well, well,” thought the dog, as she plowed through a bog, “I’m just like my Granddaddy Percy, Who made rescue like this in the land of the Swiss And was known as an angel of mercy!” Up, up and up climbed the oversized pup, Sniffing the ground for a clue. Then she’d patiently sit and yodel a bit, “A little-ole-lay-ah-de-who!” “I do hope he hears!” said the dog through her tears. (She was feeling sorry for Tommy.) Then, over the trees on the crest of a breeze, She heard a wee voice calling “Mommy!” She found the poor child in the deep wooded wild, Where he’d haplessly strayed from his course. “Hurrah!” Sally cried, “I’ll give him a ride! I’ll pretend I’m his little pet horse.” Then how the folks cheered, when Sally appeared In Tommy O’Shea’s crowded yard. ‘The dog found the boy!” they shouted with joy. “Hurrah, for that brave St. Bernard!” Nowadays Sally has left Orphan Dog Alley. She has a nice family instead. She spends all her days with the grateful O’Sheas, And sleeps at the foot of Tom’s bed. “I’m glad,” Sally sighs, as she closes her eyes, “I’m the kind on whom people depend. I can’t tell the folks so, but now they all know – A dog is a person’s best friend!”