Ashli: You are truly an angel , the kind that God uses in many different ways.... in your own family and here on the Garden Web... because as Karen, says , and She knows from her own story, and You know from your story.... Ashli, the true meaning of Christmas is all about LOVE !!! the gifting of one's self... is truly the G R E A T E S T!!! The R E C E I V I N G for a person.... realizing that the one GIVING... of themselves out of such deep love is far better than winning the lottery... You are the living example of passing on the LOVE !!!! You are the living example of Knowing God will truly get us through A L L the Times, Good and Hard!!! Thank you for being willing to tell us the Tips... and mostly to make us aware... We A L L need to stick together... we all need to pray for one another... and we all need to ... make GRATITUDE LIST and do the ATTITUDE CHECK.... of Self! Thank You for helping me get off my pitty pot.... and Get back to doing the job that God has ASK me to do!!!! Thank You God Bless You and Your Family!!! M E R R Y + C H R I S T M A S !!!!!! susiesunshine

That's going to get real expensive, really fast. My nephew is special needs. Here's what my SIL does. A gift card to the classroom teacher, usually to someplace the teacher can get classroom supplies. For everyone else, the one-on-one aide, the home nurses, the bus diver and aide, the therapists--she has my nephew make a card or a pencil holder or cookies or something else as gifts. My nephew's in fifth grade now and has a teacher, a teacher's aide, his own one-on-one aide, the bus driver, the bus aide, five different home nurses, physical therapists--home and school, occupational therapists--home and school, speech therapist, music therapist, two swim therapists (I don't know what they are really called, but they've worked some miracle and he can now swim unassisted), 11 doctors, the brace maker, the wheelchair guy, the mobility specialist and probably a few other people I'm forgetting. In your case, I'd give $25 gift cards to the teacher and the therapists. Then I'd give some sort of gift basket to the classroom--the teacher and the aides--something that they can easily split up amongst them. Cards for everyone else, handmade if your son can do that, or at least signed by him however he signs his name at this time. If you don't feel the card is enough, you can include a little thank you note of your own, thanking them for all the progress your son has made under their care. If you haven't had contact with someone, there's no need to give them anything at the holidays. I'm sure they won't be expecting it. (The nurse, the liaison.) This post was edited by camlan on Fri, Dec 7, 12 at 11:28

I used Micron black technical pens, and Prisma watercolor markers/pencils. I absolutely love to dabble in all things creative. Gardening included! There's always something to learn and it keeps me both curious and humble. We're supposed to FINALLY get some much-needed warm weather starting tomorrow here in Nashville, TN. I can't wait to get outside and catch up on a few things. My last-remaining hen who the kids named, "Chubby Cheeks," passed away. She was the lone survivor of a coyote attack a few months ago. I recently bought some new chicks at the co-op to raise and keep her company, but I think either illness or loneliness beat us to it. We plan to make some better adjustments to the coop tomorrow when it's warmer, and do all we can to make this next batch of chickens as happy and spoiled rotten as possible. I hope you all have a wonderful evening! Lisa

I am terrible at these types of decisions. I tend to favor bold sculptural looks in silver over dainty pieces in gold, so the new ring is a win for me. As for the price, all I can say is designer jewelers holds its value remarkably well. Take two identical rings. One with a Tiffany stamp and an identical one without (a plain creation, not a specific Tiffany look, say a prong set diamond ring,) and the Tiffany one will fare much better in resale, even if the gemstone is inferior. Does that calculation matter? IDK I like the ring, and its symbolism very much- I am a sucker for symbolism.