there are two things that continue to inspire and astonish me in this blogging community: the encouragement and giving spirit of so many of you.

Your comments and emails lately have been so warm and helpful when I needed it most and was suffering from quite a little funk.

I'm happy to report that I think I'm emerging a bit from the first trimester blues. The nausea is definitely still there. Even today at lunch, I just sipped a little iced tea because nothing really seemed appealing. But the last few days, I've felt some energy returning and that feels good! I have been feeling trapped in a fog (like those goofy claritin commercials) that is now slowly rising and clearing away. But ahhh, normalcy feels so good!

Meanwhile, this week I received two wonderfully unexpected packages from Sally and Alina.

First of all, my dear friend Sally sure knows how to put together a parcel. Of course, I have no pictures to prove it because the package didn't even make it inside before being opened. The girls and I sat on a bench outside and tore into it....but from the cute address labels, to the orange tissue paper, drawstring paper bags and labelled gifts...just the packaging alone took so much care and time.

my part of the parcel included her amazing gift tags, the sweetest card, these fantastic erasers(that I've searched everywhere for to no avail) and this fantastic japanese craft magazine/book:

as they all are, it is full of inspiration...a few inside shots here....

Sally even included two golden books for the girls. Don't you love the old golden books? Lots of memories from growing up....Mary got a little Richard Scary word book, currently tucked in a tangle of blankets inside her crib for naps, and Emma got this book which has prompted the purchase of a nurse's kit, little "red and green pills (smarties)", and lots of pressure for me to stitch up a nurses cap. (who knew you needed so much heavy duty starch for one of these babies?).

Between visiting me in the hospital, the purple doctor's gloves, and holding my hand and rubbing my forehead during shots, these girls can't get emergency medical play off the brain. So this book just added more fuel to the fire.

As if that wasn't enough for one girl, the next day, I got a surprise package from Alina. Alina bought some buttons from me, which led me to her blog where she shows some of her beautiful jewelry. I love the colors she chooses and all the wooden beads that are in her work. I've really been digging wooden beaded jewelry lately....I even think she's opening an etsy shop soon, right alina??
I was the first person to comment on her blog and after my rough go of things last week, she decided to send me a little care package. It contained one of my favorite necklaces of hers, and a few vintage buttons...