11:52 a.m.

seven years ago we welcomed another beautiful soul into our lives.

malia, who was only 27 months old, was no longer an only child.  she became a big sister.

seven years have come & gone.  quickly.  

our happy-go-lucky baby is now a happy-go-lucky little boy.

happy 7th birthday to aidan.

migrants.

a few weekend's ago i decided to drive my kids by the house i grew up in.  we moved in when i was just eight years old.  i was barely in my twenties & in college when we moved out.

the magnolia tree my daddy planted was gone.  the shutters & front door were painted a different color from what i remember them being.  the lawn was definitely not the green carpet of bermuda grass my mother painstakingly cared for.  but it was still home.  my old home. 

i wanted to stop & take a picture, but i thought it might be a bit awkward considering the current owners were in the front yard.

the kids knew bits & pieces about how and why my family came to virginia.  as we drove by, malia asked me, "mom, did you guys move because cesar chavez didn't want the migrant workers to pick anymore grapes?"

i shot her a bizarre look in the rear-view mirror and replied, "no, the navy brought us here."

{at least i know malia is paying attention in school...thank you, mrs. r & mrs. h!}

it was a good year.

My son is six years old. He likes to talk {hmm...I wonder which parent he inherited that from?!}.

Here lately, he's been chattering non-stop about all of the things he's done so far. You know, "in his whole life."

Apparently, the age of three was good to him because all of his stories start off, "When I was three..." or "I did that when I was three..." or "I remember being three..." -- and, trust me, he's done a lot of reminiscing lately.

Indeed, three was a magical year in my son's eyes. Here's hoping that as he continues to grow & mature that he has many more wonderful memories of other years besides being just three.

8 years ago...

Our daughter was nearly 6 months old & we were on our way to see Daddy {you know him as the hubs}. We spent the weekend with Daddy in Washington, D.C. He was working on a school in NW Washington, D.C. and living temporarily in College Park, Maryland at the time. During the drive to Maryland, we drove by the Pentagon while Lee Greenwood's "Proud To Be An American" played on the radio.

If we only knew...

Fast forward to the following Monday...September 11th. I went to work on what I thought was "just another Monday." My mother called me first. She said something bad, something very bad, has happened. She wanted to know if Adam was OK {since he was working in D.C}. I didn't know why. My cell phone kept ringing. Friends were calling wanting to know if Adam was OK. But, why? Only then did I find out about the World Trade Center...and the Pentagon...and eventually about the Pennsylvania plane crash.

Of course, I couldn't get through to Adam because by that time all circuits were busy.

Our office had a small television set & everyone in our department was glued to it. It was a very somber day. Very somber. I'll never forget.

YOUR "TO DO" LIST...

There are just a few things I wanted to remind you about:

• My Easy-Bake Oven giveaway...the winner will be announced on May 11th. Make sure you tell everyone and their mama about this...and, you don't need to be a blogger or have a blog to enter.
• The Mother of All Bloggers contest at Momlogic...the 10 finalists were announced tonight and while I may not be in the final 10 I am still humbled to have even been nominated to take part in the preliminary portion of the contest. There are 10 great finalists that you should really check out here.
• Shannon's swap at Welcome to the Nuthouse...we're swapping goods from our hometowns. Who cares if you live in B.F.E...you should still participate!

There are a ton of other fun things in my sidebar - go check 'em out!

HOW BIZARRE

Isn't it funny how certain images or scents can thrust your mind back to some memory that you either look back on with fondness or regret anguish? Songs do this, too...at least they do to me. I swear I'm not the only one out there who associates songs with certain feelings or memories, right?

This morning on the way to work OMC's "How Bizarre" came on the radio. I haven't heard the song in a few years. As I was driving down the road I was quickly taken back to my very late teen years circa 1997 (I turned 20 in September of that year). That was a fun time...fun, but frustrating (now that I look back). But, I suppose the definition of fun all depends on who you ask. I could remember the people Adam and I were hanging out with, what we were doing, where we were hanging out...all of those memories came flooding back. Some were good, some were not so good. Regrets? Nah. Things happen for a reason, right? It's just crazy how that one song flooded my mind with a hodge-podge of mixed emotions and a basic flashback-like montage of how right, but so wrong my life was back then. Pretty heavy stuff for a Monday morning commute to work, huh?

OMC's "How Bizarre" is just one of many songs that "take me back." The human mind is a spectacular thing...it's amazing how much we retain and how something as simple as a song can produce such strong emotions and memories....

So, what's a song that triggers a memory in your mind? (You don't have to share the specific memory...like it says in OMC's "How Bizarre" -- 'Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights...')

Happy birthday, Spencer!

In 2002, shortly after I moved back to the area, I met a girl who would turn out to be my best friend -- Angie. We "met" online at a "young moms" forum. We found out we both lived in Virginia Beach and that we actually worked up the street from one another. We agreed that we would get together and officially meet in person one day. That day happened just weeks after she lost her son, Spencer. His birthday is tomorrow, February 11th, and he would have been seven years old.

I truly feel that Spencer had a role in creating a bond in mine & Angie's friendship that has lasted over the years and despite living miles apart from one another. He is a guardian angel looking down on his family and his two brothers and I believe with my whole heart that he's looking out for my family as well (just months after we met, Angie and I found out that we were both pregnant with our sons, Jeston & Aidan). He's a special boy who was asked to live in eternal paradise with the Lord.

Tomorrow isn't going to be easy for Angie. February 11th has never been easy...it will never be easy. But, I know that her unwaivering faith in the Lord and the strength of her family will help pull her through.

http://ourangelspencer.memory-of.com/About.aspx

Angie -- I love you.

Happy birthday sweet boy!