A Memory ...

So, yes, I know...I blogged about music last week. I can't help it...

As I thought of what to do for today's post, I began to think of memories in general...how they are special little treasures that you get to keep forever...how nobody can take them from you, and, if you're lucky, they last a lifetime.

So...

Instead of one specific memory, I will share with you several special (or ordinary) events that have happened to me over the years, as well as the songs that I will always relate to each little piece of my puzzle...

FOR INSTANCE...
*swinging during recess..."Like a Prayer" Madonna

*first boyfriend in junior high..."I Love the Way You Love Me" John Michael Montgomery

*first love..."I Swear" All For One, "Please Forgive Me" Bryan Adams, and anything by Chicago

*cheerleading days..."Stayin' Alive" The BeeGees

*junior prom..."Imagine" John Lennon

*ahh, spring break..."Champagne Supernova" Oasis

*getting ready with the girls on a Friday night..."Livin' La Vida Loca" Ricky Martin

*the many nights of riding dirt roads..."Louisiana Saturday Night" Mel McDaniel, "You Never Even Call Me by my Name" David Allen Coe

* senior year..."Closing Time" Semisonic, "Don't Look Back in Anger" Oasis, "Time of Your Life" Green Day

*working in the kitchen at the local youth camp during the summer..."A Change Will Do You Good" Cheryl Crow, "Sweet Emotion" Aerosmith

*dancing with the girls..."One Headlight" The Wallflowers

*more boyfriends...anything "Monster Ballads", "Right Where I Need to Be" Gary Allen, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison, "1979" Smashing Pumpkins...

*days performing in my college chorus group..."Walking on Sunshine" Katrina and the Waves, "Footloose" Kenny Loggins

*visiting my bf at college..."Testify to Love" Avalon, "One of these Day" FFH, "These Thousand Hills" Third Day

*my Granny's funeral..."Sweet, Sweet Spirit" Hymn

*my Great-Grandmother's 90th birthday..."Holy Ground" ? (not technically a hymn?...)

*mine and the hubs song when we were dating..."I don't Want No Scrub" TLC...KIDDING
"Drops of Jupiter" Train

*my wedding..."Shine On Us" Phillips, Craig and Dean

*mission trip to Honduras..."In Christ Alone" Phillips, Craig and Dean

*mission trip to Ecuador..."Carrie" Europe (it was playing in our cab in Ecuador!)
"Praise You in this Storm" Casting Crowns

*the day I found out I was expecting..."Daughter" Pearl Jam, "I Thought I Loved You Then" Brad Paisley, "There Goes My Life" Kenny Chesney, "Sweet Caroline" Neil Diamond, "Daughters" John Mayer (I heard all of these that very day...I kid you not! That's how I knew from the very beginning she would be a girl! :D)

Oh, I could go on forever, I think.

How fun it is to look back and remeber the soundtrack of my life. I encourage you to do the same (just 'cause it's fun...), and I will leave you with a little motivation to help you get started. Clint says it best...

In Light of Recent Controversy...

WRITTEN WITH MUCH LOVE...

Music

Excited about my first Aloha Friday! Here goes:

I love music.

Even my earliest memories include a big old record player that I would listen to every Sunday at my great-grandmother's house after dinner.

Music has the ability to move me in a way that nothing else can. It is one of my favorite things in life. Imagine the world without it...how different life would be.

So, I would not dare to attempt to challenge you to name your favorite song. (I could NEVER accomplish such a feat...MAYBE my favorite 100...) Instead I will ask:

***If you could see anyone in concert, dead or living, who would it be and why?***

(*My concert experiences so far, Gary Allen, George Jones, Confederate Railroad, Train, Five for Fighting, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Stone Temple Pilots, Fuel, Disturbed, John Conley, The Glory Revealed Tour (featuring the lead singer of Third Day, one of my favorite groups), and, my all time favorite, Elton John. (Think just him and the piano for 3 hours...amazing.
Wishful thinking: Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Phil Collins, Vince Gill, George Straight, Dave Matthews Band, Third Day, Mercy Me, and The Police (or Sting...I will take what I can get!)

Birthdays

Last week was my birthday. I am 30.

"Good-bye, 20 something. Hellooo, sunscreen and night serum."

Overwhelming dread consumed me as the day approached, sure that I would wake to find my body full of arthritis, my vision not so great, and the need for false teeth just around the corner. Instead, I had a wonderful day filled with surprises from my amazing husband, laughter and snuggles from my not-newborn-but-still-new-to-me daughter, and fabulous food and shopping with 2 of my favorite gals on the planet...my mother and mother-in-law. Not to mention, the numerous birthday cards and well wishes sent my way by a multitude of friends and family...

As I reflect on my 30th birthday, I look back and see how special April 15 has been for me over the years. (Besides being the day I began life and all...)

I guess the birthday memories really begin when I was 12. I was in 6th grade, and I got my first special {monthly) gift. I was SO excited. (If I had only known how tired I would be of this special "gift"...of the bloating and the cramping...) I remember my mother bought me a pink ice ring (pink ice...remember that?) to commemorate the occasion. (I'm pretty sure it wound up in my ex-boyfriend's dresser...)

On my 13th birthday, we were playing softball in the park on a bright, sunny day. I threw the ball WAYYY up in the air and the girl beside me yelled, "I got it!" Well, guess who go it...me. Right in the eye. A trip to the ER and a week behind me my eyeball began to turn white again, instead of red from all the blood pooled in it. Yeah, will always remember that one...

The day I turned 14, a girl in my class at school was having a party at her house. (Present day...she is one of my best friends in the whole world, though at the time we hardly knew each other...) I had asked my boyfriend whom I was MADLY in love with to go, and, of course, he accepted. (Junior high parties were all the rage...) Though I have no idea what I was wearing, my boyfriend (the one with the pink ice ring) was dressed to impress in tight black jeans and a blue polo shirt. I thought he was so handsome...before the night was over, he delivered another special birthday gift, my first real kiss. Every girl remembers her first kiss, especially if it was with her special guy on her special day, and I am no exception. I will always look back on that day with warm memories of young love and innocence...

There have been lots of other things, good or bad, that have happened on my birthday. I have an aunt and a cousin that share the same birthday as me, and in 2007, my very special "nephew" Jack was born on my birthday! :) (LOVE YOU JACK, JACK!)...falling where it does, Easter has been on my birthday (several times, actually)...taxes are due (I know, right???)...I've had people that were special to me, relatives or church members, who have passed away on or right before my birthday...and, after years of hope and prayer, I was expecting our daughter, Ella, on my birthday last year (though I didn't know it yet!)

So, when I think about the amazing things that have happened on my birthday, I say "BRING 'EM ON!" (It's better than the alternative!) :D

"All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much."- George Harrison

These are a few of my favorite things...