Here are a couple things I have learned over the past year and/or last almost 30 years:

1) Love is not proud and it does not boast. Love does not run or hide but fear and anger make you want to! Love never fails you when you believe in it and accept it in your heart...Love protects and it always hopes. Love believes even when you don't...Love holds you in its arms and never fails but sometimes we let each other down...Love matters the most...

2) The moments that mean the most will stay with you, the good and the bad. Hold onto the good. Cherish them, know they brought you to where you are today. Forget the bad, usually fear, anger, and selfish pride are the reasons they occured and remembering and focusing on them only causes more pain.

3) The people who shared the above moments with you will also stay with you forever. I am fortunate to have girls I can talk to and be honest with how I am feeling. We have discussed how regardless of if you are happily married when you see someone who you had good memories with-you miss them or get emotional feelings when you see them again. Maybe that is "normal"...the debate is still up for discussion.

4)Children give you a reason to be better. They hold you accountable and look to you for guidance and direction on who to be. A mother's love and a father's love are different and both very much needed.

5) With that being said, losing a parent affects you, it changes you. It can make you scared to love, to be that close to someone because you never want to feel that way again. Rememeber Point 1: fear gets you NO where!

I will try to post more pictures of the girls this weekend...