"Be Not Afraid of Who You Really Are"

Dear girls -
In the soundtrack of our lives as a family, certain songs will always stand out to me and hold special meaning... whisking me away to a certain point in our lives.  Some songs I sing to you in the morning while making breakfast tell you how much I love you.  Some songs I sing in the car to you to see if I can get you to dance in your carseat on the way to school so I don't feel quite so bad about threatening to take away your birthday, and Christmas and Easter if you kept up your nonsense that morning.

And then some... like this one... are everything I want for you in your future.  Those songs... those are the ones that I hope you take into your heart when you're old enough to think about something other than how hungry you are since you had first breakfast and it's been like 10 minutes and you're STARVING.

Part of me identifies with this song because of life experiences that have led me to this wonderful life as your mother. Part of me identifies with it because of the hope that your father and I have that both of you will pick up where we leave off (or where we fail) and lead your life with purpose.  And, part of me wants to not listen to Let's Have A Kiki one more time.  Yea... I brought that into your life by accident and I'm TOTALLY paying the price.

But the point I'm trying to make is that throughout your lives, you're going to make mistakes.  I'm going to make mistakes.  We'll have peaks and we'll have valleys. But never forget that you are strong.  I know, because that's how we raised you.  To be strong.  To be good.  To fight for what's right.  And to love.  And I hope that you both grow up to see every day as an opportunity to change the world... whatever your world might be. 

THIS IS THE NEW YEAR

Lyrics by: Ian Axel

Another year you made a promise
Another chance to turn it all around
And do not save this for tomorow
Embrace the past and you can live for now

And I will give the world to you

Speak louder that the words before you
And give them meaning no one else has found
The role we play is so important
We are the voices of the underground

And I would give the world to you

Say everything you’ve always wanted
Be not afraid of who you really are
Cause in the end we have each other
And thats at least one thing worth living for

And I would give the world to you

A million suns that shine upon me
A million eyes you are the brightest blue
Lets tear the walls down that divide us
And build a statue strong enough for two

I pass it back to you
And I will wait for you

Cause I would give the world
And I would give the world
And I would give the world to you

This is the new year
A new begining
You made a promise
You are the brightest
We are the voices
This is the new year
We are the voices
This is the new year