God bless America...from sea to shining sea...

Less than one year after this picture was taken, the towers behind me fell. I can't believe that was seven years ago. I had just found out Lauren was on the way. I freshly remember the fear I felt bringing a kid into a world so cruel.

That day seems like yesterday, regardless of how many anniversaries we've recognized. In those years, we've welcomed Lauren and two more little ladies into our lives...and they just make everything a whole lot sweeter. It's a little surreal explaining this moment in history to my six-year old now. She grasps an inkling of the magnitude of it and it makes her tear up.

My brother is on his way home from the middle-east today...doing his part to make the world a little less cruel. So between the kids and the soldiers...it's all good.