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You know…I missed the fireworks last year. I could hear them from my hospital room but I didn’t see a one. As I watched them this year, I sat in awe of the sheer speed in which July 4th rolled back around. Even greater than that, however, was the complete and blessed emotion I felt, watching the reflections of that same light show in the beautiful eyes of my one year old.

My Sweet Adarius, how you have enriched my life…our lives. Every breath you take is more important to me than those that are my own. Each new discovery you make feels like a new experience for me also. Each and every smile that you flash across your perfect face causes one to wash over mine as well…

It is an honor for me to share my birthday with you, my son…although I have the feeling that from here on out it will be you sharing your birthday with me. It was even more of an honor to have been able to witness the very first year of your journey. As with your brothers and sisters, you bring something so uniquely you to the Sparrow Family…and now that you’re here, I don’t know how we ever existed without you (Daddy says we were never without you, that you’ve always been here with us).

Happy, Happy Birthday, Adarius LaVette Sparrow…and Happy fourth of July, cuz for you and me, kid, it’s one in the same.

You know that your child is hitting that obnoxious, teenage boy stage when he claims that he has the ability to play a song on his…toenails – uuuuhhhmmmm…nasty!

You get confirmation of your new-found knowledge when he actually begins tap away, very deliberately, upon the tops of his toes… and then at the end of the “song” asks if you recognized the tune!

Sadly, I found myself playing into his delusion by answering…”Mary Had A Little Lamb?”

Apparently I’m not very musically inclined, as he corrected me by humming the tune “Jingle Bells”…It is, after-all, the end of June. How could I have missed that one?!

He sat there, mostly laying really…his tiny, two year old frame barely taking up any room in our big, king size bed. “Yes.” he said, shaking his messy, little fro up and down in approval. “Mmmm-hmmm.” he continued, followed by another couple of “Yes’s” (is that even a word?). He stayed focused on the TV, still agreeing to each of the questions being asked by the tacky, fake attorney…and those questions were as follows:

“Do you have an adjustable interest rate on your home mortgage?”

“Are you falling behind in your payments?”

“Would you like to save up to 1% on your current interest rate?”

…etc., etc., etc.

LOL, LOL, LOL!

I love you, D’Lo…you make my heart laugh:)

The big day today…DeeDee graduated from grade school! What a chaotic morning (as if there’s another kind), but well worth all the energy I spent getting to the ceremony – with even an ounce of sanity intact.

I woke up this morning to DeeDee in her bathroom, flat ironing hair that hadn’t seen shampoo all week…”uummm, no Baby Girl, you need to wash that hair.” So, already behind schedule, I dried and pressed her lovely mane.

Boo missed the bus cuz his (surgery) knee was aching and now with DeeDee in the same boat, well, Daddy had to drive the two to school. With 45 minutes left til graduation started, we busted a move…got showered and dressed, got the baby ready, settled the other baby down with breakfast and Caillou, and began a mad search for the four AA batteries I needed for my camera…

Found some batteries (whew!)

Devaney just missed her bus, gotta take her with us…packed up the baby, the cameras, and were on our way!

Got to the school, located my beautiful 5th (soon to be 6th) grader, whipped out the camera, focused (she’s posing)…aannnnndddd…NO MEMORY CARD! Oh Lord, I left it in the computer…dang it, dang it, DANG IT!!!

**Thank you Stacie for being in the right place, at the right time…WITH a working camera.**

So here she is, in all her glory, looking like the lovely Sparrow she is, at her 5th grade graduation. Tomorrow she will officially be a middle schooler (sigh), and I am so proud of her…

Mama loves you, Baby Girl!!

It’s an awesome thing (and I don’t mean awesome like, dude…I mean – leaving one full of awe, awesome) to really know and love someone so intimately, to be so familiar with them that you know every, single piece of them. Do you know what far surpasses that kind of closeness?

…to be blessed enough (five time in our case) to be able to recognize all of those same qualities, in varying parts and patterns, in and on your children. To have these other, little people…half you and half the person you love…here (listen to me now) HERE on this earth as a result of LOVE…awesome.

This post is dedicated to Antonio Lavette Sparrow – father of Antonio DeShawn, Devaney Antonia, Destiny LaVette, D’Angelo Antonio, and Adarius LaVette – and all the pieces of this man that I love, clearly visible in the children God saw fit to put together by the mixing of our DNA.

 His feet, shoulders, and passion for the game on our oldest…his face, waist, and confidence on our first daughter.. his booty, hands and sensitivities on our second daughter…his ears, bottom lip, and sense of curiousity on our fourth child…his mouth, round head, and bright smile on our last…and his beautiful, brown eyes on all five.

Thank You Father for all the pieces of him…but especially for the five parts of him we call our kids…we are so blessed 🙂