SEASON 7- David Cook "Time of My LIfe"

I been waiting for my dreams to turn into something, I could believe in
And looking for that magic rainbow on the horizon, I couldn’t see it
Until I let go, gave in the love, watched all the bitterness burn
Now I’m coming alive body and soul, Feeling my world starts to turn

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
Time of my life

Holding onto things and vanish them to the air, left me in pieces
But now I’m rising from the ashes, finding my wings
And all that I needed was there all along, within my reach
As close as the beat of my heart

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
Time of my life

And I mount on the edge of forever ready to roar
Keeping my feet on the ground, arms open wide, facing the sun

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
The time of my life

More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
This is the time of my life…
The time of my life!

SEASON 6- Jordin Sparks "This is My Now"

SEASON 5-Taylor Hicks "Do I Make You Proud"

I’ve never been the one to raise my hand,
That was not me and now that’s who I am,
Because of you I am standing tall,
My heart is full of endless gratitude,
You were the one the one to  guide me through,
Now I can see and I believe
It’s only just beginning,

*Chorus*
This IS what we dream about,
But the only question with me now,
Is do I make you proud,
Stronger than I’ve ever been now,
Never been afraid of standing out,
Do I make you proud,

I guess I’ve learned, to question is to grow,
That you still have faith, is all I need to know,
I’ve learned to love, my self in spite of me,
And I’ve learned to walk, the road that I believe,

This what we dream about,
But the only question with me now,
Is do I make you proud,
Stronger than I’ve ever been now,
Never been afraid of standing out,
Do i make you proud,

Everybody needs to rise up,
Everybody needs to be loved, to be loved,

This what we dream about,
But the only question with me now,
Is do I make you proud,

This what we dream about,
But the only question with me now,
Is do I make you proud,
Stronger than I’ve ever been now,
Never been afraid of standing out,
But do I make you proud,(2x)

This what we dream about,
But the only question with me now,
Is do I make you,
Do I make you proud.

SEASON 4- Carrie Underwood "Inside Your Heaven"

I’ve been down
Now I’m blessed
I felt a revelation coming around
I guess it’s right, it’s so amazing
Everytime I see you I’m alive
You’re all I’ve got
You lift me up
The sun and the moonlight
All my dreams are in your eyes

I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
Where the storm blows your way
I wanna be the earth that holds you
Every bit of air you’re breathin’ in
A soothin’ wind
I wanna be inside your heaven

When we touch, when we love
The stars light up
The wrong becomes undone
Naturally, my soul surrenders
The sun and the moonlight
All my dreams are in your eyes

And I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
Where the storm blows you away
And I wanna be the earth that holds you
Every bit of air you’re breathing in
A soothing wind
I wanna be inside your heaven

When minutes turn to days and years
If mountains fall, I’ll still be here
Holdin you until the day I die
And I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
Where the storm blows you away

I wanna be inside your heaven
Take me to the place you cry from
Where the storm blows you away
I wanna be the earth that holds you
Every bit of air you’re breathin’ in
A soothin’ wind
I wanna be inside your heaven
Oh yes I do
I wanna be inside your heaven

SEASON 3- Fantasia Barrino "I Believe"

Have you ever reached a rainbows end?
And did you find your pot of gold?
Ever catch a shooting star?
And tell me how high did you soar?
Ever felt like you were dreaming
Just to find that your awake?
And that magic that surounds you
Can lift you up and guide you on your way

I can see it in the stars across the sky
Dreamt a thousand dreams before
Now I finally realize
You see I ‘ve waited all my life
For this moment to arrive
And finally
Yeah, yeah

When you look out in the distance
You see you never was to far
oh no, heaven knows your existance
and wants you to be everything you are
oh theres a time for every soal to cry
its in the eyes of every child
its the heart that your can say the world
and oh you should never let it go,
yeah yeah yeah,
(chorus)

Yeah, yeah yeah yea
I believe in the immposible
If I reach deep within my heart
Overcome many obstacles
Won’t let this dream just fall apart
You see I strive to be the very best
Shine my light for all to see
Cause anything is possible
When you believe

I can see it in the stars accross the sky
Dreamt a 100,000 dreams before
Now I finally realize
You see I ‘ve waited all my life
For this moment to arrive
And Finally
I believe
I said I believe

Love keeps lifting me higher
You ought to try it for yourself
Lifting me higher
Love keeps lifting me higher
higher higher higher higher
Love keeps lifting
Love keeps lifting me higher
Higher

SEASON 2 - Ruben Studdard "Flying Without Wings" (revival)

Everybody’s looking for that something
One thing that makes it all complete
You’ll find it in the strangest places
Places you never knew it could be

Some find it in the faces of their children
Some find it in their lover’s eyes
Who can deny the joy it brings
When you find that special thing
You’re flying without wings

Some find it sharing every morning
Some in the solitary lives
You’ll find it in the words of others
A simple line can make you laugh or cry

You’ll find it in the deepest friendships
The kind you cherish all your life
And when you know how much that means
You have found that special thing
You are flying without wings

So, impossible as they may seem
You’ve got to fight for every dream
Cause who to know which one you let go
Would have made you complete

But for me it’s waking up beside you
To watch the sunrise on your face
To know that I can say I love you
And in any given time or place

It’s little things that only I know
Those are the things that make you mine, oh mine
And it’s like flying without wings
Cause you’re my special thing
I’m flying without wings

You’re the place my life begins
and you’ll be where it ends
I’m flying without wings
And that’s the joy it bring
I’m flying without wings

SEASON 1- Kelly Carkson "A Moment Like This"

What if I told you it was all meant to be
Would you believe me, would you agree
It’s almost that feelin’ that we’ve met before
So tell me that you don’t think I’m crazy
When I tell you love has come here and now

Chorus: A moment like this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Some people search forever
For that one special kiss
Oh I can’t believe it’s happening to me
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this

Everything changes but beauty remains
Some thing so tender I can’t explain
Well I may be dreamin’ but still lie awake
Can’t we make this dream last forever
And I’ll cherish all the love we share

Bridge:

Could this be the greatest love of all
I wanna know that you will catch me when I fall
So let me tell you this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this

Chorus

Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this

"…In the world it calls itself Tolerance; but in Hell it is called Despair. … It is the sin which believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and only remains alive because there is nothing it would die for…."

-Dorothy Sayers
“The Six Other Deadly Sins”

“Unlike most women, I love being pregnant. You just feel like everything about your body is there for your baby.” - on being pregnant again, now with twins.

————————————————————————

  “Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest
glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million
cracks in it.”

“The light is shining through like never before, filling us
all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little
easier next time”

“It would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I
in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours, …When you
stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up
and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.”

- Hillary Rodham Clinton on her acknowledgment speech as she ends her presidential candidacy

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For
by U2
but I love David Cook’s rendition watch him here

I have climbed highest mountain
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

I believe in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
Well yes Im still running

You broke the bonds and you
Loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believed it

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…

Time Of My Life lyrics

david cook singing it in AI

I been waiting for my dreams to turn into something, I could believe in
And looking for that magic rainbow on the horizon, I couldn’t see it
Until I let go, gave in the love, watched all the bitterness burn
Now I’m coming alive body and soul, Feeling my world starts to turn

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
Time of my life

Holding onto things and vanish them to the air, left me in pieces
But now I’m rising from the ashes, finding my wings
And all that I needed was there all along, within my reach
As close as the beat of my heart

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
Time of my life

And I mount on the edge of forever ready to roar
Keeping my feet on the ground, arms open wide, facing the sun

And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time; this is the time to be
More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
The time of my life

More than a name or face in the crowd
I know this is the time; this is the time of my life
This is the time of my life…
The time of my life!

I first heard of David Cook from a friend, since I stopped watching American Idol several seasons ago.  I almost missed out on their best contestant. I guess he is way better than any AI contestants in its history; and I bet he could top all new acts right now.  He has such a great voice you could mistake him for a professional rock artist. And he’s cute to top all that. Well I guess I’ve fallen into the whole David Cook mania.


Billie Jean performance

Always be My Baby performance

Everything I do

Still Haven’t found

I don’t wanna miss a thing

Dream Big

Hero w/ David Archuleta

more about David on Wikipedia

"The quickest way for a mother to get her children’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable"-Lane Olinghouse

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I Am Mommy, Hear Me Roar¹

-Nancy Kennedy

    A long time ago, I gave up using the name on my birth certificate and just started referring to myself as Mommy. As in:

   Come give Mommy a kiss.?

   Tell Mommy where it hurts.?

   I told you Mommy’s ears can’t hear whining.?

   Mommy’s
face looks like this because Mommy just found out that somebody used
her lace tablecloth to wipe off fingernail polish.?

   I knew I
wasn’t alone on that either. I know for a fact that none of my friends
have names. We greet each other in the market:

   Hi, Sarah’s mom!?

   Hi, Laura’s mom!?

   The vet even calls me ?Blackie’s mom.?

   I
may not have a real name, but you know who I am. There’s a container of
Gak dumped in a corner of my living room carpet and the moldy remains
of a peach deemed too gross to eat stuffed in the cushions of my couch.
I walk around the house with dryer lint and used Q-tips in the pocket
of my robe. I spend the majority of my day behind the wheel of a
car—traveling hundreds of miles to and from softball practice,
cheerleading practice, and trips to the market—yet never leave the city
limits. I can’t do a quadratic equation, but I can tell you how to get
to Sesame Street.

   My prayers are often frantic and generally
specific. (?Lord, please help my child throw up in the bucket and not
on the wall.?) At times I pray to be made invisible, like during PTA
meetings when they need someone to chair the fifth grade fundraising
car wash or during the Christmas program when it’s my child up on stage
singing, ?Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,? as she
proceeds to slug the boy standing next to her.

   I know you know
me. I wash my children’s faces with spit and my thumb. Pick at the dirt
behind their ears. Whine about their whining. Nag about their nagging.
Worry that I’ll never live to see the day they’ll change their
underwear without coercion or threats of bodily harm.

   I have
eyes in the back of my head and a nose that can sniff out doggy doo-doo
on a sneakered foot fifty yards away. I have ears that can hear Oreo
cookies being eaten underneath the covers by a child who is supposedly
asleep. With just one sideways glance, I can tell who sharpened her
crayon with my eyeliner pencil sharpener and who
accidentally-on-purpose let the bathroom sink overflow.

   A few
years ago, you would have recognized me as the one with strained
chicken and peas plastered in my hair and a faraway look in my eyes, as
I dreamed of a life that was not planned around nap time and late night
feedings. I was the one who, when asked by a poll-taker to name my
favorite male television performer, answered without hesitation, ?Ernie
from Sesame Street.?

   Once upon a time I had a stomach that
didn’t fall to the floor. Once, I had hips that didn’t serve as a baby
saddle and a shelf for grocery bags. Once, I could even take a bath.
Alone. All by myself. Without someone pounding on the closed door,
asking if she could use the blue food coloring or ?just wondering? if
Super Glue ruins dining room tables.

   If you looked in my
closet you’d find baggy sweats with elastic waists; big, long sweaters;
and pull-on pants. Forget Bill Blass and Anne Klein, give me Hanes Her
Way any day.

   You know who I am. I eat standing up. ?Breakfast?
consists of the soggy cereal left in bowls on the kitchen table, the
ends of bread left in the bag, and blobs of strawberry jam scraped from
the counter. I grab lunch on the run from a drive-through window and
nibble on dinner as I cook it. I finish everyone else’s ice cream, then
wonder why I can’t ever seem to lose weight.

   Don’t tell
anyone, but I live for bedtime. I yearn for the sounds of a child’s
slumber. I long for my own head to hit the pillow. I pine for
(yawn)?zzzzz.

   You know me. I’m the one with the knot in her
stomach, praying her child will figure out how to turn over on the
playground turnover bar so she won’t be humiliated in front of her
classmates during gym class. I’m the one who drinks the powdered milk
so the rest of the family can have the ?real? stuff. I’m the one who
eagerly counted the days until both daughters went to school, then
cried when that day finally arrived.

   I’m the one who willingly
suffered through morning sickness, swollen ankles, uncontrollable
crying jags, and overwhelming desires for lemon meringue pie and
out-of-season blackberries. (Not to mention pushing a bowling ball
through a part of my body a bowling ball doesn’t normally fit—twice.)

   I’m
the one frightened voices call for in the middle of the night. I’m the
one who changes wet sheets at three in the morning, rocks a
nightmare-stricken preschooler back to sleep at four, then gets up at
five to let the dog out.

   I’m the one who, despite an utterly
selfish nature and a propensity toward evil (in addition to an
inadequacy in and of myself and a definite lack of experience), God
chose as caretaker, teacher, and nurturer for two totally dependent
little sinners.

With apologies to the Peace Corps, I have the
toughest job anyone will ever love. I am battle-weary from refereeing
squabbles over who did or did not do the dishes last and battle-scarred
from getting smacked in the thigh by a line-driven softball during
backyard batting practice. Still, I endure.

   Who am I? I am a
cooker of oatmeal and cleaner of soap scum. A taxi driver, spider
killer, purchaser of folders with pockets and prongs, pencil finder,
and dental appointment maker. Loudest cheerleader and most fervent
pray-er, encourager of dreams and holder of hands. I am a tear wiper
and boo-boo kisser, the toothbrushing gestapo and an example of faith.
You know who I am.

   I am a mother.

1"I Am Mommy, Hear Me Roar" taken from Mom on the Run by Nancy Kennedy. Copyright © 1996.

————————————————————————————————–

Having a baby is like writing a book…

What Flavor is your marriage?

I lost everything in the Postnatal Depression

At Wit’s End

Worms in my Tea and other Mixed Blessings

Peanut butter kisses and Mud pie hugs

Courage for the Chicken hearted

Marthas to the Max-Balanced Living for Perfectionists

Fresh Brewed Life 

The Power of a Positive Mom

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

Growing Weary Doing Good? 

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is
to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. -Harry S Truman: Dad
Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call
him father! -Lydia M. Child: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

It is much easier to become a father than to be one. -Kent
Nerburn: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

Noble fathers have noble children. - Euripides: Dad Quotes:
Inspirational Quotes for Dads

Better to be driven out from among men than to be disliked
of children.- Richard Henry Dana: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder – infinitely prouder – to be
a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never
destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation
and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are
mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not
from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily
prayer, ‘Our Father who art in Heaven.’- Douglas Macarthur: Dad Quotes:
Inspirational Quotes for Dads

When a child, my dreams rode on your wishes, I was your son,
high on your horse, my mind a top whipped by the lashes of your rhetoric, windy
of course.- Sir Stephen Spencer: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame. -Chinese
Proverb: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

When I was a kid, my father told me every day, ‘You’re the
most wonderful boy in the world, and you can do anything you want to.’- Jan
Hutchins: Dad Quotes: Inspirational Quotes for Dads

Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them
up in the training and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4

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————————————————————————————————————————————

One of the best things a father can do for his kids is love their mother and
build a strong marriage. The effort you put into your marriage is worth it to
your children.

To prove that, I’m going right to the source. Just listen to this sixth
grade girl who wrote about her father for one of our essay contests. She
writes:

Everybody in my family has had to put up a lot with all the
things that have gone wrong. One thing about this divorce is that when I go
over to my friends’ house to spend the night or something, their fathers
usually come in and say, "good-night," not "good-bye." When
my father comes over to get something and he is about to leave, he always comes
over and kisses me on the cheek and then says "good-bye," and walks
out. And it hurts a lot. Sometimes I want to just cry. I wish this never
happened. . .

This girl feels the pain so deeply that she is tuned in to subtle nuances
like the difference between "good-night" and "good-bye."
Her father may see her regularly and show her physical affection, but still the
dominant images of her father will always bring her pain.

Compare that to what another youngster, a fourth grader, wrote in her essay:
"He treats my mom very nicely, which makes me feel wanted."

A strong marriage breeds security. The child with two
parents who are still in love—and show it—does not need to fear that the
foundation of her life is suddenly going to shake and buckle and split apart.

Even more than that, your marriage relationship is a model for your
children’s future relationships—dating and marriage.

Your sons are taking subconscious notes. They’re asking: What does it mean
to be a husband? How should I treat women? Your daughters also have their eye
on you. Giving themselves to a man in marriage can be a fearful thing; they’re
asking themselves how well their mother fared in the deal.

One of the greatest legacies you can leave your children (and your
yet-unborn grandchildren) is the firm believe that marriage is not to be taken
lightly. It’s worth committing to. It’s worth sticking it out through the tough
times. Your marriage is worth every ounce of effort you can put into it.