Flashback Friday.

This flashback goes back exactly 8 years. Exactly. I had recently found out I was expecting Sam. On this particular morning, like many mornings, I was in the bathroom hurling. Isaac was on the couch watching Blue's Clues. And my phone rang. It was my sister Katie asking if I was watching the news. I wasn't. She told me to turn it on because something was happening. So I did. I saw smoke and people running and reporters, no one knowing what was happening. A second airplane had just flown into the World Trade Center. I asked Katie what was happening and she said she didn't know. Just that airplanes had flown into the building.

I called Daniel, who was at a doctor appointment. I asked him if he knew what was going on. He said they were watching it in the waiting room and things were just confusing. He went into work and they sent everyone home because of the fear of another plane crash.

Daniel and I sat on the couch that day and watched the horror play out. We saw that 2 other planes had crashed. One into the Pentagon and another in a field. That one was in a field because the passengers heard about the other flights and took matters into their own hands. There was talk of terrorists. All flights were grounded.

Over the next couple of weeks as the scenes were played over and over and I ducked my head every time I heard an airplane, I was terrified. Not that a plane would come crashing down here on my home, but because I had a little boy and another baby on the way. What was I doing? Why was I bringing these 2 little precious people into an evil and scary world? I spent a lot of days and nights praying and thinking and losing hope of being able to keep my children safe.

At the end of September, I was still puking a lot and couldn't go to the General Sister's Conference on Saturday night. So I waited until 8pm and watched it in my jammies on my couch. Sister Sherry Dew spoke. I don't remember what she said. I only remember the peace I felt in having a family. I knew that my children needed me to be the best mom I could be. I needed to provide a safe and loving home where they could be raised in the Gospel. I knew that I was the right person to bring these 2 children into the world. Every year I flashback to the moment I saw the horror in New York. And every year I am reminded of my role as a mother and wife. I am grateful that I have been blessed with my family. I am grateful to live in a country founded on Liberty. I am grateful for the men and women who serve our country so that we can continue to partake in that Liberty and to help other nations come closer to grasping it. I mourn the many who lost their lives 8 years ago. Whether because they were in the buildings or airplanes when they crashed or they ran in to save as many as they could and lost their lives in the process.

Have a wonderful Friday and may we never forget the many who have sacrificed so we can enjoy such a beautiful day!