I first performed this song at the LifeSavers Ministries Labor of Love banquet on June 17, 2004. Terri stood next to me as I sang this song, and every time I sang the word "flowers," one of our children walked into the room and presented Terri with a flower, beginning with the oldest (Andrew) and ending with the youngest (Sarah).

Because this performance was designed for each of the children to present Terri with a flower, the song was extended slightly. As originally written, the full chorus is repeated only three times (with each chorus mentioning flowers twice). In order to mention flowers ten times, two additional choruses were added. (The version of the song you hear here includes these extra choruses.)

Although I was full of emotion throughout the song, the epilogue was particularly touching. As I sang "this baby is a special blessing," I looked at baby Sarah, and she looked up at me with a beautiful smile while she made sweet baby sounds. (Too bad we didn't capture this on video!)

Terri wrote the original words and music for the chorus as a slow, quiet song. She also wrote the music which I adapted for the prologue and epilogue. But I sensed a more upbeat feeling for the central part of the song, and so wrote it with more of a jazzy feeling than Terri had initially envisioned (after all, doesn't a bouquet of flowers deserve an upbeat accompaniment?).

- Tim Palmquist