Ai Vida...

as Irma would say "Ai Vida"

translated from Portuguese "oh Life!"

(Mark baptized Irma in Portugal, we LOVE her dearly!)

Mark and I often use this phrase.

You can take it however you'd like,

but Mark and I see it as LIFE...what a great life!

Sometimes life goes too fast

okay not sometimes...ALL of the time!

Wishing I could freeze time these days.

To answer Porter's five million questions about animals, life, the gospel, days of the week, birthdays, why we do this, why we do that!

To listen to him pray, to remind us to pray, to help Claire pray. For him to pray for each of us by name, for his cousin who just recently broke her femur, for his other cousin who is in the hospital recovering from surgery.

To watch him so full of life, sometimes I think it's impossible to have that much energy.

To watch him draw with so much concentration his tongue is out.

for hugs and kisses each morning and night!

• To hear Claire sing Once Upon a Time from Sleeping Beauty, I am a Child of God, Jesus Wants me for Sunbeam...(I cannot even think of how many more songs she sings!)
• To catch her talking to her stuffed animals as if they were children. "No, I did not call your name, please go back and sit down!" or "That was not nice, now you will go to time out." or "ohhh that is so annoying." (seriously not so cute sometimes, that last one is all my fault!)

• For her to think that "It's not morning yet, because my mommy is not awake!"
• To watch her change from Cinderella, to Sleeping Beauty, to Arial, to Belle, and then back to Cinderella all in a matter of two minutes.
• For her to want to help me with EVERYTHING I'm doing
• to watch her "feed" her baby, the way I feed Lilly

• To wake up at 4 in the morning to feed Lilly
• To have her at my side at all times and to never let her go
• For her to smile through her binky as I'm singing to her while rocking her back to sleep
• To listen to her coo, and desperately try to talk back

• to watch her discover things for the first time, like her hands and feet.
• for her to smile at Porter and Claire because she's now beginning to recognize them.
• At this age, Lilly is a constant reminder of how miraculous life is.

See what I mean?

How do I freeze time?

So grateful, so blessed, so happy