Well, it was this time last year that little Anika Joy's presence would change our lives. Who knew how much could happen in the course of one year??? Her presence continues to fill our hearts with gratitude. We are so blessed!This home now knows the sound of her laughter and my morning just isn't a good morning until I've walked into her room to be greeted by her patient little self looking up at me with a big smile. I forgot how much you fall in love! I am finding myself reminiscing to when Mélina and Isabel were babies... And now Isabel is turning eight next month and Mina will be twelve this June.
I remember Mina climbing those huge steps to that school bus the very first day of kindergarden and the fear she felt arriving at school to have a teacher ask her what her last name was. "I can't remember, but there's two of them" was all she could say. I remember how much she loved "shusies"(Shreddies) and her beloved "gwapes" (grapes). And who could forget that priceless frown and her determined "I DO, I DO". I remember the "mommy, can you play with me" and the countless times I said "maybe later" and now she is talking about boys and shopping and my presence isn't as wanted as it once was. The time flies by so quickly despite your deepest desire to make those moments last just a little bit longer.
And Isabel has grown so much in length that carrying her has become quite awkward. Those little feet I used to massage are now big and her little singing voice is much deeper. My little girls are growing so fast.So I found myself rocking Anika to sleep tonight and praying fervently that I not take a moment for granted. I think of mothers who strive alone to raise their little ones and little ones who have no mothers at all. My arms do not know the feeling of emptiness because God has graced me with my beautiful children. If I could share that joy with all the people of the earth, I would. Perhaps that is my attempt in this letter?
More than anything, I pray for your lives as though I held you in that rocking chair tonight, too. You have visited my prayers no differently than had you been in my arms and I, too, pleaded with the Lord that I not take you for granted. And so with this "update" I hope you are all doing well and living life to its fullest, grasping your own memories in hopes of making them last a lifetime. How precious "time" can be and how magical is its capacity to store an infinte source of memories.God bless you all on this journey we call "life".
