In Spanish this phrase literally means "pure life" but is more commonly thought of as meaning "full of life." Costa Ricans use this phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcoming difficulties with good spirits, enjoying life slowly, and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike. This blog is about our life... Pura Vida!

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Monday, May 20, 2013

Baptism Day

Yesterday, we were very blessed to be surrounded by family as we welcomed Natalie into the church through baptism. It was a rainy morning, but Natalie was in good spirits. She was wide awake throughout the entire morning and hardly made a sound. Here are a few snapshots of the day. 
 
The beautiful lace dress that was worn by my mom, sister, daughters, and I:
 
My beautiful girl:
 
 The baptism:
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20
 
The family:

 The godparents:
 
The cake:
 
It was a perfect day. May God bless you each and everyday Natalie. We love you!



 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Unexpected Progress

I found out last minute Friday that some house projects were getting completed this weekend.
 
I didn't expect either one of these things to happen so soon.
 
YAY!!
 

1. The garden shed at our place was finally sided thanks to some hard-working family members!

 (And no, that's not snow on the ground still. It's an enormous pile of golf balls that Joe brought home from work the other day. Just what we needed as we begin to clean up the yard! grrr)

2. The sheet rockers came and made our basement look like a room!

 
 
It may not look that great to you, but after living here three years with an unfinished basement, it looks amazing to us! Now, we are patiently awaiting the taper, so we can paint and get all the girls toys out again! They have been in hiding since we started working on this downstairs.
 
And onto some Expected Progress...
 
1. Natalie Marie turned 3 weeks old this week! She is really starting to fill out. She is a sleepy head, but is finally starting to be awake for a few hours at a time so we can see her pretty eyes! She enjoys sleeping in mommy and daddy's arms and in her baby papasan chair, but sure hates laying flat down in her crib! Little stinker. She loves to eat, and has a double chin to prove it! :) Here is a snapshot of her at three weeks old:
 
 
2. It's finally starting to feel like spring!! (and even summer a few times this week!) We bought some flowers this week and are ready to plant today. We also got the pool out to play in the sun today. Here are my three beach girls all laying out in the shade today!
 

Friday, May 03, 2013

Sisters

Emma has decided that when she grows up, she is going to be a princess...
 
but I think she has taken this new job as big sister pretty seriously. :)
 
 
She loves (in her own words) "petting" Natalie, holding her, feeding her, getting her diapers and wipes, swinging her, and telling her "it's ok" or singing to her when she's crying. She doesn't want to go anywhere with out her. Maria is the same way. They fight over who gets to look at her and hold her.
 

 
 She's a pretty sweet little girl, and the doctor said today that she looks healthy and is growing already!
 
 
We are very thankful for these cute sisters!