These two pictures of her with Brian capture this perfectly. She just adores him and he adores her! And when I hear them just belly laughing together it makes me so happy. Not knowing what the future holds for my little Christina makes me worried at times but when I see moments like this, I know everything will be okay. And not in the sense that difficult things won't happen. Life is supposed to be difficult, but it is also supposed to be so happy and joyful. And Christina has shown me a large part of that spectrum from deep sadness to abundant joy. And just try to not smile when you see her sweet little face!
Lately, all we have been doing is gutting the new house that we bought and getting it ready for renovations. In the middle of this Christina ended up in the hospital with a kidney infection. I snapped this picture of her as she had finally turned the corner and was responding to antibiotics. She was a happy girl again! I emailed the photo to Brian as an update since he was at home with the other kids. His response surprised me because he said it was his all time favorite picture of her. I thought, "Really? She is covered in spittle and surrounded by a hospital crib!" He said it was his favorite because in this photo she reminded him of me. Specifically in that there is a twinkle in her eye and a smirk on her face as though she knows something really funny and is about to say something really sassy, just like her mother!
I feel like if we could wipe away all of her physical challenges these three photos would still represent Christina. In this life she might be our forever sweet baby Christina, even at 30! But even with her baby demeanor and broken little body, her sweet spirit and fun personality shine through. I love that we can still see and get to know her.
