Blessed

There's really no other word for it.

We have been amazingly and generously blessed by family and friends as we prepare for our twins arrival. 

When we first considered adding another little one to our family, we thought we basically had all our bases covered; crib - check, infant car seat - check, stroller - check, boy clothes - check, girl clothes - check, you get the idea. Learning we were having twins meant needing double of almost everything! Or something that works for twins - like a double stroller. Through many different circumstances and connections we've received a second-hand infant car seat, baby rocker, crib, high chair, diaper bag and lots of little girls clothes. The only big purchase I've made is for our double stroller - hand delivered to Brazil from Canada by my brother! :)  

We were also blessed to have a baby shower put on by my sisters and friends from church. Since I really love making invitations, I made the one for our shower.

Roughly translated it says:

Twins - A double dose of joy. 

Or we might say something like "Twins - twice as nice!"

We're expecting you

for our

Baby Shower

Date and Info

My sister-in-law Grace did the simple and sweet decorations.

Very labor intensive project - but so useful for the momma in the months to come.
I think 84 diapers were used to make these two "cakes"

Lots of kids at the shower! Elena was so excited to pick out her own dress. Later on Daddy took her and Lucas out for a bit. Before the shower Lucas played with grandpa. 

Friends and family made it a very special occasion.

My father-in-law got roped into sharing a short meditation and we were blessed to have good friends pray for us and the girls.

After that we had some fun games which included one where three of us had to try to decipher the ingredients of a jar of baby food. Man, that stuff is gross. I was totally wrong in my guesses! The guests also had to write a short note saying how they had met me, or a funny incident that we shared (without including their name). My other sister-in-law, Aline, gave me each note, and I read it aloud (good for my Portuguese practice!) and if I guessed the person incorrectly I would get another item to wear. The point is basically to make the mom look ridiculous.This is an integral part of any Brazilian baby shower. Thankfully most people were nice and obvious in their notes, so I only ended up with the funny streamer hat. 

The kids helped me open the gifts.

 With my baby shower for Elena, I had to guess what each gift contained - got a lot more of those wrong and ended up looking like this...

Almost all the women who attended the shower.

 The Loot! Total diaper tally so far - 714.

Already have an occasion picked out for those two matching black dress / lace legging outfits. :) 

I will end with the video that my sweet sister, Aline, made for the shower. 

Transliteration of the Portuguese text:

The Portelas - Part 4
The Journey Continues

Once upon a time there was a very cute baby girl...
and a big chubby baby boy...

Who met and began a beautiful journey together...
First came Lucas,
and then Elena arrived

But the couple still didn't feel that their family was complete...
...who knows, another boy or another girl..
...but who knew it would be TWO GIRLS!?...

Today, Taara's world is full of pink
...and the little girls are just growing...
...and growing (it's already getting a little tight in there)

We're waiting anxiously to meet you, little princesses. May God bring you out healthy and bless this beautiful family.

Do you think they'll stop there? Place your bets...