Amber Portwood, star of Teen Mom, struggles every day to make moments with her daughter, Leah, count.

After spending 17 months of her daughter’s life in prison, she was released in November. Leah somewhat understood what was going on.

“She knew exactly where I was,” Portwood said. “[But when I got out], she was really excited and she told me that she knew where I was and that ‘Jesus was fixing mommy’s heart.’”

Then reality hit when she realized all that she had missed being incarcerated.

“I missed out on a lot of important moments,” Portwood told RadarOnline.com. “I felt like I missed out on so much.”

Lol I love my booboo she makes my day so much better….love ♡

— Amber Portwood (@AmberLPortwood) September 4, 2014

“When I got out: she was so smart, she was talking more and she was taller,” Amber Portwood continued. “It was crazy to me, and I did feel like I needed to make up for lost times.”

It’s going to be a long road for Amber Portwood and Leah, but she seems to be up to the challenge.

Missing my booboo really bad right now 🙁 still sending love though♡♡♡ pic.twitter.com/mjhsudfBc7

— Amber Portwood (@AmberLPortwood) August 19, 2014

“Honestly, the only thing that you can do in situations like that is spend as much time as you can with them,” she said. “And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing and just trying to spend that time that you’ve lost.”

Things are already looking up for the mother and daughter who have so much to make up for. They do normal things in as normal a way as they can manage!

“I always bring her to the park if it’s nice out,” Amber Portwood said of her new life with her daughter. “We go get ice cream. We do normal things. We’ll turn on music and dance. She loves dancing. She loves singing. And in the morning when we wake up and I’m making breakfast or something, I turn on my music and she plays. It’s nice.”

Portwood said of their future together, “I want to think about what I have with her today and move forward.”

What do you think? Can Amber Portwood hold it together and finally find new life and happiness with her daughter?

I sure hope so.