57,000 minutes

1 month, 1 week, 3 days. 5.71428571 weeks.  40 days. 960 hours. 57,000 minutes (approx.) Now matter how you break the time down, it's coming up soon! That's how long until Buttercup (baby #2) is due!
Yes I'm counting. Yes, I keep track. Yes I have a countdown app on my phone. Yes no matter what I do, I WILL be keeping track! I can't pretend not to.

We are excited. Holding things as loosely as possible, but there's no denying the excitement in our home! We talk about Buttercup a LOT!  She's in our prayers, our thoughts & plans! We are looking at our calendars and all plans are made keeping in mind she's going to be making her grand entrance in just over a month! We are making extended family plans for visits and holidays with a newborn in mind. It's exciting, and nerve wracking as we anticipate life with TWO little girls! Even Karis talks about her! Only once has she said she's not ready. Other than that, she already has her long list of how she's going to be "big sistah hewper" (big sister helper): give her a bottle, throw away diapers (she's getting practice with this already with the little girl I watch 4 days a week), rub her back, brush her hair (yes, Karis is CONVINCED that Buttercup is going to have LOTS of hair at birth), sing her lots of songs, and make sure everyone is quiet when baby sister is sleeping! It's seriously the most precious thing to hear her tell me in her best big sister voice all these sweet things. My heart is overflowing.

Baby clothes & blankets are being sorted, washed, & hung. Cloth diapers are being stripped & stuffed. Even though Buttercup is our second girl, our girls are/were born in different seasons, and even if it was similar times of the year...we now live in Kansas! Big weather difference! Bins of baby items are spread out and the nursery looks like a baby boutique exploded in it! It's so fun! I always knew we'd have girls, but I never realized I'd embrace pink, lace & frills as much as I'm loving it!!! :) Bows, frilly dresses & skirts...yup my girls have lots of those!!! :)

As we are filled with excitement and anticipation, someone else, very important in this process is making plans for after Buttercup is born. Birthmom. S is making plans for her and her daughter I. She's been looking for a job, a car, a new place to live closer to where she wants I to go to school, and a new place to begin their lives, have a fresh start as she says. So in the midst of our excitement we very much think of her and pray for her. As we are anticipating new life and family growth, she's anticipating loss. We will be carrying a baby home in our arms. Her arms will be empty when she leaves the hospital. My heart already aches for what she will be going through. Yes she's choosing an adoption plan (she's not "giving up" her baby) for her baby, but honestly, keeping the baby is the easier decision. Choosing another family to raise a child you love and want the best for is the most selfless, difficult, heartbreaking decision anyone could make in this situation. She is a woman of honor in my book. My girls are going to grow up hearing the name of their birthmoms spoken in love.  S does not share much about what she's going through emotionally as she prepares for placing Buttercup in our family, but she does allow for us to pray for her, and has asked for prayer in finding a job, house & car. So I honor that request and daily pray for her, and pray for her heart. Please join us in praying for her. S is a very strong woman, who's already faced lots in her life, and I know she's strong enough, but I also know she needs Jesus. And I know Jesus loves her. Please pray that in these next 40 days and beyond that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus, or "Jesus with skin on" as I heard said once.

James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.