baby.

what joy, to finally share about this baby on the way. this tiny hummingbird is all we think about, dream about, talk about over here. i couldn't stop if i tried. i just want to know who she or he is, and every little thing about who this person will become. 

the early days, when babe was only a blossom tucked deep in my belly and a secret we two shared, were ineffably sweet. knits and bloomers and bonnets long tucked in our baby box suddenly clutched tangible promise. names held so tenderly brimmed with possibility. and with that sunny morning in may, when news of a babe of our own bloomed true, came a peace i have never known -- a coming home within myself. i anticipate feeling that again and again throughout my motherhood. i anticipate feeling that for the rest of my life. 

with each passing day, my half moon of a belly grows rounder and baby kicks wilder (sweetest feeling i have known, those kicks, like bird wings brushing a windowpane). and i, i am woven tighter into the grand circle of women who have, across all of time, given and received words about growing life and bringing forth and raising up. 

such divine privilege this is, unspeakably so. oh, i am grateful.