Due to “advanced dilation” my midwife assigned me an appointment later in the afternoon to deliver our sixth child. She knew I hoped to treat myself to an epidural after a slew of rigorous natural births, and one baby delivered via toilet bowl. Getting to the hospital before my water broke would hopefully give me time to get those magical juices injected into my spine. I celebrated the big day ahead in the peace and quiet of my minivan in the Target parking lot with a personal pan pizza and iced latte. I felt thankful for how things were playing out. How nice of God to give my punctual self…

We are days away, perhaps hours away, from welcoming our sixth child into the world. She will be our fifth daughter. As much as I love each and every one of my girls, I am certain and happy that she will be her own person. If babies came out as repeats every now and then, new life would feel less new. A kink in the machine, a mistake of the maker. It deserves a moment of silent worship to realize this has never been the case in the history of the world. The fingerprint belonging solely to one human is quite the artistic feat.  Waiting to meet this entirely original…