We are taking baby steps….awaiting the first steps of our new babies, and the first moments of our their little lives. Our preparations are not what new “parents” dream of, our cameras are set to protect rather than capture, our moments are tense rather than anticipatory, and we hope for just a little more time…rather than hope for the impending arrival today. We have had a few good weeks to get some nutrition on board, to establish a new routine of consistency, meals that can be counted on, and a peacefulness that previously was more than foreign…it was nonexistent. We are slowly replacing the starvation and abuse with a sensitive kindness that has the underpinnings of somehow wanting to erase the unacceptable heavy handed and cold hearted brutality that was their world. We are slowly defining what “promise” means, and while we are using words and compassionate affirmations, it is in our long term actions and consistent behaviors that really matter. Marlee and Darla might not know that a Red Bucket second chance is forever, but over time, they will learn what a promise really means.