In TEN short days...but they seem very long to us!!...we will hold our new baby girl in our arms!! Most of you know this wonderful news already, but Rihanna's birthmom was pregnant when she chose us to parent Rihanna, and the plan all along has been for us to adopt not only Ri but also her baby sister! On Friday, August 26th, she was born! She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and measured 19 inches, which makes her the exact size of Cate Burwell at her birth!!
Yes, we are a little out of our minds to adopt 2 children within 3 months. But you know what God did for us...He led me to pray for a "sibling group" (as it is called in adoption world) for MONTHS before actually starting our adoption process. God put it on my heart and I begged Him to do this for us, and so when it came along, even though it is a LOT and our lives are going to be crazy for a few years (or forever??), we could say, Well, this is what we asked the Lord for, and if He has done it, how could we say no??!! I think that prayer is really more for US than for God anyways, and this event has proven that to me.
Okay, back to those 10 longest days of our lives...for those of you who are not totally familiar with the adoption process, each state has adoption laws that are unique to it. In Georgia, a mother may sign papers to give up the rights to her child, but she must wait until the baby is born and is 24-hours-old. Then she has 10 days to change her mind, so to speak, and say, "I want to parent my child after all." Sometimes babies-to-be-adopted are directly placed with the adoptive parents as soon as they are released from the hospital, as Will was...this is a double edged sword for the adoptive parent...what joy to bring home that baby immediately, but what fear that the birthmom may change her mind and want the child back. So, in many cases that our agency works with, a foster mom will step in and care for the baby for that 10 day waiting period; then, when the adoptive parents do get to meet their babies and take them home, on day 11, it is forever.
In steps "Miss Fran". Fran has been a foster mom for our agency for 20 years!! (God bless her!) She has cared for 100 babies. Really, is that not amazing?! Fran fostered Rihanna for a month between the time that her birth mom (remember we are calling her "Mama D") gave up her parental rights to the time that Rihanna moved in with us. Fran is so awesome and Rihanna adores her and mentions her every day..."Miss Fran did this with me...Miss Fran gave me this...Miss Fran loves me".... As God would have it, Miss Fran is taking care of Ri's little sister, our little girl, as we speak. She was released today from the hospital and went straight to Fran's arms.
If all goes as planned, we will meet our girl on Wednesday, September 7th. It sure does feel great knowing what wonderful hands she is in until then.
We will name our girl "Alana Lucille". Alana is a name chosen to honor Troy's sister Lana. Alana is pronounced A-lay-na, in case you are wondering. Lana is the BEST and we all adore "Aunt Lana" around here; Aunt Jen (my sister) came up with the idea to use the name Alana after I mentioned to her that we would love to somehow honor Lana when naming the baby. Lucille was the name of Troy's African-American "nanny" while he was growing up. I am not sure that Lucille was actually hired to be the nanny, but she gave Troy so much love and care that I have always referred to her like this. She loved Jesus and God used her life and character and prayers to have a huge impact in Troy's life. She is with the Lord now but I SO hope that somehow she knows about Rihanna and Alana Lucille, because I think it would make her smile so BIG!
I can't wait to meet our girl; we will definitely send pictures!!
Are we done having babies? Absolutely not. We want at least 3 more. HA!! just kidding! We think we are done...I feel like when our baby gets here, then everyone will be home. Then we can get the party started.