She's finally here!
For those who don't know our story, it all began about four and a half years ago.
I had a completely healthy pregnancy, but at about 35 weeks along, my water broke, leading to a severe placental abruption, emergency c section and the death of our daughter. Her name was Briela, and this event led to the book Hope Filled to be written and the blog Light Shines Bright to be created (which is no longer online today).
Shortly after the loss of Briela, I (Leanne) had such a desire to have a daughter, and even felt the Lord promise a daughter to our family, but after the birth of our third son and deciding to step in faith toward serving in Italy, we decided we were done having children. We started to convince ourselves that the daughter God had promised us was a reference to a spiritual daughter, or even an adopted one. So at the beginning of 2019 when I found out I was pregnant, we started to think that maybe there was a slight possibility that God would fulfill his promise this year.
I refused to hope for a daughter though, in fear that I would be disappointed if the baby turned out to be a boy. I wanted to be happy with either gender (and I know I would have been!). Franklin and I decided not to find out the gender this last time around and keep it a surprise. We were genuinely excited to have a new baby in the family, and the feeling of desperation for a daughter had subsided since the loss of Briela - it would be nice, but I knew I wouldn't be devastated if it wasn't a girl.
Fast forward to November 1, 2019, Franklin and I headed to the hospital at 7am for my scheduled c section. I hadn't originally planned on having a cesarean, but because baby was breech and because of my history, it was decided that it was the safest option for me and baby.
At about 10:05am, the doctors lowered the curtain at the operating table, allowing Franklin and I to see our baby's first moment on earth, and of course to see for ourselves whether we had a girl or a boy. Well, our God is faithful and he gave us our daughter!
Amaris (Gift from God) Valora (Brave, courageous), our newest addition to our family has been widely accepted and loved in our home. Our three boys are constantly loving on her, and it's clear that she fits right in!
Our family is definitely compete.
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