So much has happened in the last month that I really have no idea when I was where, or what day anything happened. But it happened!!! Aaliyah is HOME!
We drove to Texas, picked up sweet Birth Mama T, and drove on to Louisiana where we met Aaliyah. We waited in the car while T went to the door of Great Grandma's house where Aaliyah was staying. And the door opened and this sweet little girl rushed into T's arms full of excitement. We went to a local pizza place that night. T had told Aaliyah that she was going to meet her brothers. That's how the door of conversation was opened to Aaliyah. So we ate pizza and watched Aaliyah interact with Hudson, Kai and Solo. There was a pretty instant connection.
Aaliyah is FULL, brimming over with joy. Obviously a gift of God. Her circumstances could have easily made her something different, but not this girl. She has a sweetness that flows from the core of her. T also had this same sweetness.
Day 2 we met Aaliyah and T at a park where we played for a little while. Afterward we went for some food and then T had a graduation party to go to, so from that point forward we had Aaliyah. The next day we picked up T and headed back to Texas.
Apparently Aaliyah grew up around some fairly racist people. (This was one of the reasons T wanted to get Aaliyah out of the area she grew up in.) But she made us laugh non stop for days with the things she would say. The second day or so we had to stop the kids from a little slap match they were in. And we told her one of our rules was no hitting. She looked at us and said, "Y'all a bunch of mean white people!". lol Another day Josh asked what her favorite thing she learned in Kindergarten was. She said, and I quote, "You can't learn it. You gotta be black to learn that." So we have obviously spent time training her on those things as well:) She's a quick learner.
We ended up being in Texas about a week. She very quickly formed attachments to us. We were mommy and daddy within hours the first full day. I really wasn't sure what to do since T was with us, but eventually I decided to roll with it because that's what T wanted, was for Aaliyah to have a mommy and daddy.
She feels like she was always supposed to be here. It feels like there was an empty spot waiting for her all those years. We couldn't have planned or picked any better. She simply belongs. We love this girl. And the part that amazes me more is that she loves us back. That doesn't always happen with an older adoption.
Now for a small back story that is a MUST tell. Six years ago April I was in a Bible study and I felt an internal nudge to pray aloud, thank you for this baby....I thought no way am I saying that out loud! But as it was getting closer to my turn I felt like to not speak was going to feel like I disobeyed. That morning in my devotions the verse that jumped out at me was Matthew 10:27, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."
We drove to Texas, picked up sweet Birth Mama T, and drove on to Louisiana where we met Aaliyah. We waited in the car while T went to the door of Great Grandma's house where Aaliyah was staying. And the door opened and this sweet little girl rushed into T's arms full of excitement. We went to a local pizza place that night. T had told Aaliyah that she was going to meet her brothers. That's how the door of conversation was opened to Aaliyah. So we ate pizza and watched Aaliyah interact with Hudson, Kai and Solo. There was a pretty instant connection.
Aaliyah is FULL, brimming over with joy. Obviously a gift of God. Her circumstances could have easily made her something different, but not this girl. She has a sweetness that flows from the core of her. T also had this same sweetness.
Day 2 we met Aaliyah and T at a park where we played for a little while. Afterward we went for some food and then T had a graduation party to go to, so from that point forward we had Aaliyah. The next day we picked up T and headed back to Texas.
Apparently Aaliyah grew up around some fairly racist people. (This was one of the reasons T wanted to get Aaliyah out of the area she grew up in.) But she made us laugh non stop for days with the things she would say. The second day or so we had to stop the kids from a little slap match they were in. And we told her one of our rules was no hitting. She looked at us and said, "Y'all a bunch of mean white people!". lol Another day Josh asked what her favorite thing she learned in Kindergarten was. She said, and I quote, "You can't learn it. You gotta be black to learn that." So we have obviously spent time training her on those things as well:) She's a quick learner.
We ended up being in Texas about a week. She very quickly formed attachments to us. We were mommy and daddy within hours the first full day. I really wasn't sure what to do since T was with us, but eventually I decided to roll with it because that's what T wanted, was for Aaliyah to have a mommy and daddy.
She feels like she was always supposed to be here. It feels like there was an empty spot waiting for her all those years. We couldn't have planned or picked any better. She simply belongs. We love this girl. And the part that amazes me more is that she loves us back. That doesn't always happen with an older adoption.
Now for a small back story that is a MUST tell. Six years ago April I was in a Bible study and I felt an internal nudge to pray aloud, thank you for this baby....I thought no way am I saying that out loud! But as it was getting closer to my turn I felt like to not speak was going to feel like I disobeyed. That morning in my devotions the verse that jumped out at me was Matthew 10:27, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."
So with that in mind also I prayed it in faith. Out loud. Someone actually said what? because I said it so mumbly quiet. So I had to REPEAT it! Afterward everyone was like are you pregnant???? I'm all....uhhhhhh, no. Of course I was so excited after it happened, feeling like God was speaking to me, I told everyone I knew about it. My sweet mom in law bought me like five pregnancy tests:) All negative!
Since that very day I have wondered about THAT BABY! Would I ever meet it? or know what that was all about? I believed I would know someday. When we started adopting I thought could this be it? And it never was. Time slipped further away and it seemed more and more impossible. But I never gave up hope. I knew I didn't invent that prayer. I hadn't been thinking anything like that at that time.
When we almost adopted from Africa I thought surely then, that's when we will finally know! nope.
BUT the time is now! Aaliyah is her name. Aaliyah was in her mama's belly when I prayed that prayer. Aaliyah was a name we had on our list. I loved the meaning. It symbolizes the journey of the Israelites to the Promise Land.
When this was all happening, I knew that I knew this was FINALLY that baby I prayed for all those years previous! But it wasn't at conception or birth when I prayed. So I thought it must mark something during the pregnancy. So I asked God to confirm it for me when I would tell T the story.
Just like God, He provided the PERFECT moment and conversation for me to share what happened and ask her about it. Well when I told her it happened in April, she said, "Did you say April???". I said yes, and she said, "Oh my God! I hid my pregnancy until April. That's when I let it be known that I was pregnant."
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