“It had been a little over six weeks since my last checkup and I just didn’t want to think something could go wrong. 10 years of Steals and Deals: Up to 87% off Color Wow, hair dryers and more! In the meantime, life in America became a little more — wonderfully — complicated as well.

But you think, ‘The Lord has gotten us this far, and I’m just going to have to trust that he’s going to take care of the rest.’ ”. “I was so moved,” Akins said. Part of the A360 Media Entertainment Group.

Her life was going to be at the children’s home unless someone else tried to give her a home,” Lauren says. And yes, God has also blessed them with another baby girl who Lauren’s carrying and is due in August. I just thought it was really cool. “She was a total orphan and didn’t have any biological relatives, no one. “Seeing her there felt like a dream,” Lauren recalls of her first glimpse of Willa when her parents drove up to the private hangar where they met. “So we pulled up in the car and expected it to be low key, but holy crap, half of Nashville was there!”. And it was a story so sweet that it brought Clarkson to tears. "It was such a spiritual thing for me that it just came out of my body. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now?
3, Lennon Love, to the world in February..

‘Our girls cannot wait to meet their little sister,’ the expecting mother gushed. Like, I know that’s why I’m here — to get this girl to her home.’”. I was like, ‘Oh, this little girl has just taken my heart.’ And I was like, 'Honey, we’ve got to find her her forever home. For more from Thomas Rhett’s new family of three — soon to be four! In April 2016, Willa — known then by her nickname “Blessing” — was just one of many needy orphans in a children’s home Lauren visited while working in Uganda with the Christian charity 147 Million Orphans. Lauren’s dad, an airline pilot himself, joined her mom in Uganda, and the two made the 7,000-mile journey to Nashville with their new granddaughter on May 11. Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? “All orphans have heart-wrenching stories, but it felt like this specific baby was ours. “We are absolutely over the moon for our baby girl! Lauren knew they were close to their happy ending, but finalizing the last legal details of the adoption meant that she was getting into dangerous territory with her pregnancy. But the couple soon learned that making Willa their child legally would be far more complicated. RELATED GALLERY: Inside Thomas Rhett & Wife Lauren’s Sweet Love Story, As the days and the red tape ticked by, Thomas Rhett flew out to join his wife for the one week he had off between shows. Though Akins and Rhett eventually did get pregnant, Thomas Rhett's wife knew almost immediately in her heart that Willa was her daughter, biology aside. “Every day you wake up with a whole new set of challenges that you never even heard of.”. Different caretakers every day, different kids picking her up. But during a Thursday video call to “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the couple looked back to the moment their family began, before Lennon’s arrival or even that of her big sister, 2-year-old Ada James — all the way back to when their first child, 4-year-old daughter Willa Gray, entered their lives. Bringing her back to the orphanage wasn’t an option.”, RELATED: Thomas Rhett and Wife Lauren Expecting a Baby – and Adopting a Child from Africa, Nearly a month after Lauren arrived in Uganda, they learned that Willa would, at last, be legally theirs. Lauren, 29, took to Instagram to share the joyous news. A few fans noticed Thomas Rhett, but Willa and Lauren’s mom were able to slip by unnoticed before the new family headed home at last. And it’s been one blessing after another since then. Things moved at a snail’s pace.”, FROM PEN: Adoption Holds a Special Place in Katherine Heigl’s Heart, The couple would stay with Willa in a guest house near the children’s home and parent her as best they could during their visits before returning her to the children’s home when they had to leave. “Willa was so attached to me and Lauren, and Lauren’s mom, that to bring her back to the orphanage at that point would have been completely detrimental,” the singer says. The country crooner and his wife, Lauren Akins, opened up about the touching tale behind daughter Willa Gray’s meant-to-be adoption. Lauren, in Uganda without Thomas Rhett (who was on tour), spent the next two days “attached” to the little girl. “It’s so beautiful because I know that feeling as a mama. I’m pretty sure every flight was booked a day before we left either place, because you can’t plan it. For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on YouTube! And literally two weeks after, we were having home assessments and talking to adoption agencies.”. We’d get there and realize we had to be there another two weeks. “We decided we didn’t have enough princess dresses around the house so we’re adding another Akins baby girl to the family early next year,” she began the sweet post, laced with pink bow and heart emojis. Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins expanded their family this year, welcoming baby No. — pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now. Thomas Rhett's wife is a fan of the singer, but not the biggest fan The couple learned they were pregnant (with a girl, due in August), which meant Lauren’s window for travel was closing. “I don’t think anyone can fully prepare you for the journey of adopting someone, especially from a third-world country where there are so many different laws,” says Thomas Rhett, 27. Sign up for OK! this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. I think that the Lord knew what he was doing when he did not let us get pregnant.”. My doctor really wanted me to come home and make sure everything was okay,” she says. OK, you totally Oprah-ed me just now.