I always have the intention of keeping this blog up to date, but I always fail miserably. But, when new things happen in the life of the Jemison clan, I must update to keep a record. In this case, something completely life-altering popped (literally) into our lives.
A BABY GIRL!
It's true. Lance and I were officially (unofficially) done having more kids. We had our 2 boys and a girl, and thought...it can't get any better than this. Well, we were wrong. God said He wasn't done with us yet and gave us a beautiful blessing...
WILLOW ANGELENA
Willow means slender and graceful.
Angelena means angel or messenger.
For Lance and I, her name was the most difficult to come up with out of all of our kids. We weren't planning on having any more kids... plus, I think we were in shock for the first 6 months of the pregnancy, so deciding on a name did not come easy. We made our list of names and could never agree on one. One day, I asked Lance if he liked the name Shiloh or Willow. I was leaning toward Shiloh, so I was hoping he would say he liked it. To my surprise, he liked both, but was leaning toward Willow. (This was the first time we agreed on a name after going through hundreds of names) Since I was leaning toward Shiloh, he told me I could choose. So, there it was...her name would be Shiloh. We decided to keep the name a secret, since we were already about 7 months along. We only told the kids hoping they could keep it a secret. Zoe would tell people all the time that her baby sister's name was "Shi-dow", but, since nobody could understand what she was saying, we were in the clear. Then, one day, everything changed.
I was doing some decor shopping at TJ Maxx. I was taking my time going through the store looking at all of the cute items I could buy for the house. I picked up a few things, but the kids were getting restless, so I decided to check out. I pull up to the counter and see a young girl at the cash register with such a sweet smile on her face. "Ma'am, I can help you over here." she said. When I looked at her, something about her face looked familiar. She had golden ringlet curls, light brown skin, and green eyes. Then, I thought to myself...she looks like she could be one of my kids. Of course, she was much older than my kids, but she looked like she could fit right in. In that moment, I thought to myself...I wonder if this is what our baby girl will look like? Once I realized I was staring at the poor girl (she probably thought I was some kind of freak), I looked down toward her name tag, and there it read...
"WILLOW"
I didn't even know what to say, and I think I even gasped. I paid for my items and ran out the store. As soon as I left the store, I called Lance and told him what happened. I told him it was a sign, and we had to name the baby Willow. Lance kind of chuckled, because I probably sounded like a crazy person, and, being my voice of reason, he told me to think on it.
After the whole crazy incident, I did take some time to think on it, and told Lance we should wait until we see her face.
Once she was born and I saw her beautiful green eyes, light skin, and light brown curls, I knew she was meant to be "Willow".
At first it didn't go over that well as Zoe called her Shiloh for about 2 weeks. She didn't understand why we kept saying the baby's name was "Willow". She would even correct us if we called the baby Willow. She would say, "She's not Willow. She's 'Shi-dow'". But, after much convincing, she is now Willow to all of us, even Zoe.
Willow's middle name is, also, very special to us.
A few months before we were pregnant with Willow, Lance's Aunt, Angelena or Ann/Angie, as she was affectionately known, passed away. It was sudden and unexpected, and was a huge blow to our entire family. Auntie Ann was very important to Lance and I. She was one of the first family members from Chicago I met. I was so nervous to meet Lance's family, and she was the one who picked us up from the airport. She was so warm that all of my nerves left immediately. She made me feel like family, almost, instantaneously. To know Auntie Ann was to love her. She never missed an opportunity to serve others, encourage others, or tell you how special you were. There are so many stories I could tell about her, but that would be an entire blog post in itself.
When Lance said he wanted the baby's middle name to be Angelena, I felt there was no better way to honor our aunt. She loved my children like they were her own grandchildren. And, I am certain, she kissed Willow before she came earth-side, because, when Willow was born, she had a mark on her forehead, which the nurses told us was called an angel's kiss.
How special is that?
Willow's delivery was, by far, my easiest labor and delivery. She came fast, and with virtually no pain. I held her skin-to-skin for almost 2 hours after she was born where we just loved on each other. From day one, she has been our sweet angel, and we cannot imagine a life without her.
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