Country superstar Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akin, were able to bring their daughter, Willa Gray Akin, home from Uganda last Thursday.
They were both very excited, sharing their big news on Instagram.
Rhett wrote, “Meet Willa Gray Akins! I can’t believe our daughter is finally home. Thank you to everyone who prayed every single day for this sweet girl.”
Lauren posted, “Thank you Jesus for bringing our family together on the same continent finally.”
Lauren first met Willa on a mission trip to Uganda in 2016. At the time, the couple had been struggling with infertility and discussing adoption. When Thomas Rhett saw a photo of his wife holding a sweet baby girl, he knew she was special. “Lauren had this amazing glow about her and it just felt like she was already our daughter in a weird way. I just blurted out, ‘We should bring her home,’” the 27-year-old singer told People.
The adoption process took nearly a year, and during that time, the couple made over a dozen trips to Uganda. During the adoption process, they also learned that Lauren was pregnant with another girl, due in August. “I was in complete and utter shock!” said Thomas, about learning that his wife was pregnant while in the midst of the adoption process. “No one is ever prepared for something like that. It is almost like we suddenly had twins.”
Now the family is settling into life as a family of three . . . soon to be four. “It is very weird to be called ‘Dad’ by a little human being,” Thomas Rhett told People. “But it is one of the coolest feelings in the world. Nothing beats that.”
