By Kristin Blackwell
Special to the star
The phone call was unexpected and could not have been more untimely, but also could not have been more welcome.
With a six-year struggle against infertility and a failed adoption behind us, we had since let go of our dream for a second child. Realizing how blessed we were to have one child, we had grown very content with the size of our small family. We reveled in the joy our son brought us. However, there was one little miraculous soul who had very different and unexpected plans for our family.
It all started when we returned home from our spring vacation to a flooded home. A water pipe burst while we were gone and had poured more than 35,000 gallons of water into the first floor of our house. The next 10 days were consumed with clean-up crews, demolition crews and phone calls to and from our homeowners' insurance company. When the phone rang that fateful morning, at 9:01 a.m. on April 17 while I was standing in our mudroom barefoot (I remember every little detail of that moment), I could never have imagined the nature of that call.
Catholic Charities in Jackson, Miss., was calling to check in. The social worker who did our adoption home study called periodically to see how I was handling the disappointment of a past failed adoption. As such, I was nonplussed to hear from her. Then, over the din of jigsaws and sledge hammers, the conversation segued, beginning with, “There is another reason why I am calling…” My memory is a bit fuzzy after this point, though I remember hearing “baby boy,” “born yesterday” and “foster care” before inadvertently dropping the phone and watching it smash into pieces on the floor. Shaking and light-headed, I reassembled the phone while simultaneously trying to gather myself, and called back. Baby Boy Isaac, born April 16 and weighing in at 9 pounds and 10 ounces, needed a good home and would we reconsider adoption?
Well, as they say, the rest is history. Two weeks later Baby Boy Isaac, renamed Robert Walker, was placed in my arms by the beautiful young woman who gave him life. This placement meeting was life-changing, to say the least. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the child in our arms, by the strength and love of his birthmother and by the new direction our life was heading. It was a moment too big for words, felt and not thought, and forever imprinted upon our hearts.
Our family has much to celebrate this holiday season. After eight months of construction, our house is finally complete. During his first eight months of life, Walker has completed our family. The miracle of his little life has brought immeasurable love into our hearts. This year we celebrate not only the miracle of Christmas, but also the miracles of life and love… as a family of four!
