Lisa
received an unexpected phone call in October. “We know you’re only interested
in school age children, but would you be interested in a 16-month-old
girl?”
They
needed an answer immediately. I was out of town on business when Lisa called.
Without hesitation or deep discussion, we agreed that we were interested. I was
still out of town the next night when Lisa called and asked me, “Where can I
find a hammer?”
Lisa
needed the hammer to build our crib, just in case we were chosen as the family
for this little girl. Instead of saying, “You don’t need a hammer to build the
crib,” I told Lisa where to find a hammer. I also figured we had zero chance of
getting the girl.
The next
evening, less than 48 hours since we received the first phone call and more
than two years since we started the process, we had a beautiful little girl in
our home. I advised Lisa not to get too attached because a finalized adoption
was not guaranteed. We started out as foster parents. I listened to my own
advice for no more than 20 seconds. My heart immediately melted as soon as I
looked into Egypt’s eyes. I knew right away that she was my daughter!
After
being an only child for more than 11 years, I'm not sure how much Kellisa
understood and she had no idea how much her life was going to change. Kellisa
wanted a sibling. In fact, when we were at wishing wells, Lisa would give
Kellisa a coin and she would throw it in the water while shouting,
"Baby". She wasn't good at keeping her secret wish contained, but
sure enough...it came true!
Kellisa
continued with her active life. She started horse therapy an hour away on
Wednesday evenings. Kellisa adjusted well to having a little sister and Egypt
fit right in from the beginning. Kellisa and I even found time when she had a
couple of days off from school to visit Russell Cave National Monument and
Little River Canyon National Preserve in far Northeastern Alabama. We even had
time to ride the Incline Railway in Chattanooga, TN.
We had a
trip to Death Valley scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving when Egypt was
placed with our family. We needed a judge’s approval to travel out of state
with Egypt because she was a foster child. Her case worker suggested a
temporary placement while we traveled. We never considered that option. Egypt
was family even if it wasn’t yet legal. We received permission less than 24
hours before our departure. Egypt was a natural traveler while her first
outdoor adventures as part of the Kain family.
I didn’t
have any doubts that Kellisa was happy, but if I did, they would have been
erased the morning I witnessed Kellisa finger feeding Egypt cereal at the motel
in Death Valley. Kellisa wasn’t even feeding herself at this point and her face
glowed with pride from helping Egypt.
Top
Left- Horse Therapy Top Right- Christmas Card Photo Bottom Left-
Train at Brec's Baton Rouge Zoo Bottom Right- Christmas
Our cousin Matt drove over from Texas for a few
days after Christmas for some new adventures. We hiked at Timucuan Preserve in
Jacksonville & Merritt Island. We also enjoyed off-road driving in Matt's
new 4X4 truck.
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