David Watkins, a 36-year-old single man, had recently moved to Portland, Oregon. He was over 1,000 miles from his family, searching for a job, and looking to start a new life on the West Coast. He was an uncle, but he’d never had the opportunity to marry and have children of his own. A phone call from his terminally ill mother turned his life upside down. David’s nieces and nephews had been removed from his sister’s care by the authorities. His mom had taken them in. The next day, Watkins boarded a plane back home.
Watkins assured his mother that after she was gone, he would raise the kids as his own. He had no car and no job, but the county gave him four of the five kids. The kids had some issues stemming from the care they had received from their mother and her various boyfriends. The oldest child, Corrine, didn’t live with Watkins. She moved around the country, usually staying with various family members, but kept in contact with her siblings. Ethan, the oldest living at home, was angry and defiant at first. One of the girls, Zoe, has cerebral palsy and was non-verbal and unable to walk. The doctors said she would not improve.
Almost six years later, the family celebrated their adoption day. Watkins was able to find work in house design, and the family has a new house is down the street from a park. Corrine, now a 22-year-old beauty school student, says she is most certainly not too old to be adopted. She wants David to walk her down the aisle when she gets married. Ethan, 17, is working through some trouble he got into with the law. He wants to finish school and travel the world. Sebastian, 11, is excited about starting middle school. Twins Abigail and Zoe, 8, are happy and thriving. Zoe is walking and talking. The group has overcome many obstacles in the last six years, and now they move forward as a family.
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