Clay Walker‘s family is continuing to grow. The country music singer announced that he is expecting his fifth child with his wife, Jessica, early next year. Clay also has two adult daughters from his first marriage, Skylor, 21, and MaClay, 24.

“Our kids all have a really good foundation and because our family is rock solid, welcoming another child into our home and into our lives is a blessing,” Clay told People, adding that the pregnancy was not a suprise.

“[Jessica is] very in tune with her body and knows what’s going on,” he remarked.

The new baby will join Ezra Stephen, 2½, Elijah Craig, 7, Mary-Elizabeth, 10, and William Clayton, 12, at home.  All of the children are excited, even if one of them was hoping for a sister instead.

“The shock of it being another boy, for Mary, it lasted a couple of hours. There were some tears shed, I won’t lie,” Clay recounted. “It was because of expectation, but that was overcome with the thought that we’re not in control of that. We don’t decide if it’s a boy or girl, and she was able to understand that after a while.”

Clay and Jessica already know what their upcoming baby’s name will be: Christian, named after Clay’s great-great-grandfather, who immigrated from Denmark to the United States, settling in Beaumont, Texas, where Clay and his family reside.

“Everyone called him ‘The Dane’ and Jess and I are really excited to be able to name [our son] after that man,” Clay said. “I always heard the stories about what a great cow man he was, and so as I was growing up, my dad was a cow man and passed that down to me and here I am passing it down to my three sons — soon to be four sons, named after the guy that started it all. So it’s a pretty nice circle of life.”

Clay admits it is his wife and her exceptional parenting skills that keeps their household running so smoothly.

“I can honestly say that she’s a saint, and everyone around her knows it too,” Clay acknowledged. “She absolutely loves being a mom. It’s the toughest job on Earth, and I wish there was more adoration and homage paid to mothers because there’s not a more unselfish way of life than being a mom. It’s tough. And it’s worth it.”

It’s been Jessica who has also helped Clay as he battles multiple sclerosis (MS), which he was diagnosed with in 1996. He recently had a flare up in 2019, which resulted in him not being able to feel anything below his neck for about five months.

“There were a lot of moments where I couldn’t walk. Jess and I got through that, and it was the first time we’d ever had a struggle like that together,” Clay recalled. “A lot of people are scared of [medication], but I can tell you there’s no way that I won’t be on medication after [the attack].”

In addition to eagerly awaiting the birth of his baby boy, the 50-year-old is also working on new music. He will release “We All Need a Bar Sometimes” later this month, after signing a new record deal with Show Dog-Universal, and is eager to get back on the road, as soon as it is safe.

“We’re all about keeping our fans safe and keeping our family and keeping our organization safe,” Clay said. “This has not been easy on anybody — especially not the fans. The fans want to get out there and hear their favorite artists, hear their songs, and believe me, nobody wants to do it more than we want to do it.”