I had always wanted twins and had prayed and prayed that God would bless me with twins! When I was pregnant with our daughter in the winter of 1991-92, my sister was also pregnant. I knew I was having 1 precious baby and I was so thankful! Then, my sister found out that she was having twins! While it didn't decrease my thankfulness for our baby on the way, I must admit that my heart sank! I thought some not-so-nice thoughts. After all, I HAD PRAYED FOR TWINS! I wanted twins. I really thought she got pregnant just because I was pregnant! (Yes--I'm the spoiled baby of our family!) Oh my, the battle that waged within me about the twins! Once our beautiful babies were born, I helped daily with Alex and Austin, while we also cared for Brooke. Those were some difficult but amazing days!
Fast forward two years to the winter of 1993...November to be exact so really the fall, I suppose. I had recently found out that I was pregant again! What a blessing! We always knew we wanted a large family. Doug and I were so excited! So much was going on in our lives at the time. We had bought land several years earlier and the time had come to start building our house. The night before the foundation was to be dug, I started bleeding. I was devastated even before knowing what was causing it. I worried and fretted all night. I called the doctor and he told me to wait until the morning and see what happened and then go straight to his office. We already had plans for Dougie and a family friend to start digging for the foundation, so he couldn't go with me. A dear friend from church said she would go with me. We waited and she was such an encouragement and comfort. At this point, I was only a few weeks pregnant. (I always knew almost at conception. I was blessed with morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, and even middle of the night sickness!)
The doctor had decided to go ahead and do an ultrasound to see what was going on. The technician doing the ultrasound was so sweet. She started the procedure and turned the screen to look at it closely. This scared me to death! Then, she looked at me with a perplexed expression. She turned the screen to me and asked..."Is there a history of multiple births in your or your husband's family?" By this time, my friend's eyes were as big as saucers! I said, "Actually, yes. My sister just had twins about 1 1/2 years ago." The technician went on to point out two teeny tiny blips on the screen. I was so early on that all that was visible were two amazing beautiful, awe-inspiring, blips on the screen. There were TWO heartbeats! I WAS EXPECTING TWINS!
We rushed to the property where Doug was working and shared the news! He turned as pale as a person can turn. I thought he might pass out! Then, the digging of the foundation stopped! We needed to add more room. :) Isn't God's timing perfect?!
Fast forward a few months into the pregnancy. Expecting twins in 1994 meant that I was privileged to have multiple ultrasounds unlike with Brooke when I had only 1. During an ultrasound appointment, the technician abruptly left the room. When she came back, she had a doctor with her. Once again, my heart sank! The doctor explained to me that Baby B (Cody) had something wrong with one of his kidneys. He explained that I needed to follow-up with my OB/GYN and also consult with our pediatrician. He then went on to strongly suggest that after those consultations, we come back to the hospital to have selective reduction counseling because of all that the kidney 'malformation' could mean.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE TO REDUCE MY TWINS TO ONE? YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE TO END THE LIFE OF THIS BABY THAT I HAD PRAYED ABOUT FOR SO LONG?
(Ultrasound later in pregnancy...2 heads)
Well, I did talk to my OB/GYN and told him point blank that the only choice to be made is leaving this baby in my God's hands and trusting that God has a plan for him! Thankfully, my doctor completely agreed!
We continued through the pregnancy, having ultrasound after ultrasound. Each time, the kidney problem seemed to either stay the same or be a little worse. Doug and I took the concern to our church family at the time. Our church family prayed over my sons, even while I was pregnant. When Blake and Cody were born, they immediately started doing tests on Cody's kidneys and other things, as well. Both babies seemed perfectly healthy, except Cody's kidney still wasn't quite developed the way they said it should be. All those "birth defects" the doctors were concerned about...NONE!
(Cody on left; Blake on right)
Again, we took our concerns to our church family. This time, the church prayed over Cody. I still get chills when I remember that day. God's power that flowed through those believers was overwhelming! At Cody's next check-up, his kidney showed no signs of any malformation!
These were the first things God did for Cody. Psalms 139:13 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." God was at work in the life of Cody even before time began. God also had big plans for Cody as he grew.
Part 2 coming soon.
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