Not only are they twins, but best friends as well . . .

by Kristen Schmehl
(Fairbury, NE 68352 USA)

Our twins are our blessed miracles. Because of infertility issues, we went through several rounds of artificial insemination and four rounds of in vitro fertilization in order to conceive them.

Even before they were born we knew they were special . . . the fact that they survived the journey in utero was such a success in itself. Now at age 5, they are inseparable. They love to be competitive, yet compassionate; strong-willed, yet caring. They are each other's best friend and confidant.

Dominick and Kayleigh already have demonstrated their will to help others less fortunate than themselves. In their preschool class there is another set of twins. These twins are developmentally delayed due to premature birth and complications from that. My children take such pride in helping those other twins, whether it be assisting them up and down to stairs to their classroom, to giving them a push on the swings, or to playing make-believe with them during free play in the classroom. They have made the connection that those other children are also twins and that being a twin is a very special thing!

Dominick and Kayleigh's hobbies include dance (they both are in tap, ballet, and hip hop classes), building with Leggos, and playing with our three large dogs. Mommy has already conditioned them at a young age to be die-hard Nebraska football fans and they are quickly learning the key concepts to the game such as offense, defense, punting, penalties, etc. Because of their well-rounded personalities and their desire to assist others I am confident they will experience many successes in life.