Toby
Toby was in his third year of medical school. Spending his studious days in the cloudy, cold climate of the northeast made him desperate for sunshine. Although busy with school, he decided to take a short trip to San Diego to eat fish tacos, go surfing, and get the sunburn of a lifetime. In between beach trips, he decided to check out the local church scene, where he met a lovely young lady. Eight months later, they were married, and he took his beautiful bride back to the cold northeast. After graduating from medical school, they moved to Augusta, GA, for five long years of orthopedic surgery residency.
The good Lord blessed them with two beautiful young children, Adelaide Marie, and Miles Jackson, who filled their home with smiles and all things little children.
After taking his first job in North Carolina, they were excited to expand their little family. After five long and unsuccessful years, they finally expanded their family via in vitro fertilization (IVF), which included $44,000 ($36,000 for the fee, and $5,000 on medication, $3,000 on genetic testing, not to mention travel, etc.) and sixty days of daily injections. After harvesting eggs, fourteen embryos, testing, and more testing, they finally had four viable embryos: all girls. Two more months of daily injections later, they were ready for transfer. They made the bold decision to place two embryos.
Well, if you put two in, you can get two out.
Thirty-seven weeks and one day (she made sure we added the day, moms of twins will understand) later, and one planned C-section with a specialist, they had two healthy, beautiful new additions to their family.
Introducing two little bundles of joy, Hadley Monroe and Olivia Louise, they welcomed the power of synergy into their home. Two does not equal one plus one when talking about twins. Two times the sleep deprivation, two times the smiles, two times the breastfeeding, two times the rocking, two times storytime, is actually significantly more than one plus one.
Toby’s job was full-time (maybe a little more than full-time), and it was very difficult for them to manage the home, job, and distance from family. With the influence of an intervening higher power, they moved from North Carolina to Idaho (10 months before the pandemic), where they lived only a short drive away from family. There, they were able to find a job that allowed them to finally see that family consistently, travel, and be home as a more active part of their little peoples’ lives.
They’ve been raising twins now for three years and have lots of ideas, thoughts, and feelings about the rearing, nurturing, occasional abject failing, and loving of a beautiful family with four beautiful children- with the specific addition of a pair of twins.
