By Lori Ehde
It was a match made in heaven.
That's the only way they can explain it.
Kelly and Crissy Cowell, Kanaranzi, decided in February to become adoptive parents, and eight weeks ago they welcomed twins into their home.
They're thrilled, but they're well aware their babies came to them through unusual circumstances.
"Everyone kept saying there's a bigger hand in this," Crissy said Tuesday. "People don't normally adopt babies this fast. Most people wait for years."
They had less time to prepare for their family than most biologically expectant parents.
On Feb. 12, they were alerted an expectant mother needed adoptive parents for her unborn twins.
By 4 a.m. March 9, the babies were born, and the next day, Kelly and Crissy were holding their sons, Cody and Dylan.
This spring has been a whirlwind of paper work and learning for the new parents.
Crissy said after in-vitro fertilization failed for them last fall, they considered adoption but never filled out the paperwork.
Their connection to the babies, and the unique adoption process that followed, was their affiliation with Jehovah's Witnesses.
Crissy's friend in Jasper had learned of an expectant mother in Louisiana who was looking for adoptive parents.
Because the babies' grandma was a Jehovah's Witness and the mother didn't have a religious preference, the request was made that the adoptive parents be Jehovah's Witnesses.
The Cowells hadn't shared with many people that they were trying to have children, but Crissy's friend knew they were considering adoption and alerted them of the possibility.
They didn't waste time acting on the opportunity.
"One night we filled out paper work for seven hours," Kelly said. "They wanted to know everything about us. What we liked, didn't like - practically down to what kind of toilet paper we used."
Because of the request the babies be placed in a Jehovah's Witnesses home and the fact that they were twins eliminated many other couples from the waiting list.
For Crissy, twins was the icing on the cake. She grew up with twin sisters nine years younger and knew all about caring for babies in twos.
"I've always said I wanted to have twins," she said.
Kelly, who has wanted children for a long time, is simply pleased to be a dad.
The mother was considering another family, but what swayed her decision was the fact that the Cowells live in a rural community and were most open with her from the start.
"It's an open adoption, but we were really open," Crissy said. "We gave her our phone number and our address. She knew everything about us."
An open adoption simply means the birth parents and the adoptive parents have contact with each other.
Since the birth mother already has two children, the Cowells don't fear she'll change her mind, and Louisiana law prevents her from doing so.
"She's not a teen-age mother, but she's single, and she just knows she can't handle two more," Crissy said. "It was bad timing for her but good timing for us."
The Cowells have promised to send monthly photographs of the twins during their first year, and they plan to take them to Louisiana to visit every year after that.
Interacting with the boys, the couple appear perfectly at ease with their new-found parenthood.
Similarly, the boys have bonded with Kelly and Crissy as their own mom and dad.
That's not surprising, considering the Cowells were in the neonatal intensive care unit only hours after the twins were born.
Cody weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces. Dylan weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces.
They weren't the only twins in the hospital at that time, and until they were named, nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit affectionately referred to them as the "Minnesota Twins."
Since their birth, they have doubled their weight, and at eight weeks old, they weigh what most babies do when they're born.
"But they were seven weeks premature, so their due date was actually last week," Crissy pointed out.
Other than middle-of-the-night feedings, the couple agree that parenthood - even with twins - has been going smoothly.
"They're good babies," Crissy said. "Unless they're hungry, they don't fuss."
But they're quick to say they've had plenty of help from friends and family.
Kelly's parents, Jean and Sonny Cowell, live in Magnolia, and Crissy's parents, Joe and Donna Gingras, live in Rock Rapids, Iowa, so help isn't far away when they need it.
The Cowells say they're so thrilled with their new family, they wonder if they're still in the "honeymoon phase" of parenthood.
Mother's Day has pagan roots, so Jehovah's Witnesses don't observe the holiday, but these days, the Cowells are celebrating parenthood every day.
"I think our babies are a gift to us," Crissy said. "I don't think it was luck. I our prayers were answered. "