“will you start from the beginning?”

i’m glad my sister didn’t have triplets. my heart has a hard enough time trying to hold my love for just the two of them. my love cannot be contained or expressed. words are all inadequate and i have a very small vocabulary, so that doesn’t help my case. i cant remember life without them here. i do know that my days weren’t as sunny. as full. as delicious. they can’t hear the story about the day they were born enough. oh, “and start it from the beginning.” about how they were so excited to meet us that they came a whole month early. and how everyone came to the hospital and sat all night waiting, wishing, hoping for them to come soon. yes, ty, just like waiting for santa – but better. and how we knew they were going to be just right,  but we had not planned on God giving us some of his best work. addie gets wide eyed when we get to the part where she came out first and how we lined the halls to get a peek of her as they rushed her to the nicu. how we all cried happy tears because even then, she was the loveliest princess in any kingdom. yes, my sweets, even prettier than cinderella herself. we tell her how she had a whole head of black hair and a mouth that was as pink as a rosebud. ty can’t hide his smile when we get to the part about how even at 3 lbs 11oz he was “so strong” that the doctor had to pull him out with “all of his muscles” because he wanted to stay inside. he’s very proud of that fact. they want to hear about how they were so itty bitty that they had to stay in the hospital for a week before they could go home. and how during that time, we came to visit every day. we’d read them books and sing them songs and sometimes when they’d forget to breathe, we’d have to tickle their tiny feet. and we would hold them and stare because we’d never seen anything as perfect as the two of them. i still find myself staring.