Our Boys Birth Story

During the time where we lived in Corpus Christ, we took family photos with the beautiful scenery of the beach behind us. They were quite stunning. In those photos was my husband, myself, and at the time our 3 daughters. Few months later, the Lord gave me a vision that I would have a son. The vision was similar to all of us standing on the beach but this time, a little boy was at the end. This was in the beginning of 2017 when the Lord gave me that vision. I didn’t think much of it as I was just getting to know about dreams and visions. It was all new to me in the time.

We moved back home to Abilene in late 2017, and that is when we were expecting with our fourth. I thought it would be the boy he showed me. But it wasn’t so. It was our beautiful darling Everly. I didn’t quite understand why God would show me the vision of us having a boy yet here we were, given another daughter. I began to question if I heard right or saw correctly.

Well… I did. The little boy I had seen at the end as we were lined up on the beach was one of the twins. His facial features was exactly like his, his smile, and his cute little overalls.

I left it alone yet again and that is when things began to unfold. God had to do some serious heart work within me before I could bring these boys, this promise, into the world. And there was reasons it had to be done. First He had to pull me out the church building to get my heart aligned with his. You could read more about that here and here. Before a promise could be given, serious heart work, serious healing, deep abiding love with the Lord must be taken place beforehand. We learn to die to some things in order to bloom to where we are called. A promise cannot be birthed until we go through the fire.

That took a few years. Than it came. 2020-2021 the Lord kept bringing it up of how we would have a son. I remember telling him, “okay Lord if you really say this will happen, make it happen. I know you won’t get my hopes up and it not happen.”

I would then share with my husband all the dreams and visions he continued to show me. Though my husband mentioned we are happily content with our four daughters, (as well as I was), he said he would pray on this also. We both would pray together some nights asking the Lord to show us, reveal to us more on this. And he did.

I was a few houses down from our home, getting ready to park to check our mail, and then suddenly I heard, LION, and saw it just like that as a vision. It was almost as if it were on a postcard in bold letters that smacked me in the face but instead it was pronounced “LEON” (almost like Laim but with the n sound at the end). I asked the Lord what that was? What did it mean? He then said it would be the name of the promised son. He showed me LION because LEON in hebrew means lion, bravery, strength, courage, etc. He continued to show me symbols of lions everywhere I went to remind me of the promise.

He kept taking me through stories in the Bible of Abraham and Sarah, Mary and the angel, Elizabeth and Zechariah and Noah…. the name Noah he would show over and over again. I asked him again what that was. He then said his name would be LEON NOAH. I wrote that name down in my bible where he told me to go, Hebrews 11, and left it at that.

It was then, during the summer of 2021, that I was given yet another vision while I was in the kitchen. A vision of my husband holding a sweet precious boy in a red little onesie, and when he turned, the baby looked like a mini him. It was different than the boy I had seen in 2017, yet the same. I never caught it then.

| Double Portion Blessing. The Promise |

During that time, the Lord kept highlighting the word, DOUBLE PORTION, from August-November. I had zero clue what He meant. Double portion could mean a million things to me. Then January came. I looked up at the screen to see the sonogram and there it was, two beating little heartbeats. I wish I could tell you I screamed joy immediately but if I am being honest my heart sank in fear, excitement, shock, and wow’d all at once! I remember showing my husband in the car, with no words, and in tears… tears that I couldn’t stop from flowing. He was in shock and said no way and was FILLED with excitement! Yet I was filled with “how are we going to do this? God didn’t tell me two he said one.”

If you were and have been following along the Through the Terrains with Jesus Series, you probably came across this article.

I prayed “no lord let it not be. let me see just one. Maybe they were wrong.” I went into the dr, the dr said he only saw one. I took a look on the sonogram only to see one also. I wasn’t quite sure if what I saw was true or not. Then I walked out the building thinking I would have some relief of fear, but it wasn’t so. Instead I walked out feeling, “no I know there is two I know what I saw the first time.” The next week the Lord convicted my heart in a very deep way. “Repent for your fear. Repent for your selfishness.” I cried in moping tears repenting asking for forgiveness to see only what I wanted to see. I told him “okay Lord, I am in your hands and so is this promise. If there are two let it be done. I will trust that you will provide and care for us every step of the way.”

So that week I went in for another appointment as he said he wanted to visit me again. Before walking in that building, I prayed, “Lord, may your will be done for my life on earth as it is in heaven. Not my will, not what I want, but what you want for me. I trust you and I lay every fear down at Jesus feet.”

I walked in, sat on the waiting chair, and boom my name was called back. I sat on the bed, laid back, warm jelly was placed upon my belly and right when he barely put the tool on my belly it was a BIG BOOM on the screen. No hiding there. TWO precious boys….. I cried in that room knowing how selfish I was of being afraid of the whole thing and instead right there I felt this HUGE peace and IMMENSE JOY knowing I was given a promise of not one but TWO promised boys! Both a gift from God. Both who God had already told me about. Both of these boys who are HIS.

Then it dawned on me. It was all aligning. From dreams, visions, words he had given me prior. This is what the Lord meant by double portion. This is the DOUBLE PORTION BLESSING! THE PROMISE!!

It wasn’t that I didn’t want the second. I surely did. I just caved and partnered with fear that left me freaking out on what to do next and how will we take care of them and how will I deliver them. All the unknowns slapped me and left me in paralyzing fear. But that is what the Lord was telling me to repent of because it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t want my baby boy, it was the fact that I allowed the enemy to sneak his way in the crack causing me to stumble and be paralyzed. God didn’t want that. He wanted PEACE, JOY, CELEBRATION for what is to come. And that we did. Celebrated with JOY and his overwhelming peace and assurance that He will take care of us all the way through. Because He IS Jehovah-Jireh!

| How we shared with our Daughters |

We waited to tell our daughters until a few weeks passed. We took them to Wendy’s for dinner and we all sat on that one corner table near the window, we all had jackets as it was pretty chilly, grabbed our food, and then here it was. “Tell me what do you see in this photo?” I handed them the sonogram. Ariana immediately began to say “no! No way mom! For real?” Then Aubrey says “Ummm I’m not sure a squirrel?” We all began to laugh.

Then Ariana said. “No Aubrey its a baby.” And I said “Wait… look again… look closely… What is this other one next to this one?” Then tears flowed off our oldest like you wouldn’t believe. She hid her face in her jacket and cried so much, Aubrey did the same, they had uncontrollable tears yet were both smiling the whole time with snotty tears while hiding in their jacket. It was not what we expected. Her and Aubrey were overwhelmed with joy and excitement, along with tears that were uncontrollable. They knew they were boys, even though we didn’t have “confirmation” from the drs yet, they knew because I would share with them the dreams and visions the Lord gave me. And truth be told, the Lord would give them dreams also, and they would tell me they saw us having a boy in the family. So it was no shocker there.

Everyone looked at us in the restaurant unsure of why we all were crying, yet filled with this immense joy! It was a moment to remember that we will forever cherish. Right in that moment, these girls fell in love with their brothers. We celebrated with joy right there in that Wendy’s dining area thanking God for these two precious boys whom we get to bring into this family.

| And so the intense battle began |

“Protect the ones in the womb” is what I heard from the Lord. We had to stay hidden only telling the ones whom he released me to tell. This goes further more in the series, Through the Terrains with Jesus. That is how the series was birthed actually, by sharing our journey we walked all along the way and how Jesus was right beside us, equipping, empowering, encouraging, and handing us the keys to take authority over our boys’ life.

We walked a season of intense warfare throughout that time. From the beginning of the promise when the Lord spoke it (oh friend there is alot I could share about the spiritual realm but that would be a book!), to us bringing them home.

The Dr’s (I had 3) diagnosed me with TTTS, something I never knew about and wouldn’t have known unless twins are in the belly, but God was saying it will not be so! These boys fought all the way through. The doctors mentioned one may not make it while he grew in my belly, yet here I was. Fervently worshipping and praying, praising and declaring to the Lord. Standing in what God already spoke, not in what they say.

As soon as the dr’s saw there were no signs of TTTS, I praised the Lord right there in that room! Even she, followed by the nurses, were shocked to see it “self resolve.” But I wasn’t. I knew! I prayed everyday, I worshipped everyday over these boys and each prayer with each worship session, they would leap! These boys were already feeling and getting filled by the Holy Spirit.

Continued Worship before each dr appt. Continued praise, reminding him of what he promised, and surrendering every visit in his hands was what was done.

The name Matthew was already imprinted on my heart since I could remember. Its quite funny how the Lord reminded me of how that name was already given years prior from the Lord. And even Leroy heard the name Matthew. He heard the Hebrew meaning of it, A Gift from God, from a co-worker and knew twin 2 would have that name. I prayed and asked the Lord for him to reveal a name as he is a gift and promise too. Then I was given a dream. We were all swimming in our state park pool, all as a family. Laughing, joyful, peaceful. My husband and I went under the clear water and both came up and shouted the name at once, like a harmony in perfect tune. I woke up and knew his name as I heard it in my dream. I told Leroy, my husband, and he agreed with the name also. Ethan Matthew, both meaning A Gift From God.

| Their Birth |

I asked the Lord to let me have a natural delivery. Hearing what the Dr recommend, I didn’t want to go through with a c-section. I wanted a at home birth experience. But I was told it is impossible with twins and must be done in a hospital.

I was bummed, but still prayed asking the Lord to give me strength and let His plan be so.

Then came June 6, 2022, marking right at 27 weeks of my pregnancy. It was a normal day, Monday at that, and my husband came home from work. I made dinner, we cleaned up, and I sat on the couch to rest as I was beginning to feel some odd cramps.

I sat to try and watch a movie to relax and there it was, getting stronger and faster. I knew something was off. I got up trying to find my husband after I made the call to the Labor and Delivery Room, but he wasn’t to be found. I went to the restroom and then it came! Suddenly. Abruptly. What felt like small Braxton hicks suddenly turned into active labor. I held onto the wall so tightly and my legs weakened while sitting. I KNEW!

I got up, wobbled fast to the garage calling out his name and still couldn’t find him. I screamed Ariana’s name for her to call 911 and call dad. I went to the restroom and was crying in agony. “No Lord. No God. This can’t be happening. It is too soon. Please no, please don’t let this be.”

My husband entering in the restroom grabbing towels and on the phone with the dispatcher filled with fear, my daughters in unsureness of what was going on, Ariana immediately taking charge by taking her sisters to the room putting a movie on and keeping them distracted as things began to unfold right there on our bathroom floor.

My husband on the line with 911 mentioning how my water broke and here baby was, on his way to make his debut. First responders rushed there way in our house and evaded our home. Calming my husband and this mama. I have never seen so many people in our home at once. Then there he was, “Baby A” as they called him, Leon, born in the sac in our restroom!

Yes, you read that right. It was the most beautiful thing to witness! Yet, scary. Not what I had planned.

Then I tell him, there’s another in there, and his face was shocked! They loaded me up on the ambulance bed, wheeled us out with Leon still in his sac, carefully holding him, and loaded us up in the ambulance. Off to the ER we went.

Right when we entered in the ER doors I mentioned I needed to push. I tried to hold it, but couldn’t. My dr ended up delivering “Baby B” as they say, Matthew, just in time.

Everyday I would ask God “why did they have to come so early? This wasn’t the plan.“

Days passed and he answered. There was something that erupted within my body that I did not know of and because it happened, God saved both boys and myself. Only God!

We won’t always see the full picture of Gods plan. We simply must take heed to his voice and trust that He protects, covers, and provides all that we need. He always is and always will be faithful in the process.

The boys made their debut and into this world at 27 weeks. It was a long NICU stay for us, another battle, another story in itself. Another God story. But how they made their appearance was one to remember. For us all to remember and see the hand of God in it all. He was faithful then, faithful now, and faithful he forever will be!

We praise His name because of all He had done, is doing, and will continue to do for our boys, and my family. We are beyond thankful to those of you who prayed along side us, helped, held our tears in your shoulders, who stood your ground for this. We can’t thank God enough for you. We can’t thank God enough for how good He is!