Two years ago at 8:00am, I was wheeled into surgery for an unexpectedly early C-section. Pre-eclampsia had ravaged my body, and at 28 weeks, the doctors couldn’t hold off any longer. I was terrified. Not only was my life in danger, but I knew that having my girls at 28 weeks also put their lives in danger.

Fortunately, I pulled through, and as far as we know, I have no residual effects from the pre-eclampsia. If you have followed my story, however, you know that my baby girl, Bristol, only lived for 9 weeks.

The bright side of this story is that my firecracker, Bella, not only made it, but is a miracle in every sense of the word. Born at 2 lbs and 4 oz, she is still a tiny thing – reaching 20 lbs only recently, just in time for her second birthday. But she has yet to have any major health complications, and is so very observant and smart! Apart from her small size, you would never know that she was born 12 weeks early and spent the first two months of her life in a box in the hospital.

Today, I am thankful for my little miracle, Bella. I am also thankful that the Lord let me live to see her grow into such a beautiful, smart little girl. And while I am sad that she doesn’t have her twin sister along for the ride, I am so very thankful that we at least had 9 weeks with her, and that we have lots of pictures and video to share her story with Bella as she gets old enough to understand it.