Wow. What a difference a year makes.

Barely a year ago, my husband David and I were only dreaming of our family.

For years, it had been just the two of us, but we wanted more.

Faced with infertility challenges, we languished with mere daydreams of our unborn children. Now as I write this, my two tiny miracles are sleeping peacefully in the next room.

There were times when, in frustration, I wondered if we would ever get to be a mommy and a daddy. Of course, there is always the adoption option, but I was grieving the loss of the ability to carry my own children.

Last summer, we began searching for a doctor who we hoped would help us carve a path to parenthood.

After months of researching doctors and procedures, we settled on in vitro fertilization using donor eggs, with the help of Dr. Ashim Kumar at Fertility and Surgical Associates in Thousand Oaks, and my sister Shanna as our egg donor.

The emotional journey we have taken since the first doctor visit can only be described as "wow." Not only my sister but also two friends expressed interest in helping us achieve our goal by donating their eggs. It was like a shot of warm fuzzies to hear from friends and family that they would do whatever it took to help us achieve our goal.

By mid-September, the heavy lifting was done. My sister's eggs had been harvested and fertilized with my husband's sperm and the embryos implanted in my uterus. There were 10 long days of waiting and wishing.

By Oct. 1, it was confirmed. We were expecting.

Weeks later, an ultrasound revealed two embryos had begun to grow. Months later, we got the news that our twins were boys. We picked out names and decorated the nursery. We picked out a stroller, cribs, all the essential baby gear, all the while feeling very much "wow."

For two months, a pregnancy complication meant that I had to spend most of my time in bed. I waited and hoped that the worst would not happen.

With every doctor visit, when I saw my two babies kicking and thriving on the ultrasound screen, I couldn't shake the feeling of "wow."

Our miracle pressed on, as every day we inched closer to the due date.

Evan and Aidan

On April 26, all of our planning and wishing became reality. My water broke at 12:30 a.m., and we rushed to the hospital. Less than two hours later, I was kissing my baby boys before they were whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Born six weeks before their due date, our babies were preemies and faced a two-week battle in the NICU before they came home with us. They needed time to grow.

Because of the anesthesia required for my C-section, I remember very little about the delivery. But I remember my husband sitting beside me in the operating room, telling me our first son, Evan Lee Chang-Yen, had been born. Seconds later, I heard his cries. Paralyzed and a little confused from the muddle of the anesthesia, I remember hearing the cries of our second son, Aidan Jet Chang-Yen.

From my restraints on the table, I could not see most of what was going on, but I kept whispering the word — "wow" — over and over.

So much wow'

That sentiment would be the ongoing theme for the next few days.

As I slowly recovered enough to walk down to the NICU and hold my babies, their tiny IVs mirroring mine, I remember that constant feeling. Even now, more than two months later, it is the best way I can describe how I feel. I am amazed and blessed; I live with a nonstop feeling of "wow."

The boys made quick progress in the NICU and came home two weeks later.

Their Aunt Shanna visited to share in our feeling of "wow."

We also are feeling a bit "wow" at the amount of work. Twins are a tremendous commitment, if evidenced only by the lack of sleep. But our surprise at the hard work pales in comparison to the overwhelming feeling that something truly amazing has transpired.

Our story has been repeated thousands of times in families all over the world, but it is no less a miracle. It is a miracle of science and love and a bit of mystery.

Science created the opportunity, love created the possibility, and something larger than both made it a reality.

I don't know if our boys will ever truly grasp how the universe conspired to create them. But now the work of raising them begins, and we aim to do it in a way that is worthy of their amazing beginnings.