My name is Sherry Kaye Sharp Harrell. I have a fraternal twin whose name is Shanda Faye Sharp Roberson. We are 30 years old now and are very close. We live about 30 minutes from each other, which is the farthest distance we have ever lived. We shared the same bed (my parents had five children in five years and not enough bedrooms!) until I got married when I was 18 years old in July and moved about 30 minutes away.

In November of the same year, Shanda married my husband's first cousin and lived about 10 houses from me on the same lake. Although neither of us are married to those same men, we attend the same church, which is Sunnyside Church.

Shanda is an R.N. and teaches at a University (Registered Nursing students). We both graduated from college the same year (4 years after high school), she a nurse and me a Respiratory Therapist.

We never got the pleasure of working with each other until last year when she did some part time work at the hospital where I worked. It was nice!

Now, she has decided to stop after having three children (who are beautiful- one girl and two boys). An interesting thing -- I had my oldest daughter, Taylor, who will be 11 on February 9th, in 1995 (one day after our birthday, February 8th) and she gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Peyton, five years later on the same day, the day after our birthday!

Did I mention that we (Shanda and I) were born on our grandmother's birthday???

Anyway, as I mentioned, Shanda has gotten her tubes tied after three little ones, and I am still going -- I am due to have a cesarean section with my last pregnancy on March 24th, which will be to TWIN boys (I hope --everything is blue!) named Titus and Timothy!

I am a twin having twins! I can remember confiding in my twin sister (we still tell each other everything) that this pregnancy was definitely different. I seemed ALOT sicker than with the others and I couldn't sleep at all the first 3 months.

She jokingly said, "It's because you have double the hormones carrying those twins!" I just laughed it off, but I had to make a personal trip to deliver the news to her where she was working at a hospital in ICU. She couldn't imagine what could be wrong when I showed up standing there glaring at her waiting for her to get a moment to come see me.

When she came out of the room she was in, I said, jokingly, "You did it to me!" holding up sonogram pictures. Needless to say, she shared the excitement with me when she found out.

 am one of the few people who will be able to say that I have experienced the life of a twin FULL CIRCLE. I have been able to enjoy the closeness of a twin relationship, (Shanda's husband, Steve, says, "Shanda, it's your umbilical!" when I call-- we talk several times everyday, and he picks with us saying the cord must be stretched too tight when we call or see each other alot!) and I have overcome the obstacles of constantly being compared to each other still to this day (which has never come between us), and I get the blessing of a twin pregnancy and hopefully to see what it will be like to raise twins.

Shanda is going to be with me when I have the cesarean section, because my wonderful husband, Chris, said it was just too much for him to bear when he was with me for my C-Section delivery of our son Levi (some people are not as interested in seeing your belly cut open as others!She is very excited to be able to experience this with me. I look forward to giving birth to twins and, Lord willing, raising and enjoying them.

I have three other children, Taylor (a girl), who will be 11 this next week, Connor (a girl) who is 7 years old, and a 1 year old son( he'll be 2 in March), named Levi. I have enjoyed being able to ask my own mother questions that may arise throughout my pregnancy such as breastfeeding twins, which she did as well. I'm sure I will call on her often through the years.

The opportunity to be a twin is only half of the fun when I think about raising twins -- I am truly blessed. Please pray to God for a safe delivery of these little ones.

Sherry Harrell

Clayton, Louisianna

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