Alonah, Lonissa and Breylon Green

For Pastor Lonnie Green and his wife, Karen, their faith in God is their life. While trying to start a family, they trusted in Him, even when things seemed hopeless. For 10 years, the Greens prayed for a miracle. And on June 24, 2000, they received the first of four miracles.

Daylon was born healthy at 5 pounds and 13 ounces. His sister, Alonah, who was born a year and a half later, was not so fortunate. Karen was immediately admitted after a regularly scheduled checkup indicated that she was in labor. Alonah was born premature at 31 weeks, weighing only 4 pounds.

"My husband kept telling me during labor that they are ready to take her once she's born…if she can't breathe on her own," recalls Karen. "I'm trying to get her here, and they were telling me that they might need to send her away."

Alonah, however, was able to stay at Shannon and was immediately taken to the NICU where she was monitored for respiratory distress. "We were blessed that Shannon was equipped to take care of our child," Lonnie says.

But Alonah, being monitored closely by Dr. Karl Wehner, needed minimal stimulation so her body temperature could be regulated. "That was really hard—she was so little," says Karen. "They had her in the Isolette and kept her by the window so that visitors could see her. We didn't get to hold her much, and that was really hard."

Two years after their close call with Alonah, the Greens found that they had not one, but two more miracles on the way. Karen was pregnant with twins. "It was a shocker," Lonnie says of the twins, "but I consider us highly blessed."

Because of the difficult pregnancy with Alonah, the Greens were frequent visitors to Shannon. Like Alonah, Lonissa and Breylon were also born with low birth weights. The twins were kept in the twin Isolette for a while. "The Children's Miracle Network was very helpful with the twins," says Dr. Wehner. "They were able to use our twin Isolette, which was purchased with money raised at a previous CMN telethon."

Despite the chaos of such a big family, the Greens are doing well. Daylon is almost 6, Alonah is 4 and the twins are 2. Lonnie and Karen are so thankful for the blessings of their children. Dr. Wehner agrees: "Each and every one of these children is a miracle child."