The tale of the Kosinski family from Wisconsin is nothing short of astonishing. Currently in the process of adopting two sets of twins, they recently experienced the joy of welcoming twins of their own into the world. The most extraordinary part? All these twins share a common birth date – February 28 – but in different years.
Photo Credit: Carrie Shortsle Kosinski/Facebook
Carrie and Craig Kosinski, residing on their Union Grove farm, always had adoption as part of their family plan. This desire was deeply rooted in Carrie’s own history, as she had been adopted as a child. However, they initially wished to have biological children before pursuing adoption. Their path took an unexpected turn when they faced a medical verdict.
Doctors diagnosed Carrie, aged 28, with endometriosis and other complications that posed challenges to natural conception. This revelation compelled them to accelerate their adoption plans.
Photo Credit: Carrie Shortsle Kosinski/Facebook
Drawing from her personal experience of growing up in a family of nine, including her own adoption, Carrie expressed her longing for a larger family that could provide love and companionship.
Their extraordinary journey commenced when a high school acquaintance contacted them in July 2013. This acquaintance inquired if the Kosinskis would be willing to adopt her twins, due to be born on February 28, 2014. Astonishingly, the birth mother was already a parent to another set of twins, born on the same date one year earlier.
The couple accepted this proposition, officially becoming the legal guardians of the twins, named Kenna and Adalynn, just three months later. Their family had now grown by two, with the younger set of twins.
Photo Credit: Carrie Shortsle Kosinski/Facebook
Remarkably, a year after embracing their newfound parental role for Kenna and Adalynn, the birth mother contacted the Kosinskis once more. She found herself in a challenging financial situation and humbly asked if the couple could extend their guardianship to include the older set of twins, JJ and CeCe, who are now four years old. Without hesitation, the Kosinskis agreed to welcome these two additional children into their loving family.
In the process of adopting both sets of twins, they encountered significant costs. To their delight, they received a $4,000 grant from the One Chance Foundation, an organization founded by best-selling author Karen Kingsbury. Although Kingsbury has never met the Kosinskis in person, her foundation was deeply moved by the couple’s story.
Karen Kingsbury explained their foundation’s heartfelt response: “These siblings could grow up together – that’s what captured our hearts. We were in tears in our office.”
Photo Credit: Carrie Shortsle Kosinski/Facebook
But the Kosinski family’s expansion wasn’t concluded. The couple received surprising news thanks to IVF treatments – they were expecting twins of their own. These biological twins, Clarissa and Karraline, arrived prematurely on February 28.
Carrie described their biological twins as “little miracle babies,” given the challenges they faced upon birth. Their family now consists of eight members, living an incredibly busy life on their Wisconsin farm. As Carrie humorously noted, “There’s never a dull moment in our house.” The Kosinski family’s journey is a testament to love, resilience, and the incredible bond of family.