We lost all of that with Kurt when he died and we know the girl's would not be able to fill the void. My wife and I came to the conclusion to reverse my vasectomy and have another child. We may have made the decision too soon as some had felt but we were not getting younger and we knew that the reversal may take time. We also knew that the health insurance company would not pay for the expensive procedure and the money would have to come out of our own pocket. If the surgery was not successful we would not be able to afford another surgery.

I had the procedure done in January just three months after Kurt's death. We would not know for several months if it worked and then it could take up to a year before pregnancy could occur. We were very lucky as the procedure did work and Sheryl was pregnant within two months of the surgery. As with Emily, Kurt, and Tana we did not want to know the sex of the baby. We like to be surprised. We were concerned somewhat as Sheryl had some problems with pre-term labor. We went to the hospital a half dozen times to stop the pre-term labor and we hoped that we could make it far enough to ensure having a healthy baby. Avery Camden Osweiler was born December 9th of 1997, less than one year after the surgery. We were very happy as we could be. I cried when I saw his body as he was born and knew that he was a boy. The girl's were happy too as they both wanted a little brother. The huge void in our lives was now somewhat filled. There will always be a void but not so huge and heavy.

My wife and I discussed the possibility of having another child. We did not know how long it would take to succeed in having another baby. Again, we were very lucky as Sheryl was pregnant again only three months after Avery had been born. This time we did not have as many problems with pre-term labor. We only went in once before the actual birth. On December 3rd, 1998 little Merrick Stevens Osweiler was born. Another boy joined the family and we were very happy again. The void was filled in a little more after Merrick's birth.

We had decided to wait a little while before our next attempt but Sheryl lost track of her special medication and she was pregnant again in July of 1999. The due data was in April and Dustin Warner Pepin Osweiler was born on March 23, 2000. Again, Sheryl had some pre-labor issues and was in the hospital for a week on medication to stop the labor. Dustin was a healthy boy.

We had decided to hold off on having any more children and Sheryl had a IUD inserted to prevent a future pregnancy. It was just over a year later we chose to have one more baby as Sheryl wanted to have a baby girl. Again, she had pre-term labor issues and ended up on bed rest for nearly three months. This put a strain on our finances but we made it through. Luke Aragorn Osweiler was born on April 11, 2002. We were fortunate that he was born at that time as the doctor said the placenta was not normal and could have detached at any time. We have now decided that it is no longer safe for Sheryl to have another baby.

The boys have clearly filled some of the void in our life and I look forward to showing them the things I planned on showing Kurt.

Here are some pictures of Avery and Merrick.

Avery