Wounded war vet thankful for newborns

>>> today's american story with bob dobson comes from parker, colorado, where a wounded g.i. is celebrating something special, a normal life . his battle didn't end when he came home and his family has been struggling ever since.

>> a baby will find a way to make us feel better. matt kyle may be paralyzed from the waist down, but his daughter knows the path to this dad's heart is through his thumb.

>> good morning! you wake up thinking you're having a bad day , and you come out, see those beautiful smiles and it lights up your world.

>> reporter: army staff sergeant matt kyle had been married just six weeks when an iraqi sniper shot him in the neck.

>> felt like somebody kicked me right in the back and i fell forward.

>> reporter: he had flown to war before his honeymoon.

>> hey, matt.

>> reporter: his wife almost passed out when she heard.

>> i remember my mom catching me when i got week in the knees.

>> reporter: matt came home a hero in 2007 , wondering about his new bride.

>> i asked her if she still loved me, and she looked me right in the eye and said, of course i love you. you're stuck with me.

>> reporter: matt and tracy were determined not to let that war wound limit their lives. they longed to have a baby, but were told that might not happen. still, they tried. even as matt was battling his way back to health. one day their doctor heard three tiny hearts.

>> look at the little arm.

>> reporter: lots of them. two boys and --

>> girl?

>> no way.

>> it's a girl? i told you it was a girl.

>> reporter: doctors had implanted two embryos. one split. tracy was pregnant with triplets after their first attempt to have a family.

>> very close to being born.

>> reporter: seven weeks early.

>> i'm really excited, your mom is back there.

>> that's me.

>> hi! so i already love you and i can't wait to see you.

>> reporter: but he would face another fight, with casualties.

>> oh, i'm sorry.

>> reporter: one boy died. the other weighed just three pounds.

>> hey, buddy. you want to be on me.

>> reporter: their sister, an ounce less than that.

>> hi, big guy .

>> reporter: like dad, the babies would have to struggle to survive.

>> it was hard.

>> reporter: so they named their daughter faith.

>> you making funny faces at your dad.

>> reporter: she was stronger than mast matt jr. left intensive care after seven weeks. oh, my goodness. you look totally freaked out. matt jr. finally went home after 2 1/2 months. tod today, both babies are doing well. did you ever lose hope?

>> never. no.

>> reporter: do you ever regret?

>> no. no regrets. not at all.

>> reporter: life no longer in tim dates this family. they have beaten bad times before.

>> we tackle them and move on.

>> reporter: matt kyle has limited use of one arm, but doesn't dwell on what he cannot do. he finds the fun in what he can.

>> whee!

>> he's here. that's all that matters. he's a part of this family, part of our lives, and he's the same guy that he was when he left. he just has cleaner shoes.

>> reporter: there's an old saying, if you want to see god smile, tell him your plans. he's got to be grinning now.

>> boom!

>> reporter: for today, bob dobson, nbc news, with an american story