When mother-of-six Julie McConnel learnt she was pregnant with twins who both had Down syndrome, she considered putting them up for adoption.

But upon seeing the boys - who she affectionately calls the 'Goofball Brothers' - she knew she could never give them away.

Julie, from Idaho, already had four children when she fell pregnant for a fifth time last August.

Because of her age, 45, she knew that the likelihood of having multiples or a child with Down syndrome would be greater, but she never expected both to happen.

Smitten: Julie and husband Dan (pictured) fell in love with their little boys Charlie and Milo at first sight

Happy family: The couple (holding the twins) now have a combined six children in their family

Goofballs: Milo and Charlie (pictured) had quickly earned the nickname 'the Goofball Brothers'

Julie and husband Dan, 46, hoped to give their three-year-old son Andy a little sister but instead fell pregnant with twin boys, Charlie and Milo.

She admits she was distraught when she learned the news Charlie and Milo had the condition.

Fearing that she and her husband didn't have the capacity to care for two children with special needs, they considered putting them up for adoption.

Now Julie is sharing the story of the 'Goofball Brothers' - named after a sketch in the film 'The Wedding Singer' - to show others the delights of having children with special needs.

She said: 'You can have expectations of how life is going to be, but it might not pan out the way you imagined.

'Now that I have Charlie and Milo, I understand that and I have more compassion than I ever had before.

'They're not the result of a bad lifestyle choice I made, or a reflection of race or economics or where you live in the world and I hope that by sharing our story I can open people's eyes a bit.

'Everywhere we go, people love the boys because they're special, but I know this won't always be the case when they're older and it hurts to think about.

'I want people to see that there are people out there who are different, but it doesn't make them any less valuable.

'They're just the way they're supposed to be.'

Big brother: Julie and Dan tried for another child so they could give young son Andy (pictured) a sister. Instead they had twin boys

Adorable: Mother Julie said twins Charlie and Milo were like 'the perfect little boys'

A handful: Mother Julie holds the mischievous twins as she heads out on a walk

When Julie met Dan she already had three older kids from a previous marriage: Gabrielle, 22, Carson, 17, and Hailey, 15.

Dan had never had children of his own, so when the pair married in 2010, they decided to have one together.

But even after having Andy, they knew that one wasn't enough and thought they'd try to give him a little sister.

Still, Julie's age meant that things wouldn't necessarily go as planned.

According to the US National Down Syndrome Society, by the time a woman is 40 years old, her chances of having a baby with Down syndrome are 1 in 100.

The chances of having non-identical twins such as Milo and Charlie are nearly 14 in a 1,000,000.

Julie said: 'As women get older, our eggs start firing off willy-nilly, so we weren't too surprised to learn that we were having twins.

Celebration: Julie and Dan are pictured celebrating the twins' birthday

'We also knew that our chances of having a baby with Down syndrome were higher, so we decided to do pre-natal testing at 11 weeks, where they can tell you with 99 per cent accuracy whether your child has Down syndrome.

'The test came back positive, but they couldn't tell us if it was one or both of the boys, so we decided to do an amniocentesis at 15 weeks, where they go through the abdomen with a needle and take a DNA sample from the amniotic sac.

'It's invasive, but we wanted to know what we were dealing with.

'The procedure was nerve-wracking and the ultrasound already showed several problems, including spots on their hearts and extra fluid build-up, so we weren't that surprised when we received the news two weeks later that both of the boys had Down syndrome.

'Still, it was a terrible day and the months afterwards were the most stressful and agonising time in our lives.'

Healthy: Although Milo (left) had a small health scare when he was born, the twins were happy and healthy little boys

Trouble: The twins had been given their nickname - The Goofball Brothers - from the Wedding Singer film

Because Julie and Dan are in their forties, they feared that they were too old to care for two boys with special needs.

Having already had four children, Julie knew that she couldn't live with termination, so instead the couple considered adoption.

They found a loving family who would raise the boys but the couple waivered at the thought and spent months wrestling with the idea and putting off the paperwork.

In the meantime, Julie and Dan started educating themselves on what their life would be like if the decided to keep the twins.

Perfect: 'They reached out and grabbed my heart and they just looked like perfect little babies,' mother Julie said of the twins (left and right)

Julie said: 'We wanted to do our due diligence, so we connected with the local Down syndrome association.

'They were hosting a picnic, so we went and met with some wonderful families who shared their experiences with us.

'It was hard for me to hear it all when I was pregnant, but I've learned exactly what they told me… which is that it's not scary.

'You love your kids no matter what. When we finally decided that we weren't going to let our fear stand in our way, it was easy to make our decision.'

Entertaining: Life with the twins and brother Andy (front) was never boring

Caring: Big brother Andy (left) keeps an eye on his two baby brothers

At the start of her third trimester, Julie and Dan officially decided that they were going to keep their boys and began preparing for their arrival by reading every book they could get their hands on and making sure they had two of everything.

The boys were born at 37 and a half weeks and apart from an initial health scare with Milo, the boys had a pretty smooth start to life.

Upon seeing them, Julie knew instantly that she made the right decision in keeping them.

She said: 'My heart came out of my chest when I saw them. I was so smitten.

Gut feeling: The second mother Julie saw her adorable boys, she knew she made the right decision to keep them

'They reached out and grabbed my heart and they just looked like perfect little babies.

'Our other kids are so protective of them and Andy, our three-year-old, loves introducing his twins to everyone. He even carries around two dolls with him.

'It's hard to imagine life without them, but I think I'd miss them every day if we had decided not to keep them.

'They have such big personalities, but they're so different. If Charlie bunks his head, he is emotionally destroyed, but if Milo does then he gets mad and yells.

'There's no end to how entertaining they are. They both love being goofy…which is why we call them the Goofball Brothers, like from the film ''The Wedding Singer''.'

Big personalities: While the twins had larger than life personalities, they were both very different, their parents said

'Hard to imagine': It was difficult to think of what life would be like without the twins, mother Julie said

While everyone who meets the boys is smitten with them, Julie admits that she worries how people will treat them as they get older.

She said: 'My biggest fear is that they may be mistreated, ridiculed, or rejected.

'People can be mean out of ignorance, but if you slow down and put away the image in your mind of what normal or perfect is, you can experience so much more.

'I want them to grow up and have friends and I want them to be appreciated and understood.

'I know not everyone will feel that way towards them, but I also feel grateful that we live in a world where people with Down syndrome have more opportunities than they've ever had and as a mum I hope they'll find something to do that they love.'

Julie and Dan plan to send the twins to a typical school when they get older, where they can make friends, be a part of the mainstream community, and be included in every way possible.

But for now, mum and dad are cherishing every moment with the little bubs and celebrating all their milestones, just as they have with their other kids.

Julie said: 'We're enjoying what we're learning from them.

'I had no idea what we had in these two when I was pregnant, but I'm so grateful we chose to find out. They're the bomb!