PHOENIX -- Two twin boys who were found four years ago in improvised, cockroach-infested cages at their Phoenix home have managed to turn their lives around in a miraculous way.

The 9-year-olds and their older brother spent Thanksgiving counting their blessings.

The twins, Edgardo and Edmundo, and their older brother Luis emerged from a dark nightmare to a happy fairytale, thanks to the kindness of one special couple.

The twins had spent most of their life caged in a crib. They couldn't speak and were labeled "feral children."

Officers discovered the twins in late August, 2003, after Luis told an off-duty police officer about their squalid living conditions.

"We cried and said, 'We wish we could help them,'" Luis Viniegra recalled.

Luis and Sylvia Viniegra were in the process of becoming certified foster parents when they saw the "caged twins" story on the news.

A few months later they got the call to care for all three brothers.

Whether it's playing with trucks in their favorite park or riding their scooters, all three brothers live each day to the fullest.

"My wife and I said what they need is a lot of love and nurturing," Viniegra said. "I said, 'let's roll up our sleeves, change diapers, potty train and teach them language.'"

The couple admitted they had no idea what they were getting into. They said the challenges at times seemed insurmountable.

But with Sylvia's skills as a retired teacher and the pair's determination, the boys are now going to school and striving.

"One of our boys who had no language skills is winning spelling bees," Viniegra said. "The smaller boy is a fantastic artist. The oldest is reading at graduate school level."

A year ago, the couple came to a crossroads. They would have to release the boys so a family could adopt them or make them permanent members of their own family.

Last Saturday, on National Adoption Day, the boys' last name changed from Rodriguez to Viniegra.

"One of our twins made a fist and said, 'Yes!'" Viniegra said.

The Viniegras say they couldn't have made their new family without the support of dozens of people they call "guardian angels."

"We're having a fantastic new beginning and it's a magnificent gathering of good people," Viniegra said.

The boys' biological parents, Etelvina Rodriguez, 42, and Louis, 69, were convicted on child abuse charges and are in prison serving their sentences.