My Life As A MoM (Mom Of Multiples!)

I don't know if anyone out there is still reading this blog.  Things were very busy for a while and now we have started to settle into a routine.  Don't get me wrong, things are still very busy, but having a routine helps everything be more manageable!  While I will still write about adoption, I have decided to also write about occasional life and mommy of multiples things!

Until I became a mom of twins I never realized how many people are clueless about twins and more specifically fraternal twins.  While it is true that we do not have DNA evidence that our twins are fraternal, I think it is obvious from their appearance that they are fraternal twins.  Whenever I am out with my twins, people always seem surprised that my children are twins.  They will ask multiple times and hubby and I will answer multiple times, "yes, they are twins."  I think people expect same gender twins to look alike, but fraternal twins are not the same as identical twins.

I have also been asked the weirdest things.  For instance, a few weeks ago a man asked me: "Are they identical or maternal?"  Trying not to laugh, I responded: "You mean fraternal?"

Strangers also seem obsessed with knowing who was born first.  We don't know for sure since we weren't there.  So our response is usually: "we don't know."  I have had all kinds of responses after that from: "well, someone had to be born first" to silence and incredulous looks that say I must be a bad parent to not know which child came into the world first.  My thoughts are, when we first learned about our children, I did not care who came first.  Healthy baby boys with enough food to eat was my prayer.

So what are fraternal twins?  Fraternal twins are two individual people conceived at the same time, from two different eggs and two different sperm.  Without going into too much detail from middle school health class :), fraternal twins are the ones thought to have a genetic component.  The tendency to release two eggs at one time has a basis in genetics, whereas one embryo splitting into two is thought to be a random event. 

Our twin boys are very different.  One has tight curly hair; the other has looser curly hair.  One is 3 inches taller and 3 pounds heavier than the other.  The shape of their lips and ears are different (can you tell I have stared at them immensely?).  Their body types, skin color and personalities are different.  They have gained different developmental skills at different times.  The way they eat and their food preferences are different.  And on and on and on.  In fact, I would have to think really hard to find something that is the same about them.

The one thing that is the same is that we thank God everyday for his double blessing of twin boys! 

Lesotho

New African country open for international adoption!

Read all about it here

International Adoption Outlook

Would-Be Parents Wait As Foreign Adoptions Plunge | Minnesota Public Radio News

If you are considering international adoption (yes, the politically correct term is "international adoption" not "foreign adoption" as MPR calls it).......the future does not look promising.  So glad God allowed us to adopt our twins from Ethiopia.

Hiatus

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I will most likely be taking a hiatus from the blogging world.  Life with twins is superbusy.  Plus, I originally started this blog due to my passion for orphans and adoption.  I wanted to use this blog as a ministry tool for foster care, adoption and orphan care and as a memoir for our adopted child (which turned out to be children!:). 

Well, the adoption is over....we have finished our adoption journey, praise God!  I do not feel led to turn this into a "mommy blog".  My passion for foster care, adoption and orphan care still remains, so this will remain an adoption blog.  If something interesting comes up related to foster care, adoption or orphan care, I will post here. :)

Back to Ethiopia!

Remember that timeline I gave?  Where our agency said it would take 6-10 months from referral to bringing our twins home?  Remember when I said this time would be broken up up into two trips?  Trip #1 - 3-5 months after referral, Trip #2 - 2-4 months after court?  Well, nevermind!!!  Our timeline since referral has gone a little something like this: Trip #1 - 2 months after referral, Trip #2 - 6 weeks after court!!!!!!!!!!  That's right, we are leaving this week to bring our babies home to America!  It has only been 3.5 months from referral to bringing our twins home!  The favor of God is amazing!  We can't wait to see what God will do next.  Pictures will be posted here when we get back!   

The Nursery

We are slowly but surely getting the nursery together.  Grandmother (my mom) has purchased the cribs and bedding and we have purchased the mattresses.  We also spent some time at the mall this Mother's Day weekend and Grandmother bought some clothes for the twins (Grandmother loves to shop! :)

This was an interesting first Mother's Day for me.  I have been so grateful and thankful to God for our two boys.  We have known for a while that adopting from Ethiopia was God's plan for our family.  However, a few things have happened recently that have solidified that certainty in our hearts.  One such thing is that on Thursday, 3 weeks after our adoption became final, our agency announced that they are closing their doors to accepting new applications for adoption from Ethiopia.

We don't believe this timing is a coincidence.  Since we have completed our adoption and are just now waiting on the US Embassy to do their part, this closure should not affect us.  We believe God allowed us to get our boys out before allowing this closure to happen.  My heart does hurt for those families still waiting for children from Ethiopia and for those families for whom Ethiopia is no longer an option.

Many people asked today if it was hard leaving our twins in Ethiopia and celebrating Mother's Day without them.  It has been hard, however, it is amazing that God has given me a peace that surpasses all understanding:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus - Philippians 4:7

It was also very beneficial to travel to meet our twins and see the wonderful loving environment that they are in.  The resources are not plentiful but the love and care they are receiving is abundant.  One of the nannies who cares for our children is a Christian and that also gives us comfort.  God has provided for them before we even knew these children existed and we know that He will continue to watch over them. 

Let me leave you with these verses as a cure for anxiety and worry :)

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!  Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own - Matthew 6:25-34

Kudos to Pampers!

I love this commerical. Thank you Pampers for recognizing all the different ways babies can join a family. And, yes, we registered for Pampers! :)