Thankful Today for Twins

We have so much to be thankful for, don't we? We could spend the next week just making lists and telling stories and praising the Lord, and I hope that's exactly what you do. Actually, I hope you don't stop in a week. We need to have thanksgiving and gratefulness drip from our lips every day, because we know the Creator of the universe and the Savior of our soul - this is great cause for praise.

I want to share with you a quick story about my twins. I have had some say to me, you're not an authentic mother of twins since you didn't carry them or go through the first two years of their lives. Having adopted them at 6, I understand I missed a very stressful, hectic time in their lives, but my response to the critics has always been, "At least your twins understood English!" (My girls are from Romania.)

Oh, the stories I could tell, but there is not enough time or space on the internet for me to do that now, so I will share this latest one. Let me start first by saying that the twins have had us laughing from the day we adopted them. They love life and attack it with such energy that from day one, whether it was watching their tiny bodies struggle to carry suitcases 4 times their size, or jumping into the pool with their clothes on without understanding what that would actually mean, watching the wrestling that ensued when we asked them, "Who's stronger?" or enjoying the hours of dress-up fashion shows, the twins always have provided entertainment and fun. Sure, we've had our tough times, but in light of the sheer joy they have brought to our lives, the struggles pale in comparison!

One particular funny thing about the girls as they learned to speak English was the fact that they wanted so badly to communicate but would often misuse common words with great confidence. It was frustrating for them, I am sure, to try to communicate with us when we couldn't figure out what they were saying. But usually the other twin would jump in and translate for us and we'd laugh when we'd realize what it was they were saying.

Fast forward 12 years. Recently one of the girls was in a basic psychology class at school. She was really geeked about the class and day after day she would come home and tell me about this disorder and that disease. The other day she came home and told me about a very serious presentation some kids made in class about "post dramatic sports disorder." Once again a smile came across my face as I tried to explain to her what the actual title of the disorder was, "post traumatic stress disorder." We laughed and she has actually used her title as a punchline for a joke since then. Great fun.

I am thankful for my darling twins. The Lord has richly blessed David and I with the privilege of being their parents. I look forward to years of joy and laughter in my relationship with them, for the past 12 years haven't disappointed. God has taught me more about myself than I dare to repeat through the adoption process and this Thanksgiving, when I glance across my extended-family-filled room, I know that God's gracious hand brought these two girls into my life and I will thank Him for that.