We have just learned that Sophia and Alyssa, at 9.5 months old, are the youngest set of twins from China to be placed with their forever family. (In Canada) I guess we got lucky.
We also got lucky when we received this picture above of the girls taken when they were only 3 days old! Just before Christmas I received an e-mail from a fellow travel mom-- she thought that someone on the Taihe chat group may have a picture of Sophia and Alyssa. You can imagine how I felt when I heard that....a piece of my girls history! Like everything in the adoptive world, nothing is easy or for that matter quick. I had to join the group, wait for approval from the moderator, search for the mother, and then connect and finally receive the above photo. This was the photo that brought instant cheers of joy to both of us. It was the same feeling we had when we opened up the e-mail attachment and saw their chubby little cheeks for the first time! I can't tell you how grateful I am to the mother that took their picture. It turns out that she herself is a twin which explains why she took Sophia and Alyssa's picture. Apparently the girls had arrived that same day .......and the picture is even dated!!! How unbelievable is that? No other Christmas gift last year compared to this picture and yes, even at 3 days I can tell who is who.....Sophia is on the left.
After this incredible picture landed in my computer I decided to check our own photographs to see if there was any that another mom might treasure. Sure enough there was one picture that I posted and found the mom and needless to say she was just as thrilled as we were to receive an earlier picture of her daughter.
I guess if anyone is planning to travel to China to adopt ..........and manage to see the orphanage..take pictures.......and pass them on.........what a potentially great gift to someone else.........a priceless gift.
6 comments:
I think some non adoptive families just don't 'get it', with how important a silly photo or piece of their history is to us and our children. Even hearing 'mommy' every time means something more intense to me compared to other moms, who didn't go through it all. It is a gorgeous photo and having it dated makes things so crystal clear. I'm still searching for some relevant photos of our girls foster mom. Lucky you!
The picture is so sweet, what a wonderful gift! It's strange how much we take for granted what we have and how much we long for something that can't be had. I've always been glad to have pictures of my children and grandchildren as infants but knowing we'll never have pictures of when the twins were infants does make me very sad.
Your daughters are adorable and how lucky to have had them in your lives since they were so young.
I'll enjoy visiting your new blog.
Donna (Mimi from the "Twins!" blog)
Diana... aww your babies are so adorable. Isn't it amazing how much they have changed your lives? I know for us it is! Some days are much harder than others but it's all good.
We (if my facts are correct) are one of a couple families--Dirk-- in the US who were placed with twins at 9 months. I still pinch myself that we were placed with infants. It was my biggest desire and when I think about how many times (a lot!) I called our agency to make sure that they had a clear understanding what our dream was... well it just seems so unbelievable... but Sennie knew all along... She is amazing. I'm glad you have hooked up with her.
I enjoy reading your blog.
Rony
Hi Diana,
It's fun to find one more family with twins from China. Great blogging....I'm enjoying your site. We have twins, too,...Sammi and Nicki are almost 20months. Never a dull moment.
Wow, what an awesome picture. You are so lucky. When we were in China, my husband visited (along w/ our group guide) the girls' SWI (Yangdong SWI) in Guangdong while I stayed back at the White Swan with the duo. The pictures and video he got is amazing. He was taken to their Finding Place as the orphanage director remembered their story well. So, we have lots of stories and lots of pictures for the girls when they are ready. What a priceless treasure that is!
Take care,
Cindy
www.doublelucky.blogspot.com
Rony, our girls were 9.5 months, just like Diana's. I seem to remember someone telling me about twins that came home at 8 months, but I can't find that reference right now...
Diana, that early picture of the girls is just too amazing for words. We have a few of our girls when they were about five or six months old and we treasure those. But three days? That's unbelievable.
What an amazing gift! When we received our girls, the orphanage gave us a little photo album of photos of both of them that were taken while they lived there. I belive in the earliest photos they're about five months old but to have a photo at three days is simply amazing!
Our girls were already 18 months when they came home but I wouldn't change that for anything. If they'd left the orphanage sooner they would have been someone else's babies and I can't stand even thinking about that!!
It's fun to see another set of twins. Thanks for sharing!
Kristi
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