Surprises (by Thom)

Honestly, I've learned a lot in the last few weeks. I had made it nearly 30 years without changing a diaper. It was a record I was happy with. That's just one small change in my life recently.
Since we began the process of adopting Miriam Ruth and Hannah Marie here in Mali there have been many other surprises. Amanda and I wondered what Malians would think of us adopting two of their own. So far, the reaction we've gotten has been nothing but positive. They get very excited to see us walking around with the girls and want to see into their car seats. We do get some strange stares, but they're immediately followed by a big grin. Many people (pastors, lawyers, other friends) have gone the extra mile to help us adapt to our new lives with them.
Actually, the only negative reactions we've gotten so far deal with the fact they're both girls. Having twin girls is not a blessing in this culture. I've had 2 people tell me it's "too bad one couldn't be a boy." Amanda also had someone tell her it wasn't good that they were both girls. This culture values women more than some others, but not as much as I believe it should. Add the fact that there are two of them - and that is a negative in the eyes of the average Malian. Someone advised me to respond to the negativity with this: "When they get married, I'll get 100 cows for each daughter!" That would disarm anyone; it's an insanely high bride-price.
And we love them very much. I'm also surprised at how active they are. My exposure to infants has been minimal before, so I didn't know how much they squirm. Miriam seems to never lay still, even when she's sleeping. Hannah seems to get more active every day.
I've definitely learned a lot the last few weeks. We've now been taking care of the girls for 19 days and everyday has new surprises. Tired as I may be, I'm enjoying it.
Finally, I wanted to share a small French lesson with you. I love the French word for girl twins: jumelles. I'm not sure why, but I love this word and enjoy referring to them this way. Mes petites jumelles.