Double Happiness: A Real Life With Virtual Twins: The Adventures of Ge-ge and Mei-Mei Begin

In Mandarin Ge-ge (sounds like geh geh) means "older brother" and Mei-mei (sounds like may may) means younger sister. When we were at the civil affairs office we

introduced Savannah to Baden and said that she is his mei-mei. Though he knows her name is Savannah, to this day she is most often called Mei-mei by him. By contrast, Savannah rarely uses Ge-ge to address him. More often than not it's "Baaaaddddeeenn!" While they get along fabulously, they are still siblings and know how to push each others buttons. This is how it all began.

One morning, a few days after we got Baden we visited White Cloud Mountain located in the hills outside Guangzhou. The parkway we took to get there was beautiful and so unlike any road we had been on in China before. We took the gondola up the hill and toured the Bird Spring Valley Park, a natural wild bird sanctuary touted as the largest natural bird cage in China. This expedition was truly Baden's first real test of the endurance he was developing. When we first received him he had no muscle tone (imagine handling an uncooked chicken breast) and no stamina. He'd walk for 5 minutes and then plead to be carried. The path was wide enough for us to walk holding the hand of a child, though in some places too narrow for that. The inclines and winding stairs made things interesting for our little guy who, on top of everything else, was learning to develop his co-ordination. The highlight of the adventure was seeing the bird show... a roller skating cockatoo, a parrot that would fly and retrieve money from the hands of spectators and another bird that bowled with mini pins and a ball. The kids were entertained, and for a brief moment they forgot how hot and miserable they were. Needless to say they were both more than ready for a nap back at the hotel and woke up happy and ready to continue on with their day.

About this same time we finally had free time in the afternoon to take the kids to the hotel swimming pool. When we were at the White Swan in 2005 the pool was closed because of the storms, so this was a new experience for all of us. Savannah had just started taking swim lessons before we left and was excited to practice some of what she'd learned. This was also the first time that Baden actually preferred me over Scott. Yippee!! I was finally invited into the Inner Circle! I love the picture below because it sums up exactly what their relationship is... fun, trust and love.

During our second week in Guangzhou another Family Tree family arrived for their appointment with the US Consulate. This was their fourth child, having two older sons and a daughter already. Their 2 year-old son was from Mongolia and their adventures in Hohhot made anything we'd ever experienced pale in comparison (imagine the only place to stay is a tawdry hotel catering to businessmen and the food options being even less appealing). This family also wanted to have their son blessed at the 6 Banyan Temple, so off we went on one of the days they were there. We'd tried to have Savannah blessed two years earlier when we'd arrived without a guide and let me tell you, having a guide makes it so much easier - lol! Li helped us buy incense sticks to place in honor of our children's ancestors. I explained to Savannah that this was a chance for us to say thank you to her ancestors in China as well as those ancestors she has from our families. I added a thank you to both of their birth-parents as well. I do not know the stories of what led them to be abandoned, my mind can wander to the idea of the emotional struggle far easier because that is how I would feel. However, I realize that there could be a much darker side that would be a circumstance that I would not feel empathy for the birth-parents and the choices that they made. Either way, I chose this moment to say thank you, xie xie. By the grace of God I had been blessed with these two amazing children. I was the one chosen to be the steward of their dreams, to help them and encourage them with the talents and gifts that their birth-parents and ancestors had given them. At that moment the two simple words I was saying seemed pitifully small. As nature has a way of doing, the moment of emotion was lightened when all six kids in our group spotted a very strange looking bug and spent the next 5 minutes studying it intently.

The picture below is of the kids watching some children being blessed by the Buddhist monks at 6 Banyan Temple, a ceremony that absolutely mesmerized both of them.

During our stay in Guangzhou we would frequently drive by this park-like setting with a gorgeous building, what I later learned was the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. On our last day in Guangzhou we finally had a chance to visit it. Though the building was grand, it wasn't overly grandiose and over the top and of all the places in Guangzhou I'd say it was my second favorite place we visited. I loved the grounds and watching the kids have room to frolic and roam. One of my favorite pictures of the entire trip was actually taken there, under the shade of a Banyan tree. The kids sat down to rest and drink their water. The humidity was building and the air at that moment was heavy and still with the impending typhoon that was moving into the Hong Kong/Shenzhen area that afternoon. What I love about this picture is the simplicity of the two of them together, holding hands and just sitting there, each one lost in their own thoughts.

By the time we made it around the gardens, the wind was starting to pick up creating an entirely new form of entertainment for the children, one of which proved to be another sign of the red thread connecting us to Baden. The picture below is of Baden imitating the swarm of dragonflies that suddenly appeared by us. To anyone else seeing the dragonflies would probably create a "Oh, look at that" and move on response. For me it was something much stronger than that. During our long and winding journey to our second child I would see dragonflies at the craziest times and just watch them. For some unexplainable reason I would immediately think of this child I was waiting for, not knowing who they were (and at the time I thought he or she was in Vietnam). Once we knew we were on the road to Baden I at least had a face to picture when I saw a dragonfly, and one side of the silk blanket I'd had made for him in China is a dragonfly print. To see my son giggling and running about pretending to fly like the bugs he was seeing was incredible.

Savannah, meanwhile, was on a quest to catch as many leaves as she could. The wind would gust and start swirling the leaves all around her, leading her to dart one way and then another in her determination to collect her treasures. The tourists in the background here thought her antics were amusing, causing several of the ladies to actually smile at her.