Are they twins?

I am getting that bizarre question more than I ever thought that I would.  And it's mainly from people that see the girls side by side - and facing them.  I wasn't really sure how to answer when it first was being said.  But I am getting that question SO much now that I now have a standard answer, which includes the following:  No they are not twins.  They are both adoption.  They are 3 and 2 years old.  They are the same size.  One is from the US.  One is from China.  They do kind of function like twins sometimes.  

If not the "Are they twins?" question, then "are they both yours?" or "are they sisters?"  But all of these questions have pretty much the same answer... 

Soon after we got back from China and after I started feeling like I could actually function with two kids, I kind of felt like I had twins.  If one got it, the other one HAD to have it.  And about that same time, they started wanting to dress alike.  I didn't want to completely dress then like twins - I didn't want to act like they were.  But I could have - they do wear the same size clothes.  So began having two of many things - or at least two things that were comparable.  

And really, the funny thing is, I've really always wanted twins.  When we started fertility long ago, I can pretty much said that I HATED it.  Everything about it was miserable to me.  I think I knew that this wasn't the way for me, but that I needed to be there for a while to get to where I was going.  But one of the only thing that kind of excited me about fertility was the increased chance of twins!  But alas.  That didn't happen.  And when we started the journey of adoption, the mom that spoke the day that we knew God was leading us to adoption from China - she has beautiful twin girls from China.  Twins again - leading me to where I am now.  But when we began the China adoption journey, I thought we were on the road to only one child.  But God had this amazing plan.  And after not one, but two amazing, blessed miraculous adoptions, I have two great girls..  That are the same size and are like twins... But are not.  I have a little helper when I need it.  And a cuddly baby when I need it too.  But then I have two fun little ones that play so well together, wear the same size, eat the same things, want the same toys...  

So now when I answer that sweet, but odd question "Are they twins?" I no longer am surprised to hear it.  It's kind of fun to answer.  I get to tell a little bit about how adoption has blessed our lives.  And how God has given us these two wonderful gifts.  

Yes, the first few times I wanted to say - "why yes they are twins... fraternal" - haha!  It is fun to watch people's faces if they are wondering how me and my husband HAD these kids.  Our youngest, adopted from the States, looks just like daddy.  And my sweet girl from China looks a lot like me, and really she looks half Chinese.  And remember, they are about the same size.  So when you look at them, it's hard to figure out how I had these two girls - and looking like it was less than 9 months apart.  

So my sweet girls - my dark eyed, brown haired gift from China and my blond blue eyed blessing from the States - they are not twins...  But they are sisters.  They are both mine.  And they are both wonderful blessings in our family!