Ruth and Naomi

Ruth and Naomi are names that were given to them by the "moms" that care for them everyday now til we bring them home. We had given a lot of thought to names before we met our girls. We wanted to incorporate their given names, without knowing what they would be, but still wanted to make them our own. It took quite a while to learn what they were because of the launguage barrier. I could ask "what's her name?" But I couldn't understand their answer. They say Ruth "Yoot" (at least that's how it sounds to my ears).  Immediately when we learned the girls' names we fell in love with the names they already had. So all our thoughts about names didn't matter, because they choose such perfect names, we couldn't have chosen better ourselves. In that moment, I still wished I knew what they meant, since we've always enjoyed knowing the meaning of our childrens' names.  I knew I'd wish I had my baby name book along so I could look up meanings of names. But of course, I didn't have it along. As I talked to my sister, Michelle, in the airport she reminded me that Ruth means friend/companion. And now I've learned that Naomi means my joy/my delight. God couldn't have planned them more perfectly!

We chose to give them new middle names to make them personal to our family. We've named them Ruth Elizabeth and Naomi Hope. Now we long for the day their last names will be Dunkleberger!

Ruth and Naomi were born July 10, 2010. They will be one yr old this Sunday. I wish we could celebrate with them, but we will celebrate as a family here. While we pray hoping they will get to be with us by their second birthday! I ask that you pray that expectantly with us!

They were born in the mountians of Haiti 9-10 hours away from Port Au Prince. For a country the size of Vermont, that's a long, slow drive! They were born premature, but we will likely never know how early, or how much they weighed at birth. We do know that Ruth was born first, and they were born at home. I broke into tears when I learned this. Here in the US they would have been hospitalized with 24/7 medical attention. At this point, it appears that they are both right on track developmentally. Naomi has nearly mastered crawling, as she can combat crawl anywhere, and loves to rock on her hands and knees. Ruth still seems scooting contently on her bottom, but loves exercizing her legs. They are tiny little miracles, but they love to eat. They are being fed formula, and regular (Haitian) table food. When I weighed them (on an uncalibrated scale) Ruth weighed 13 lbs, and Naomi 12 lbs. I'm not sure if that is exact, but it's close. They remind me of our boys' sizes around 4-6 weeks, but they move around like a 9-10 month old. If you can't imagine, just picture tiny, beautiful, adorable twin girls- and you're right on track!

Their lives are a miracle. God certainly was watching over thier lives! I am confident God has plans for their future. We are humbled to have a role in their lives and upbringing. Please pray for our wisdom as we have the priviledge to raise them.  But also pray for patiencce and perseverance as we wait these dreaded months, and face mountains of paperwork ahead!