Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and his wife Christie adopted 2-year-old twin girls Ivy and Lynette, who were separated at 3 months old, less than two weeks ago. He said the girls are an enormous blessing in their lives.
The girls were born in a bad situation and placed with their great-aunt and great-grandmother, distant relatives of Christie’s. When she told Mullin the women said they hoped to live long enough to see the girls graduate, he knew something was up. He recalled the conversation he had with Christie:
So when his wife, Christie, suggested they adopt twin girls who had lived in separate homes since they were infants, he let her have it.
“I said, ‘No babe, don’t even go there.’
“I said, ‘Look, do you remember I’m in D.C. all the time now, do you remember that you’re raising three kids by yourself, do you remember you just recently had to pull your first calf? You remember you’re taking care of the farm now? Do you remember how much more responsibilities you have with the business now? Do you remember all these different responsibilities?'”
He would write a check, he said, since “it’s easier sometimes to give money than it is to give time.”
When she tried again soon after, he gave the speech again, but she played what Mullin called her trump card.
“Would you pray about it?” she asked him.
“How do you pray about that?” Mullin asked the people who attended his town hall meeting in Henryetta a week ago. “I mean, really.
“‘Hey Lord, would you please, please make her heart as selfish as mine?’
“No. You pray, ‘God, change me. Change my heart’ … And man did He ever.”
After they had the girls over for Christmas, Mullin knew they won over his wife… and him. He knew the twins needed to be together and could see the bond between them.
Mullin and Christie are parents to Jim, 9, Andrew, 8, and Larra, 5. A judge approved and finalized the adoption on August 21 and Mullin said the family has adjusted well. Christie said Larra is thrilled being a big sister to Ivy and Lynette. Mullin said many come up to him and say he is a blessing to the little girls. He sees it the other way around:
“People say, ‘Man, you’re going to be such a blessing to those girls,'” Mullin told those gathered in Henryetta. “And I’m going to tell you right now — if you’re someone who’s thinking about adoption — you’re going to be blessed more by them than you will ever be a blessing to them.
“They have blessed our family so much… They never had a mommy and daddy they got to call mommy and daddy. To see the way my kids have took on to them. My two boys won’t set ’em down. My little girl is such a proud big sister.”
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