Only hours old, they were stuffed in a duffel bag and abandoned in a cold public restroom.
Now the newborn twins, who have been named Mary and Joseph, have been placed in a warm foster home for the holidays."They've got clothes, blankets, rattles and washcloths. Everything they've got is Christmas," the children's new foster mother said Tuesday. "I've got their stockings hung."
So nicknamed because they were found so close to Christmas, the twins somebody didn't want now seem to be wanted by everybody.
Since news broke of their discovery last week, more than 650 people from as far away as Canada have offered to take care of the babies.
But the couple finally selected by state social services officials was not among them. They have been foster parents for six years and often care for infants. They also have two grown children and three grandchildren of their own.
"I was elated," said the foster mother, who asked not to be identified. "We don't have any small ones right now. Christmas without children is just not any fun. . . . Usually in our family, we just hang out at the house and eat cookies and sing Christmas carols."
Before adoption is considered for the twins, police are trying to find their parents or whoever left them in a duffel bag in a boat-ramp restroom at the Lake Powell Recreation Area, about 20 miles west of Panama City. The park is largely deserted at this time of year.