Sunday... Sunday... Sunday...

Ok... we did it... we met! It was sooo much fun and I learned a lot about myself and about where I come from and I got a lot of answers to some of the questions I wanted to know. It created a lot more questions tho... So the story...

I got up at 7am to make sure we had a covered shelter because when I called Community Services they were unable to make a reservation for me because it was not with in 10 days. Which was odd as I was willing to give them money to hold the spot and they did not want it... odd for a city that needs money... huh... So we got there at about 9am... :) They were all open! We walked through all the shelters to find the cleanest one and the nicest one. We stopped on the way there and got doughnuts... yum... and we totally forgot everything else at home... so Chris had to go back home and get our iPod and a sweatshirt cause it was freezing... So I'm sitting there freezing and I get a phone call from Chris... he left the house keys in my purse and had to come all the way back to the park to get them... so he finally got back to park with everything at around ten... Then my mom and dad showed up with the whole house! Marlinda got there around10:45 and so we all sat there and waited... we were all so freaking nervous! I think Mom was more stressed at this time than I was!

So there we sit and I am scanning every car that drives into the park and I see a BMW... Which is Tarin's car... and someone waved at us... well at least we think that they were waving at us... (they were) so the car parks and they all start getting out and I started freaking out... I was nervous and excited all at once... I stood there and watched her walk up the hill and I didn't know what to do... So I hugged her... I like hugs... there were lots of hugs!

See Lots of hugs.. One for Tarin and one for Danielle!

We all eventually made the introductions... Me, Mom (Barbara), Dad (Felix), Chris (Boyfriend or Asian as my mom called him), Marlinda (BFF), Tarin (Birth mother), Danielle (22 - Half Sister), Darin (24 - Half Brother), Chelsea (20 almost 21 - Half Sister), Mitchel (her Marine man), Donna (Tarin's Mom) and Mike (the Manny as they called him). So yeah it was a lot of people! Chris procured some "Family Reunion" Buttons from the park for us so we all laughed about it and some even put them on!

Then it was time for pictures! I gave her the scrapbook I made and she pulled out her baby pictures so we could compare! We totally looked a like as babies... :) Some of the pictures were very much the same smile and face... It was an amazing relief to see who I look like and to see where I get my nose... it's always puzzled me! :)

See lots of stories and pictures... There was sooo much going on I kinda missed the adoption story of why and how... I am hoping to just hang out with or go to dinner with Tarin so I can hear everything again... I did get the answer to the one question I wanted to know... She did hold me... she actually demanded to hold me! :) Makes me feel special!

We spent some more time getting to know each other... I found out how the kids found out about me... someone spilled the beans... shoes were thrown... towels were made in the shape of noose's the next day... Then we took more pictures...

It was a great day... I learned a lot about who I am and what went into me and into making the decision to... not give me up or give me away but to bless me with such great adoptive parents... Everything and every choice she made was totally out of love for me and for wanting me to have more. I am so blessed and I am so lucky! I am looking forward to moving ahead and hopefully bonding with them all... I would love to be able to call the girls my sisters and Darin my brother... I am just hesitant to jump in as I know that they are such a close family. You could totally tell from meeting them that they all get along so well and mesh so amazingly... I'll be blessed if I get even a tenth of that meshing with them.

Each new family member I met was unique and wonderful yet in each of them I saw a piece of me... A love for anime, saying what you think no matter what, a great sense of humor, and most of all a loving, caring, motherly, happy soul. I am so lucky for all my Mom has given me as I've grown up because I know that she has brought out the best in me... but I still can't tell what I get from whom when it comes to my personality because they are both such great and loving women. I am luck to have had them both in my life!

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Legacy of An Adopted Child
Author Unknown


Once there were two women,
Who barely knew each other.
One is in your heart forever,
The other you’ll call mother.

Two different lives,
Shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.

The first gave you life,
And the second taught you how to live it.
The first gave you a need for love,
And the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name.One gave you the seed of talent,
The other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile,
The other dried your tears.

One gave you a family,
It was what God intended for her to do.
The other prayed for a child,
And God led her straight to you.

And now you ask me
Through your tears,
The age old question through the years.
Heredity or environment…
Which are you a product of?

Neither, my darling… neither,

Just two different kinds of love.