Meeting....again!

Way back in the summer of 2008, while we were so patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for our LOA I "met" some other women on an adoption forum that were waiting patiently also!  One by one they received their LOA while we still waited.    I became friendly with a woman who was referred a beautiful little girl, around the same time we accepted Sierra's referral.  She too had not yet received her LOA so we supported each other as we waited.  She received her LOA around the same time we did and we soon realized we would be traveling to China at the same time.  We promised each other we would try to hook up but e were with different agencies, there would be only one week that we would both be in Guangzhou, and we were staying in different hotels.  Ironically we emailed each other, tried to set up times to meet, only to realize that our schedules were conflicting.  by the last few days I was disappointingly accepting the fact that we would not see each other.  The day before we left we, with about 50 other families , were at the US consulate for our swearing in ceremony.  The women mentioned the names of 3 children who were celebrating birthdays and Sierra was one of them.  The women turned to me and asked me how we pronounced our last name.  A few seconds later a woman came up to me and said "Hi Kathie, its me Charissa!!"  On the last day we finally got to meet and I got to see her beautiful daughter.  I was so happy that I didn't have to come home with out meeting her.  You see, adoptive families live all over the US and many times you do not see them again.
So fast forward 2 years.  I still visit with people on the forum and I still chat with Charissa from time to time. A few months ago I noticed she had posted to someone that she lived about 2 1/2 hours North of New York City! ........ What??? I realized that I had never asked her where he lived and she didn't ask me.  I emailed her right away and said" but I live 2 hours North of NYC...where the heck do you live?  I was thrilled to find out that she lives a little over 2  hours from me.  And that is doable.  If you meet half way its only a little over an hour.  So before I went back to work we set up 2 different times to meet.....both times we had snow storms.  Recently we set up another day to meet and this time it worked out.  You see...we had to do it soon because Charissa and her husband hope to travel  soon to meet their TWO sons they are  bringing home!!    Read about the incredible story here!  http://home.comcast.net/~maguire14/


Anyway we had an incredible few hours together. The girls got along great and by the time we had to leave they didn't want to go. Its amazing when I think of how I first met this family in a crowded consulate room half way around the world, and now we hope to get together! At least twice a year. Here are some pictures from that day......



We met at a museum.  The girls played in the Discovery Center and then we walked around  a little.  The final treat was a carousel on the top floor. 

 Final hug before we all had to say goodbye.  I am already looking  forward to the next time we meet!!!