It's tomorrow! This is FOR REAL!

As i lie down for bed last night i started to feel like all this was finally real. i mean i know Mandi is a real person, and anyone who saw a picture would know she is my sister. but i have dreamed and ached to meet her for as long as she has been alive. (note: Adam, if you're reading this, you know i am dying to spend some time with you and Ricki too, but there is a totally different bond with sisters. :-) i love you too and you will always be my FIRST sibling!) because i wanted to mark this moment, and didn't have time or energy to write this post right then, i posted this on Facebook:

Winding down. Trying not to wind up when I think of this next bit:

Mandi: when we wake up tomorrow we will only have a day and a few hours left apart! I love you!

I woke up this morning to a whole host of facebook notifications, but the one that sent me to view this was my favorite.

Mandi Kelly Maegan: in one day and a few hours I will have the whole weekend with my sister!! You have no idea how excited I am! I've waited my whole life to meet u! N now I have my sister!! Yaaay! I'm so freakin excited! I love u!

Even re-reading it now my eyes well up. my own joy at finding my sister is huge, and even if she was merely happy to meet me i would be thrilled. but look at this! she is just as excited and happy as i am! i am overjoyed. i have no words for how happy this makes me!

then, i clicked over to her facebook profile and saw this status message:

Friday can't get here fast enough!! Get to spend the weekend with my sister I havnt ever gotten to meet! Holy crap!!!

Again, i was floored and touched! When Mandi was born, the six year old Mae was so excited that she was finally going to have a little sister who she could do everything with. we would be best friends and inseparable and life would be a fairy tale. This bubble was sharply popped when, a few months later i came to understand the terms of my being adopted- which of course was the best thing and i have no complaints-and was promised that if i wanted to find my sister and brother when i grew up i would have help from my mama. from then on, i hoped and wanted the relationship i;d dreamed of for Mandi and i, but it seemed like a longshot that i would ever even find her, and if i did would she want to know me? and the longest shot of all would be her wanting to be close to me and love me like i love her. but y'know, now i have all of it. i have fantastic relationships with Christina and Melissa, and this takes nothing at all from them, but there is a definite sense of completeness now.

i've put off all the packing and prep till now (2:45 Thursday afternoon) because i know myself and i know it will help ease the antsy this afternoon and evening to have something to do. expect a looooong blog post or series of posts on this weekend with tons of pictures. i cannot wait!

One week!

well, less,really, because this time next friday night i will be with my sister! it seems so surreal to think about after all this time, but it is actually happening. weare both beside ourselves with excitement.
here's a snippet of our convertation a little bit ago:

hey babe
[Mandi Kelly]
6:19pm
hiii
[You]
6:19pm
i have your name on mah finger!
:-):-)
[Mandi Kelly]
6:20pm
ahhhhh!! i want my ring im so freakin excited
[You]
6:20pm
this time in a week we will be together!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Mandi Kelly]
6:20pm
ahhhhhh!!!
[You]
6:21pm
i know!!!
[Mandi Kelly]
6:22pm
i cant wait
[You]
6:22pm
i told Adam and he was like... "fun"
i was like boy i will hit you
[Mandi Kelly]
6:22pm
lol
we have to take like 400 pictures
[You]
6:23pm
YES

so, yeah, it;s gonna be a Squee fest! then, in another month, Scott and i are travelling to GA for Thanksgiving with Mandi's whole family (minus Adam and his wife, Ricki, who i am dying to meet!), and i cannot wait for that. i have missed Nana and Martie so much, and can;t wait to meet Morgan and Sean and all the other relatives i haven't met or seen in ages! be prepared for this blog to explode!

Back on the trail!

Scott LOVES backpacking. i love Scott, and i hadn't been up to taking a hiking trip in over 4 years, so when our plans to visit Mandi 3 weekends ago fell thru, we decided to take the opportunity to get out there. we planned a 2 night trip, starting with a trail i had done before, Mount Pleasant.


I look ready, Right?

and, we were off. the first hour of hiking went really smoothly, and i enjoyed pretty much every second. the second hour was a bit tougher, as the trail was pretty steep and didn't really let up for a mile or so. Scott was really patient, though, and finally we got to our campsite!


After we got our campsite set up, and i rested a little, we were ready to take on the Summit!


My facial expression in this pic says it all- we had hiked for probably 45 minutes to get to this point, and we had about another 5 min hike to get to one overlook, and anotehr 15 to get to the other....i was not so sure...but, we made it! i was not interested in going to the edge, though, so scott took this shot of me from his perch- me safely behind some rocks.
and here is my mountaineer, right on the edge of the cliff!

And together! YAY!


We had a great evening out under the stars, with steak and mashed potatoes grilled over the fire, roasted marshmallows, and a cozy night in our tent. we woke up to lots of rain, and had a feeling that since we were going to be unable to have a fire with all the wet wood, we would have to cut our trip short.

we finished the trail, though, and it was really fun even with the rain! we plan on hitting the trail again early thanksgiving week!

Let's Not Forget...

These are the siblings i grew up with. in all the excitement of reconnecting with long lost family, i want to make sure i don't forget the family that has been in my life for the past 22 years. other than my husband and my parents, these are the people i love most on this earth.

Christina is almost 20, a nanny, a model, works part time at a surf shop, and is going to school. So proud of all she juggles, and thrilled that now, i think in part because we are both grown women, we are truly becoming friends. gone are the days of sibling rivalry...i hope! I LOVE YOU BEANZIE!

Melissa is easily my best friend on earth after Scott.Musical, talented, and with a heart hungry to serve God, she blows me away. Since the day she was born she has been my baby and had my back and been my crying shoulder and encourager. We are 10 years apart in age, but she is wise and mature beyond her 18 years. She is the best.

Andrew is the best baby brother a girl could want. He adores me, respects me, and is always thrilled to see me, which jsut melts an old lady sister's heart. at 16 he is solidly a good 5-6 inches taller than i am, so it;s kinda cool to see my little baby brother dwarf me.

So, now you have met my Thompson sibs!

Sister Rings

In one of our early conversations, Mandi mentioned that she would love for she and i to have sister rings. This was something i jumped at the opportunity to do, since i am very sentimental and also love jewelry with a lot of meaning behind it. a few weeks ago i got the cash together and ordered them, and today they came.




The stones are our birthstone~ Ruby- our birthdays are only 4 days apart! and Though each of us goes by a shortened version of our name, we chose to have our full first names engraved on either side of the ring. :-) I am looking forward to giving Mandi her ring in a week when we go to SC to see her for the first time EVER!