Hey, so... I just hung out with my brothers for the first time.... ever.

A lot of you remember reading my blog post that I wrote this past summer about meeting my biological father.  I'm too lazy to check to see if I mentioned anything about my brothers.  But when I found my biological father almost a year ago to date, I also found out that I had two brothers from my father's first marriage.

Well, two days ago, on Wednesday, I met my two brothers for the first time ever!!!  It was so amazing!!! Taylor is 24, and Nathan is 22.

Nathan, me, and Taylor

I remember getting up early and I cleaned the house and it seemed like every time I looked at the clock, time was just moving slower... so I just put my ipod in and just listened to music and went around just doing things to occupy myself until noon which was when they were suppose to be at my house. I didn't even hear the door bell ring.  I actually saw my dog jumping and running around barking.  My stomach dropped and I ran to the window to check and see if they were here... I looked out the window, and it wasn't a fedex... aaaahhhh I was so nervous. So... I went and opened the door and saw them.  I instantly started smiling like an idiot. It was so awesome. I let them into the house, and hugged them both. On the outside, I was smiling and being calme, but happy, and then... on the inside, I was screaming and running around in circles, jumping up and down, completely ecstatic.  I took them into the kitchen and started making lunch, but because I was so nervous, I was making a lot of noise, and I couldn't think straight, I was knocking things off the fridge that was hanging on it, etc. I probably looked like an idiot. But, I blame it on them.  

While I was making lunch, we talked about all kinds of stuff, and then sat down and played the question game. We all sucked at the game. Nobody could really think of questions... I know you are probably thinking of tons of questions you would ask, but my mind was drawing blanks. I couldn't really think of any good questions. 

Anyway, after we ate we sat in the family room and talked and ended up playing Words With Friends on our phones for almost two hours. It was pretty fun... I learned that Taylor has a very small vocabulary considering every word he used was a word he had no idea what it meant, he just got lucky when the game accepted it.  Nathan is hilarious because he just rolls his eyes and pokes back when Taylor says stupid things.

I definitely know we are related because myself, along with many other people have noticed wayyyy too many similarities.  Taylor and I have the same smile, Nathan and I have the same eyes, we alllll bite our finger nails, and we all have pretty good senses of humor. lol. I can't imagine if we had all grown up in the same house. It probably would have been crazy.

Meeting my brothers seriously made my winter break. It was so awesome. I think we are going to hang out one more time before they head back home since they came to Ohio to visit me and other family. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet them and I get the opportunity to get to know them now. Not many people get the chance to catch up with siblings they didn't know they had. Well, I do!!!  Thanks Jesus <3 You the Man...

HERE is the link for my reunion with my father... not really after, but a back story post:   http://wustew.blogspot.com/2011/07/reunion.html

Reunion

          17 years ago, when I was 3 years old, my sister and I were taken out of our home and put into foster care.  The circumstances of it all was a bit messy.  When the system found us a good foster home (after a few tries), we started to have visits with our parents.  After only a few weeks, they both ended up going to jail.  One, only several days, the other, received several years.  
          Then things started looking up for us.  Someone wanted to adopt my sister and I.  Our next door neighbors actually.  They had been praying and praying, and had practically everyone they knew, praying for two little girls to adopt.  And there we were :)  So when I was in first grade, I was adopted along with my sister.  Getting adopted along with siblings is a rare occasion in adoption cases because often, parents only want one at a time, so the brothers and sisters get split up, never to see each other again.


          So, here we are 17 years later.  I have 3 months till I turn 20.  Am I excited??? YESSS!!!  But I also have another story to tell....




          Winter break of this last year....  I did alot of sitting around the house.  I didn't have a car, and most of my friends had already gone back to school (my school had given us 5 WEEKS off for break)... Hey, did ya think I minded?? Nope.  Anyway, so most of the stuff I did involved drawing, playing on my computer, and watching a ridiculous amount of t.v.. But then, in the mention of one phrase, one little tidbit of information, my life took a turn...

          But first, a little background information, my sister, who most of you know, Kerri, is actually not my full blooded sister.  She is only my half, but I would tell anyone in an instant that it doesn't matter in the least.  We share the same biological mother, but not the same father.  When we were going through all the court stuff years ago, a blood test proved it. Ok, that is all, now back to the story.

          So, one day, my sister comes home after a day with hanging out with my Aunt Michelle.  She comes over to me and says, 
   "Kelli, do you know what Michelle told me today??"
   "No... what did she say?"  I replied.
   "She says she thinks Scott has a Facebook!"

          Ok, another background info stop.  My biological father's name is Scott.  My aunt Michelle used to go to school with him, and her husband actually worked with him when we were still living with him and our mother. Ok I'm done.. for now... ;)


   I just stare at her... then I roll my eyes,
   "Nu huh. She did not."
   "Kelli! Yeah she did!" Kerri looked annoyed that I thought she was lying... haha.
   "Ok fine. Then I'm looking him up."  So I did.  Nope. There was no Scott on facebook that even resembled my father.  
           Background:  When all the adoption stuff was going on, Kerri and I had a social worker.  She made us each something called a "Life Book".  This was a big thick photo album filled with tons of photos of our foster family that we grew to love very quickly, and our now, mom and dad, Tracy and Cathy.  It also included about ten or so pictures of our mother and mine included a few of Scott.  So when I say none of them resembled Scott, it's because I had pictures to look at, not because my memory was so vivid. Go read!
           After I got done checking Facebook, I pretty much went "Oh well".  But only so Kerri would think I didn't really care or that I wasn't going to look anymore.  HA! Yeah right.

           That night, I stayed up practically all night searching FB up and down, searching his name over and over again, and even threw in his brother's name, which my aunt Michelle had also gone to school with, but I didn't know what he looked like so that didn't help much.  Then...... I remembered something.... good ol' Myspace :)))  Yeah, you know you had one.  Anyway, I decided to search there.  BINGOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!   My hands were shaking as I held my little ipod touch and was scrolling down the page.  My eyes spotted one of the profile pictures.  And if there is one thing I'm good at, it is knowing faces. (Part of being an artist probably).  I clicked on it and started going through the pictures. There were only like, 3.  One of them was a pretty good clear one.  I wasn't positive it was him, so I ran and grabbed my Life Book, opened it to the one clear photo I had.... His mugshot... yeah....  ANYWAY.  So, I did the smart and scientific thing any logical person with the slightest ability to see anything at all, and started to compare the bone structure from each picture, the shape of the nose, the tilt of the ears, size of the mouth... it was.. a match.  I. Flipped. Out.  I had found my biological father. and it had taken less than 12 hours.

          Long story short, I did some googling found some names that were associated with his on a "reunion.com" website, and ended up finding my biological grandfather's work phone number, and I called it.  He said he remembered me, and gave me another number to call.  It was Laurie, Scott's girlfriend.  I called her and she told me that they had just broken up, but that she would have him contact me when she saw him next.  She really sweet and handled the shock pretty well, because when I introduced myself with my real name, she kinda gasped, and said that Scott had told her about me....  then, that night when I was watching t.v.. Laurie called me back...  and I found out, I have two older brothers!!!! But that is another story.  Ok, so... I didn't get a call from Scott while I was still on winter break.  But about 2 weeks or so back into college life, I did.  Scott's brother, who I mentioned earlier, actually found me and started texting me back and forth and he was the one who told Scott that I had found him and wanted to make contact or whatever.  So...... we did. We texted, we talked on the phone, we skyped once... It was pretty cool....




         The reason for this story is that.... in about 2 hours or so, I am going to be meeting my biological father, in person, for the first time in over 17 years.  I am nervous as a freaking....... um.... whatever is the most nervous thing ever.  Lindsey Rich is going with me to meet him. She is so awesome to help me with this. :))  

So if anyone reads this, PLEASE!! Take time to comment, ask ANY question, or just say a little prayer for me today:)))  Thanks guys!!! <3
         
   

Ok, Mom, write this down and save it.

     Yesterday, when I had some free time, I decided that I really REALLY needed to clean my side of the dorm.  My roommate isn't there alot so her side is pristine. Mine definitely is not.  My desk is piled high with books, papers, pens, and a whole lot of other junk.  It would be clean if I had a working computer that I could set it on, but I don't. So right now its a miscellaneous junk hotspot! 

     Ok, the reason for my post?  I just want to tell the world how awesome my mom and dad are :))

     I was cleaning out the underside of my bed, and I noticed all the boxes that I have filled with magazines, I see on my desk a bunch of envelopes that once held a bunch of goodies, etc etc.... then I realized that I probably have the greatest parents alive.  And I really take them for granted alot too... And that makes me sad.  They have probably sent me more care packages and letters and other stuff than any other kids parents here.  And I LOVE it :) 

     It feels so weird to look back to a few years ago and think about how I felt about them and what I thought about how they did things, then I think about it now and my feelings about it all, and I'm like "DANG!!  They ARE smart!!!  WHaaaaatt??"  Like seriously. It is so cool.  I love them to absolute death :) 

     See, People???????  College DOES warp your mind!!!! Hahaha :)

I'm gonna miss this.....

Tomorrow is the move-in date for Warner University.  I am soooo psyched.  Move-in starts at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  I think I'm going to get there early, as is my roommate, Amber.  We gotta make sure we get the good beds just in case we get stuck with a third girl.  (No offense, Third Girl, if you do show up).

Tonight, while we were all sitting down to dinner, and before we started eating, my mom was like "Why don't you pray since this is your last time to do it with us?"  I was like "Oh!!" And I made a sad face. lol. That is kinda sad though.... I'll miss that. And then a few minutes ago my mom was talking about going to Sea World while I was at Orientation, and Kerri was like  "No way, Mom!! Some girl died there! She got eaten by Shamwow! I don't want to get eaten!"  Haha. We just looked at her and started laughing. She does that alot. lol.  Good times.  Like I said, I'll miss this...

Big Changes starting to hit me in the face...

       So I am sitting beside my bed on a little step stool browsing Facebook and just taking a break from the chaos of my room, of packing, and of the constant worry that I might be missing something or that I am packing too much.  Anyway, I have been sitting here and I just started to think (which for me isn't all that good of an idea).  I am starting to really see that this college thing is bigger than I thought.  I mean, I was thinking about my room.  It's been my room for about 13 years and I am just going to up and leave it.  It's been my sanctuary to get away from family, from noise, from life if I had to, and now I am abandoning it.  Haha. Listen to me talking about my room as if it had a personality.  You know, I kinda think it does.  It has my personality, but it has it's own.  The mess that it portrays , which hasn't necessarily been from myself, takes on it's own sort of way of life. lol. I sound crazy.  That's what the thought of loss does to a person.

      Then I started thinking about all the vacations that my family has been on and I go back to the moments when we come home after being away for several days, and I can still remember the relief of coming back to MY room.  My own spot of familiarity.  I can feel the comfort start to flow through me as I look around at the familiar furniture, colors, objects, and feel everything again.

Then, a thought came to me.  This time, this "vacation" isn't a vacation at all.  And when I come back to my sanctuary, my familiar place, it won't be mine anymore. It will have changed from the months of my being gone.  It will become someone else's space, no longer mine.  The furniture might stay the same, but the things that fill it are no longer what I  filled them with.  It is just depressing to think about coming back and not really having a little place of my own, no matter how small it is.  My mom always says that no matter how old I am I will always have a place at home, but it will just be a roof over my head after leaving for college.  All my things will have been changed... Ugh.  Well, that's enough depression for now...

Family Reunion

I went to a family reunion today. It was my grandma's side of the family.  There is one main thing I would like to advise all people who are about to head to a family reunion:
THINK:  Do I have a sunburn?
DECIDE: Should I get near any family member that I probably haven't seen since kindergarten, which is most likely almost everyone, who might possible want to embrace me rather harshly?
EXECUTE:  Yes I have a sunburn.  No I will not get near any family member who intends to harm me in a supposed tender way. RUN AWAYYYYYYYY.

As you can probably tell, I have a wonderfully pleasant time :)  I spent the majority of my time dodging flabby arms, and hitting the buffet. (Not literally).  Then I spent some time by myself on the front porch of the house we were at drawing "Phil's Collision Center" across the street.  I posted it on my art blog. It isn't very good, but I used what I had, aka, printer paper, a pencil with a missing eraser, and my lack of eye glasses to see adequately across the street.  Excuses, excuses, right? lol.