A BitterSweet Reunion......

We drove up to Kansas City to see the KC Royals play the Chicago Cubs AND to meet for the first time EVER ... Stephen's Aunt Betty & cousins!

Stephen's Dad has a little sister that for many reasons were somewhat estranged.....We all knew about her but our families had never met! Thanks to Sherry & her daughter Shannon AND to Megan and myself for all getting hooked on ancestry.com .... we forged a bond .... we all became seekers of truth!

We loaded up a box of old photos and met everyone over breakfast in The Plaza ... then headed back to Sherry's lovely home to put the "Taylor" puzzle together!

We knew immediately that this had to be Grandpa's younger sister .... she had his eyes! Stephen and I fell in love with her within moments... Betty is three years younger than her brother Charles! He passed away in 1997 and there has not been a day in our life that we have not missed him so very much! To meet her only brought us back to the man we have always loved!

It was a incredible moment for Stephen and I :)

And then there was Stephen's cousin Sherry! Aunt Betty's daughter who is Stephen's age ....she's so vibrant and sweet and is responsible for all of us coming together! Thank you Sherry for opening your arms and home to us!

Sherry's daughter Shannon joined us also! Megan & Shannon became aware of each other while searching for family history and started sharing information... I think they are 2nd cousins... Megan was disappointed she couldn't join us :( She would have loved to been with all of us to put the missing pieces together!

Who knew for sure we would hit it off and all like each other so quickly? But it happened!

We had never met but our memories were so similar that we knew we were family with just different stories... and a different take on all the events that transpired through the years!

Stephen & Sherry discovered they are in the same profession ... She owns a professional cleaning company in Kansas City! We also became acquainted with Stephen's history of his Grandparents! Grandpa Charle's & Aunt Betty's Mom was pure German Jewish.... Her name was Elise!

We are so excited about that!

How sweet is this? Stephen meeting his Dad's sister! We all enjoyed going through old photos and telling stories of what we knew of the "Taylor" side of the family! Most of all we loved to tell them about the wonderful life that Grandpa & Grandma had the 50 years they were married! Grandpa's sister (Aunt Betty) has been married for 69 years!

We ended our get together with promises of more to come! Yeah!

We can't to wait to see our family again in Tulsa or Kansas City....

P.S. Kansas City is so cool!