Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY — Two sisters separated after an adoption met each other for the first time a month ago say they feel as if they have known each other their entire lives.
Kourtney Jolley, 31, and Keri Traver, 29, met a couple weeks before Christmas. For years, they wanted to know the other, and after years of searching, connected on Facebook Nov. 4. On Dec. 11, Keri met her birth mother as well as her biological sister, Kourtney, in Las Vegas.
“It was exciting. It was really fun. There was a lot of anticipation, waiting. My mom wanted to meet her first, so they had dinner together,” Kourtney said.
Keri, who lives in Montana, met her mother at a Mexican restaurant. Kourtney and her mother were in Las Vegas for a missionary homecoming at the Las Vegas airport. Keri arrived with her husband Dustin at the restaurant and reserved a table.
“I was worried she would meet me and that would be it,” Keri said. “When she came to the table, I stood and we both hugged, then took a step back to look at each other. I just knew she was my mom. It was like looking in a mirror.”
Keri is deaf so her mother had prepared for the meeting by learning some ASL and bringing a thick notebook to pass back and forth with handwritten messages.
Kourtney had learned some basic signs eight years prior with her daughter using the “Signing Time” program, but hadn’t constructed sentences, she said. Through fingerspelling, signs and writing, the sisters were able to communicate without much problem, she said.
Related:
2 sisters finally make connection after years of searching
After finding she had a sister that her mother placed for adoption, Kourtney knew she wanted to find her. Finding out she was adopted and that she had a sister, Keri also began searching. After years of effort, the two finally made connection.“When we were first about to meet, I was really anxious. I guess it was two-fold. I was really excited to meet her for the first time, but then you have the communication barrier there also,” Kourtney said. “Up to that point, I hadn’t ever communicated with someone who was deaf.”
The two sisters connected after years of searching. Kourtney was told by social workers her sister would have to contact her, and Keri just didn’t have enough information to reach out. Keri’s adoptive mother had given her letters when she was 13 years old from her biological mother, but it wasn’t until October that she found a business card nestled among the letters.
“I searched since (I was) 13 years old and registered all over the Internet on the adoption registries,” Keri said. “Recently, an adopted friend of mine was discovered to be a victim of child trafficking from South America — that prompted me to read my letters and this time a business card fell out. Then all this unfolded. I feel strongly that this is the Lord's will and that it was his time for me to meet my biological family.”
The social worker whose name was on the card contacted Kourtney on Keri’s behalf after finding her on ancestry.com. Kourtney said she had only registered the account three weeks prior on an impulsive feeling.
“I knew instantly when the caseworker messaged me what it was. I knew it was my sister,” Kourtney said.
Since they met, Keri and Kourtney have grown close. They have discovered similarities they didn’t expect — like their taste in decor and thought processes — and some they did. Keri said they have both have their mother’s almond-shaped eyes, narrow mouth and bright smile. Though neither grew up with together, both said it feels like they have always known one another.
“It’s just been such a wonderful experience and I’m really grateful that we’ve been able to find each other and that we have this bond,” Kourtney said. “There’s just this bond between us that’s amazing. It’s a sibling bond for sure — it’s a sister bond.”
“I felt I belonged right there. I did not have the weird feeling of being with ‘new’ people,” Keri said. “I felt as if I have known them both my entire life. Like, I was always there with them. It is very strange. It was meant to be. Our souls knew each other.”
