My online twin

I bet you all didn't know I had a twin sister?

Okay, so we don't have the same mom. Or the same dad. And we aren't the same age either. And actually, we've never met each other (in person) before.

But we still consider ourselves twins of the heart.

Once upon a time, we met on www.hannahsprayer.org -- a discussion board for women traversing the road of infertility. Amy was a few years older than me, but otherwise our stories were very similar. Married a long time. Married a long time with no children. We lamented together. Encouraged. Supported. Cried. Begged. Prayed.

And remained infertile.

Together.

Amy moved away from infertility treatments first. She adopted one adorable little boy. A few months later she discovered she was pregnant.

Sound familiar?

As most of you know, I would adopt my own adorable little boy shortly thereafter and then find out that I too, was pregnant. Amy was one of the first people I told. I sent her an email that said, "You and I have a lot in common."

She knew instantly what I meant. She had boys about one year apart. I had boys just under one year apart. And we both knew that while everyone (and their mother) was constantly saying, "That happens all the time," it really doesn't happen all the time. I wrote about this "myth" on a past blog entry here.

And gosh darn it, wouldn't you know, our stories weren't done being written. I got pregnant with a little girl ... very unexpectedly. And so did Amy -- long after she believed that her family was complete.

She just delivered that little girl the other day. And with her birth, I felt the need to give a big "online hug" to my friend Amy. A big congratulations.

Our stories cross even more, however. Rewind to 2010. A few months before we moved to Turkey. Amy lives in San Antonio. She attended a MOPs group there. My friend Sarah Stebbins lived in San Antonio. She attended the same MOPs. They didn't know each other well, but Stebbs mentioned she was moving to Turkey. Amy mentioned that she had a friend she had never met who was moving to Turkey. She connected Stebbs and me. Stebbs and I started corresponding via email long before we moved to Turkey.

And then, take a look at the picture above. It was taken by my friend Sarah Ashmore (www.littletreesphotography.com). Sarah was my friend in Turkey. Sarah moved to San Antonio following their Turkey assignment. Amy contacted her to do photography.

Small world or what?

I am still trying to figure out how two of my friends have gotten to meet Amy, and I haven't yet! I really hope that some day, she and I, can sit down and chat. In real life.

Until then, we'll remain twins from afar. Congrats Amy!