Jun 20, 2009 11:44 pm US/Eastern
'China Sisters' Reunited At Sesame Place
LANGHORNE, PA (CBS 3) ―
Nine girls, who call themselves the "China Sisters", held their annual reunion at Sesame Place on Saturday. The girls and their parents braved the rainy weather to keep their tradition alive.
One of the mothers, Laurie White from Perry, NY explained, "It's just a once a year thing so it's really a do or die really."
Another parent, Gerry Hite from Waynesboro, PA added, "We all met in China and each family adopted a child."
It was 3 years ago; the girls were all adopted at the ages of 15-18 months from an orphanage in China. The adoptive families happened to stay in the same hotel and that's when they made a pact to stay in touch.
"It's wonderful for the girls. They have a connection, some kind of a bond with other Chinese girls that were in orphanages that don't have a birth family but have an adoptive family," White said.
The families traveled to Bucks County from Nebraska, California, Utah, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maine as well as Waynesboro and Lebanon, Pennsylvania. By all accounts, Mother Nature could have been more forgiving on this day but for the extended family, being together is all that mattered.
Hite said, "We're a little disappointed with the rain but we're all together and we're having a good time."
The families met for the first time in St. Louis last year. They don't know where they'll meet next year but they do know they want to keep this tradition alive for years to come.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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