Sally Catherine Armstrong loves her adopted family. But growing up, she always wondered about her biological parents.

“Who were they? What was their ethnicity?” she’d ask herself.

The Carrollton woman had no trace of hospital records that could help piece together her family history. She was told that she was abandoned in a Virginia hospital bathroom just after birth.

She moved to North Texas at 13 from Virginia and grew up as an only child within her adoptive family. But somewhere in the country, she thought, she could have parents, aunts, uncles and, maybe, siblings.

“I grew up knowing that I was adopted and wondering, ‘Would I walk past them on the street and not know?’” she said.

Her questions found answers after Armstrong used the DNA kit 23andMe, which breaks down an individual's ancestry with a saliva sample. After sending it off in February, the 29-year-old learned she has a sibling in Pennsylvania when she received a relative match notification in May.

From left, Kevin Overton of Philadelphia, Cherjon Overton of Deptford, N.J., Sally Armstrong of Carrollton, Sterling Overton-Crawford of Fredericksburg, Va., and Dorein Overton of Westville, N.J., pose for a photograph in Philadelphia. (William Thomas Cain / Cain Images)

"Finding a relative was the farthest thing from my mind," Armstrong said.

Her half-sister, Sterling Crawford, sent a message to her inbox shortly after that notification. And within a few hours, the two were talking on the phone. Armstrong thought she had found just one sister, but Crawford told her she has three other half-siblings, all with the same mother.

That day, the five bonded for the first time with messages and FaceTime calls.

“I woke up this morning an only child,” Armstrong thought. “Now, I’m going to bed the second youngest of five.”

Armstrong’s oldest brother, Kevin Overton, who works as a police officer in Pennsylvania, was in shock at first over the news.

“We all thought there has to be something wrong with that [kit],” he said in a phone interview.

Sally Armstrong (second from right) planned to visit her long-lost family in the Philadelphia area for her 30th birthday in September, but said she couldn't wait that long. She booked a flight with her husband to meet their family two weeks after she got the news. (Sally Armstrong)

“But there’s no denying it. She looks just like us,” Overton said.

Armstrong planned to visit them in the Philadelphia area for her 30th birthday in September, but said she couldn’t wait that long. She booked a flight with her husband to meet their family two weeks later.

When Armstrong met her siblings in person, she could see how much they are alike. She and Kevin have the same big smile. Armstrong and her brother Dorein share the green eyes. She and her sister Sterling sound like the same person. Some family members would say Armstrong and sister Cherjon look most alike.

“I just wanted to give her a hug. I wanted to let her know that she has a big brother now and as long as I’m around, you’re going to be all right,” Overton said.

"It was humbling. You think you know what's going on in life and then it throws a curve ball," he added.

They ate together. Laughed together. Popped champagne and tossed back tequila shots in celebration. Armstrong spent 48 hours with them at Kevin Overton’s home for the brief weekend trip.

It wasn’t enough to recover the 30 years she’s missed with them. But they’ve already planned family get-togethers through the end of the year.

Still, saying goodbye for the first time was hard for Armstrong — although it’s just a “see you later” for now.

"I didn’t get emotional the entire time. Until I was sitting in the airport. My eyes were burning,” she said.

“I love these people so much and I just met them.”