Dear Louisiana Sandusky~

You don't know me from Adam; I decided to write to you after reading one of your books about your family.  I hope you don't mind.

My name is Beatrice (Bea) Trammell.  I am married to George (15 years now), and we have five children, three adopted, two our own.  Our children range in age from four to fifteen; we  have two boys, three girls.

I am writing to you to tell you how much I enjoyed reading about you.  You are an incredible young woman; you've gone through so much in life, yet you remain steadfast to your faith, a faith that is refreshing to see.

How do you find time to write books, work, and raise such a large family?  Where do you put everyone when they come home for holidays?  The cost of raising such a large family must be astronomical, especially in today's shaky economy!

These are the kind of questions that ricochet through my mind as I write this.  I don't kow  how you do it!  I have enough trouble trying to keep tabs on five children; I can't imagine parenting over sixty!  You must be a sight when you go out in public!

I bet you've heard the same questions time and time again:  "Are you members of a church group?"  "Are these children your students, or are you on a school field trip?"  "Are you their babysitter?"  LOL  And to think they're all yours!  WOW!  Incredible!!

How do you handle negative questions pertaining to race, creed, disability?  How do you keep your children in line whenever they misbehave?  These are some of the things I'd like to know!

In any event, to tell you a little more about our family:  we have three girls, two boys, as I mentioned earlier.  They range in age from fifteen down to four.  Their names are Grace Elizabeth (15, ours), Tyler Wayne (13, adopted from India), Christina Michelle (11, adopted from Ecquador), Nicole Marie (7, adopted from China), and our youngest, Jayden Lance (4, ours; he was something of a surprise LOL).  They are all healthy, I'm happy to say; they bring us much in the way of joy; we can't imagine our lives without them!

I am a nurse like you; however, I work in a small community hospital here in Sisters.  My husband, meanwhile, stays home with the children; he can't work because he's on SSDI (back problems; has had several surgeries, they have done little good to ease his pain/suffering).  My mother in law (George's mom) comes to help with the children while I'm at work, so as to take some of the burden off George when his back is bothering him.  She's been a regular blessing!

I don't know if I could handle a child with special needs.  We have enough problems trying to keep a handle on five healthy children!  I guess that takes a special type of person to adopt children who are disabled; I don't think I could do it, if you want my honest opinion.

Well, I've bent your ear long enough, so I will run along now.  I hope you will write back to me; I love to get letters from other adoptive parents, to see how they handle life, how they handle their kids.  I'm always open to new ideas or suggestions.  Take care and God bless you and your beautiful family mightily!  You are definitely one of a kind!

~Most sincerely, your new friend, Beatrice Trammell, Sisters, Oregon. :)