Monday, April 3, 2006 (Opening Day for the baseball season for 2006), 10:43 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Uma Tullaq~

Thank you for your letter; your friend, Jenna Aurora Doucet, told us to expect a letter from you, so I was hoping to hear from you. It was nice to hear from you!

I hope that you get the desired news of which you are seeking soon--that your adoption has been approved and/or that your child comes soon! I find that the hardest part too--the waiting and the uncertainty--, but the thing is to never give up hope and pray like crazy! That's what I do!

No, the adoptions aren't always successful, and yes, we have lost children we wanted to adopt; but more often than not, we have been approved, and that balances out the dark side of adoption beautifully.

I will be more than happy to send you my books of which you requested. I will be sending them free of charge, and they will be personally autographed. I have two other books out (one just has been approved; it will be out later this year or the start of next year, according to the publishers), one about nursing, and the other, a children's book about my family and international adoption. So I have four books under my belt, and there may be more, the way things keep happening!

To tell you about myself, Uma, I am married (nearly 15 years now) to a wonderful man named Bill, and we had three children; but all died, two while still babies. This was when we turned to adoption, and we were shocked to find so many children who were in desperate need of a home or a family.

We decided to adopt children who are special needs because there are so many of them and so few parents willing to give them the chance to succeed in life; we have since adopted fifty-three children (most of them being disabled), and now it has gotten to the point to where we can't imagine life without any of them! We love them all so much, and they are our world!

Our children now range in age from nearly two on up to 23 1/2. They come from all over the world: the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Italy, Germany, France, The Netherlands, China, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Romania, Iran, Russia, and Africa. Their disabilities range from the hardly noticeable or mild to the severe and very obvious. Their disabilities range from learning challenges, epilespy, and deafness to severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, mental retardation, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and facial deformities due to burns from a fire.

Yet their disabilities don't matter, and we see them all as children first. We try to make them aware that the world is often a very unfriendly place to those with disabilities, but with the right guidance and support, they CAN make it.

My husband and myself both work: I am a nurse (I am at work now; I am on break, hence why I am writing to you now; I have an hour's break for lunch), and my husband works at Wal*Mart, where he is a "people greeter". I have been at my job for ten years or so, and my husband has been at his job for a little over two; we both enjoy working, and we both love the money coming in! :) (What employee who works for a living doesn't??) 

I am sorry you can't work (due to your MS), but I am sure that Kirk takes very good care of you when he isn't working. You are so blessed to have each other, especially on the bad days! :)

I have known Jenna Aurora Doucet for a little over two years now. She was in a bad car wreck here in Nashville, Tennessee (where I live and work), and I happened to be one of the nurses in charge of her care. She sustained severe injuries that have left her permanently physically disabled, and for a long time, she was faced with a lot of challenges; but now she appears to be getting her life back in order, and she is now pregnant with her first son, a little boy.

I am so happy for Jenna; it's been a long time coming, and it is amazing what God can do for a person if they have a little faith! :) I have known Michael for a little over a year now, and he and Jenna are perfect for one another! They are going to be a beautiful family once their little boy is born!

I have been to Alaska once (two years ago; we went on a cruise), and it was absolutely breathtaking! We are coming back to Alaska come October (the entire family); this will be our second cruise, and we are looking forward to it. I got a free two-week Alaskan cruise from my superiors at work, and we are going to go on this cruise to celebrate the adoptions of our three newest children, Arjun Ravi (nearly 2 years), Janica (8 1/2), and Rani, who will be six in a few weeks. Rani and Arjun both came to us from Sri Lanka while Janica came to our family from Romania, and already they have managed to wrap their little selves around our heasts! :)

Bill and myself are going on another cruise in June, but that is for us only, and we are going to go to Mexico to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. (We are looking forward to that too, and we are looking forward to getting away from the children for a week! That will be soooo wonderful! *sighhhhhhhhh*)

We doubt we will add any more children to our family; but we certainly didn't plan on adopting as many children as we did. God has blessed us tenfold by bringing us our children into our lives, and He has opened up doors for other couples we have associated with in adopting children with special needs; and we now keep in close contact with one another and I run an adoption community where we get in touch and talk about our kids, our lives, and adoption.

It has been very beneficial, and it is nice to make new friends like this! I have made a lot of wonderful friends, and I still keep in close contact with a lot of them!

There may be more children in our future, but again, there may not. It is all up to God to decide that; and once He speaks, we'd best listen!

Well, Uma, I will let you go for now. I am going to get myself something to eat before I starve, and besides, I only have a half hour left of my break before I have to meal back in and get back to working. Take care, and thanks for writing! I do hope to hear from you again! God bless you and Kirk, and let me know if there is anything I can do for you! I will most certainly pray for you and hope that the adoption is a success! All the best to you both!

~Most sincerely, a new friend in Nashville, Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky (mama to fifty three Miracles, most with special needs). :D