Weds., January 30, 2007, 10:20 a.m., C.S.T., Nashville, Tennessee~

Dear Vida Esperanzas in Minnesota~

Hi! Thanks for telling me about your family; you sound like you have lots of things to keep you busy! (You sound like me! LOL We run on sheer batteries! LOL) My husband, Bill, keeps kidding me by calling me the "Energizer Bunny"! LOL

To tell you a little about myself, Vida, I am happily married (nearly fifteen years; it will be fifteen years on June 26 of this year!), and we have adopted a total of fifty-five children (most with special needs). We are in the process of adding to the family: we are adopting four more children; they will be coming in a few months, and we can't wait! :) Our children range in age from two to 25, and they come from a whole world of nations: Africa, France, the Netherlands, Bosnia, Romania, Russia, Iran, Italy, Germany, the continental United States of America, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and China, as well as Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and Korea. (Our new children are coming from Iraq, India, China, and Vietnam.)

Our children have a wide range of disabilities: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, Down's syndrome, ADHD and learning disabilities, deafness, visual disabilities, missing limbs, dwarfism, speech impediments, asthma and allergies, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy/seizures, spina bifida, and brain damage encurred from illness or accidents. Yet they are all very special in their own way, and we love each and every one of them fiercely. It has gotten to the point to where we can't imagine the family without any of the children! :)

I have written five books, three about the family, and two about nursing. I will be writing more books in the future, the way it looks now. I am a busy housewife and mother, a full-time RN, and am a full-time author. I love to write, as you can probably guess from my chatty letters! LOL

What do you like to do, Vida? What do you do to keep warm up there in Minnesota? I don't think my (Cajun French) blood could handle the cold: anytime it dips below 50 degrees here, I am freezin' my tail off! I put on two sweaters whenever it gets cold; my husband laughs at me! LOL I can't see how you can handle the brutality of the cold that way; it is tooo coooooold for me, that is for darn sure!

Have you seen the Northern Lights up there? I bet they can get pretty spectacular! We have seen the Lights here in Nashville, and in Alaska (we have been there twice, and my one son, Johnny, has been there three times). They don't come here to the lower half of our nation excepting on very rare occasions; when they do, it is always a celestial treat for me and the family! 

To answer your questions, Vida, the most difficult (or challenging) adoption has been our daughter Deborah. She was born in Iran to extremist parents, and they abandoned her as soon as they found out that she was born paralyzed (spina bifida) and without arms or legs.  She also has severe allergies and asthma. She was abused and left for dead when she was found, and we have had to nurse her back to health. She came to us when she was eight years old, and she has grown into a beautiful young teenager with a promising, bright future.

The easiest ones to adopt were probably our first two kids we adopted (Johnny and Ronee'). We adopted them when they were tiny babies, and it didn't take long before they were assimilated into our family. Johnny was adopted from Germany, and Ronee', from Louisiana.

How do I cope with so many different medical needs? Like you, I am a registered nurse! I know how to do CPR or other emergency measures if the kids get sick or injured; while it is upsetting, I do take care of them, and I spend lots of time at the hospital with them! My poor husband panics each time one of them falls ill or gets injured; in fact, he would fly off the handle if one of the kids got as much as a hangnail! LOL (Not really, but he does panic! LOL He'll never be in the medical field!)

As for my sanity, I spend lots of time in prayer mode. I ask the Lord to grant me patience and love when dealing with so many children at once. I find this helps. Plus I love my kids, and they are my world. I'd die for them; that is how much they mean to me! I know I am crazy to take in more kids when I already have enough, but once I see their faces, I can't say no! My husband, while more reserved and realistic, is the same way; but he has to think about it first! LOL

I know I am busy, busy, but that is okay. That is what keeps me young. I function better when I am doing something, be it raising our village LOL or working, even cooking. When I am not doing something, I get bored really quick, and I get grouchy. My poor hubby has been on the receiving end of my emotional tirades more times than he'd like to admit, and he knows I hate being bored!

The kids all share a room, and we have plenty of room to put everyone in their proper place. We even have guest rooms, to where our kids who live out of state can come home, and we put our other guests in the remaining guest rooms or even at a motel near our place if there's more than five extra people (which there usually is). We do have room, so if you are ever thinkin' of swingin' this way, you don't have to worry: I'll mke room! :)

Well, Vida, this is it for now; only have about fifteen minutes before I return to work. I work until two and then go home and work there! LOL I'm always at work, it seems, be it nursing people back to health and wellness or raising our village! LOL Take care, Vida, and God bless you mightily! I'll write again soon!

(((HUGS))) and much love, your new Tennessee friend, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky, RN (mama to soon-to-be fifty-nine Miracle Children [most with special needs]). :D