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Dear Kendra (Letter #2 as written by Louisiana) (To Michelle Kidwell With Much Love!) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
Louisiana responds to a letter from her new friend in California. She is tickled pink to hear from her.
Saturday, March 20, 2004~
Dear Kendra:
Hello there, Kendra May Williams! Thanks for telling me a little about yourself. Now that I have your physical address, I can send you the information regarding the picnic that will be put on by AASK later this year. I would very much love to have you come to Tennessee (we have families who come from all over the United States to this thing; this was how I met the Pearsons from Texas, the Terwilligers from Georgia, the Evanses from Ohio, and the Hamiltons, who are from near your neck of the woods in California [they live in Jamestown which shouldn't be too far from where YOU live!]). It will be held at Centennial Park here in Nashville, and if it should rain on our "little parade" (GOD forbid!), there are indoor shelters, so people don't get wet.
Kendra, you ask me how I manage to work at the hospital and raise 50 kids. Well, Kendra, there are SEVERAL ways how we manage. FIRST, and foremost, we rely on GOD to help us through; Lord, we could NOT do it WITHOUT Him! Secondly, we have "built-in babysitters" in our older kids, and those kids who are able to take care of their little brothers and sisters are very good with them. They know how to be (fairly) responsible, and they know how to handle MOST crises that may come along. They are bright kids, and they love taking care of their brothers and sisters. Now that the youngest two (Kwame' and Benjie, who are now four) are past the age of two, it is a lot easier (but it is NOT to say that they WON'T get into some sort of mischief because Lord knows, they WILL! Like the time Kwame' dumped flour over himself when I should have been more diligent; I was SO mad at myself for that one!). Thirdly, my dear husband, Bill, is home on his days off from Wal*Mart, and on the weekdays, the kids are in school until 3-4 in the afternoon. (I work from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at the hospital, and I am off Fridays through Sundays.)
When the kids are home and we are away for whatever reason (meaning Bill and myself), we have our neighbors keep tabs on us, and we also have the kids watching out over the little ones; plus we can keep in contact with one another by cell phone. If a problem should ever happen to arise, then I can get back and handle it. My kids are very good at letting us know if there is a problem, and they never fail to let us know if something comes up or who called. The kids know our cell phone number and if they need to call us, they WILL.
Now sometimes we go to Louisiana or to different festivals or fairs during the spring, summer, or fall (our one daughter, Ronee', sings, and she has performed across the south; but we also go to enjoy the fun and camraderie that fairs or festivals so often bring!), but we also go to places like the zoo or to OpryMills (formerly Opryland U.S.A.) or to the Grand Ole Opry (the Grand Ole Opry isn't too far from where we live; we go there several times a year, and we also go to Fan Fair in June; that is a yearly tradition with our family! We also go one weekend in May to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana [MY neck of the woods; I was BORN there!] for the annual Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival; that is another tradition we have in our family!), and the kids go with us; so if you ever need to get a hold of us, and we are not home, you can leave us an email; or a message on our phone; and we shall get back to you as soon as possible. I am just letting you know that spring, summer, and fall are busy times for us Sanduskys; and now with this book of mine, I also have to go to these book signings whenever they are scheduled. As if I am NOT already busy enough as it is! LOL SHEESH!! I don't know HOW I keep up at this frenetic pace, but I do, and it is ONLY because of God! LOL But I WILL get in contact with you SOMEHOW, Kendra; don't you worry your pretty head off about that! "Where there is a will, there's always a way", as they always say! LOL
Our kids are very happy to know about you, Kendra. They would love to meet you, too, and they are excited at the thought of your taking in another little girl from Africa. Kwame' is especially thrilled because he is from Africa, too (Kenya; where is your little Anna from? I ask this because I mentioned in my first letter that I speak Swahili, and not ALL people in Africa speak Swahili! LOL). He looked at me earlier today, and he puffed out his little chest, and he said, "Kendra's gettin' another baby, and she is from Af'ica. I am from Af'ica, too, you know." I had to smile when I heard him say that. And my soon-to-be teenaged daughter, Ronee', said that she was going to write a letter to your girls, so be expecting a letter from Ronee' in the mail. She will probably mail it by the beginning of the week; so be looking for something from HER. She is tickled pink, too, just as I am, about your taking in another little one from Africa, and she is happy that you are helping handicapped kids who might not otherwise have a home or a family to love. Ronee' is a very compassionate child, and you would love her. In fact, you would love ALL my kids; they are all sweet, good-natured, and compassionate kids, and even the more severely disabled kids (Jodie, Todd, Roberto--Jodie has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is profoundly mentally handicapped; but she is proving to be quite smart, smarter than what people may think when they first see her, and her brother, Todd, who is nonverbal, also has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is mentally handicapped; plus he also has respiratory concerns and is often on supplimental oxygen, and Roberto has Down's syndrome like your Linda, and he also has cerebral palsy and heart problems; in fact he has had several heart surgeries already--) can win over people with their sweet, quiet ways and happy nature.
My kids are named ( now let's see if Louisiana can remember them all! LOL): Anh, Richard, Michael, Todd, Porter, Jeraldo, Roberto, Johnny, Tran, Andre', Mario, Jo-El, Sergei, Kwame', Tri, Benjamin (the boys), Lightning, Dianna, Melizza, Tanya, Dwerlina, Stephanie, Barbara, Gisele, Summer Song, Deborah (Debby), Camey, Tammi, Kecia, Danita, Elise, Louise, Gemini, Jodie, Ronee', Sylvia, Trude, Loueva, LaVella, Sunshine Lee, Heather, Jameela (Jamie), LaGloria, Sun-Hee, Michelle, Megan, Monica, Christina, Rhiannon, and Enriquesa (the girls; HA! Did it! LOL). They are of all sizes and shapes and disabilities; and even some NOT disabled; but they are all growing like weeds, and it seems like only yesterday when we got our first two (Johnny and Ronee'), and they were just tiny babies (where DOES all the time go? Now they are going to be TWELVE years old in December! They are ALMOST TEENAGERS!! *GASP*)!
I will be sending you a copy of my book, "A Family Made Of Miracles And Rainbows: The Sandusky Family Story--A True Story of Love And International Adoption" with this letter; so you will be getting a package from me. I will also be sending the information about the AASK picnic that I mentioned at the top of this letter. I will also be sending you some pictures of our house and our kids, so you can get an idea of who we look like (I am the short black haired lady on the cane, and my husband is the REALLLY tall man! LOL), and see what a true "superfamily" looks like! LOL I hope you will enjoy what I am sending you, and I can't wait to hear from you again! I will also be calling you from time to time (knowing you are two hours behind us, so I have to take that into consideration when I call), and if ever you need to talk or need prayer, I will be more than happy to do so. Best times to call me are evenings from 7-9 or on Saturdays (Sundays we are at church most of the day). (You don't know HOW it warms my heart to know that you are Christian; that is WONDERFUL news!)
Well, Kendra, the kids are starting to get a bit too noisy for my liking, so I have to investigate to see what is going on, and put this "novel" (LOL) to bed. (I already wrote ONE book; let's do another one, says Lousiana LOL) I will be writing to you again, and in the meantime, I thank you for responding to my first letter so quickly, and I shall look forward to getting to know more about you and your wonderful family; and as I said at the top of this letter, I DO hope you consider attending the picnic later this year. I would very much love to meet your family (and YOU, of course! LOL)! Until the next time I hear from you, Kendra, take special care of yourself and the girls, and if ever you need to talk or need prayer, I am available; if not, I WILL make myself available! God bless you all mightily, and keep your eye on the Lord! He'll NEVER disappoint you--EVER!!
With MUCH love,
In His Service,
Your new Tennessee friend, Louisiana Sandusky in Nashville.
P.S.: Enjoy the book and the other goodies I am enclosing with this letter!
The Harvest of Souls Crossover is a story that is exciting, vigorous, and full of suspense about the fight of good and evil in two realms, the light and dark world. The Howdy Family is determined to defeat the world of darkness, led by the seemingly
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Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
Saturday, March 20, 2004~
