Louisiana answers her friend's letter. Her friend lives in Del Rio, Texas, in the very southwestern part of the state.
Friday, the 24th of September, 2004, 12:25 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Diane:
Thank you for your email. I am sorry for not writing, but we have had company, and slowly, but surely, they are leaving to go back to their respective homes. Yesterday, our Fort Worth, Texas, friends, Phoebe Pearson and two of her daughters, Hanh Ly and Linn Chan, left to go back to Texas, and in a few hours, our friend from Finland, Sari Annike Gustaffssenn, is leaving to go back to her country. She is crying, and it is hard for me to keep back the tears because Sari has been taking care of the kids, helping me out, and just generally being a good friend! She has been here since we had the leftovers from then-Hurricane Ivan (and hear he is still around, but now going through southeast Texas; when will he EVER leave??), and we have really enjoyed having her here. Her fiance', Nikolas Constantinos, leaves for HIS home in Greece tomorrow, so tomorrow will be faced with yet more goodbyes! There have been a lot of tears shed the past two days, I am afraid!
How did I get two friends from Greece and Finland, you ask. Well, Sari came to where I work at last year when HER friend Helvig Gustaffssenn (he is originally from Finland, but now he lives here in America, in Tennessee), got hurt in a fall he had in his home; and I met her while she was waiting for her friend. We have been in regular contact ever since, and she has made several trips to America. As for Nikolas, I met him when his sister, Athena (she lives here in Nashville, too), was shot, and before he came to America, he emailed me, inquiring more information about his sister. Well, he came, and he proved to be just as nice as Sari; and the two have since fell in love and now are engaged (they will be married sometime next year, during the spring).
I know I will be hearing from the two of them after they get back!
Speaking of emails and mail in general, I have two new ladies writing to me: Louise in California (I have yet to find out her last name; seems she has been having some trouble with her computer; she is a friend to Kendra Mae Williams, whom I met earlier this month at a picnic for adoptive families; she has 12 little girls with disabilities), and Erin Suzanne McCabe, who lives in Pocatello, Idaho. Erin has six kids, who were all adopted from Honduras; she has three boys, and she has three girls; and they range in age from one and a half to 11 years. They are also all disabled. They both read an article about me, and they wanted to write to me. So I wrote to them; and I heard from Erin twice, and I am still awaiting for my second letter from Louise. Hopefully I will hear from her later today, and hopefully her computer woes are soon history!
Oh! Speaking of Kendra, she may end up adopting a 13th child, another little girl, but this time one from Japan. I hope so! That would be wonderful!
Glad to hear Humberto and Rico are over their diarrhea; it isn't any fun when kids are sick, especially when they get something like the runs or the nausea bug! But you know when it comes to having kids, unfortunately, that comes with part of the territory, as do tears, tantrums, and dirty diapers! My kids are all well, and Ronee' is now castless: she got her cast removed yesterday, and after some tears (on HER part!), I convinced her that it wouldn't hurt, and that she wouldn't get her arm cut off when the doctor took the cast off; he used a special saw that made a lot of noise, but didn't cut anything but the plaster. During the time she had the procedure done, Ronee' sat by me, her head in my armpit, just shaking like a leaf; but after the cast was removed, she was so relieved! She can do just about anything she can, but she still can't use her crutches just yet because her arm is still rather weak, and she needs some p.t. sessions, so as to strengthen it (plus she has to do some exercises to help build up the stiff muscles). She is still using her wheelchair, and she is getting tired of it FAST!
Johnny is home today: he had a seizure, and he is now in bed, fast asleep. He was at school when it happened, and the school nurse called to have me come get him because he had messed up his pants, and apparently it was a bad one (but he didn't stop breathing THIS time, thank goodness!). So I took him to the doctor (who gave him the okay), and I took him home, where I put him to bed; and he has been asleep since. The seizures really wipe him out, so it's probably best for me just to let him stay in bed and sleep (plus I check on him, every so often, to make sure he is still breathing, or in case he has another seizure). So far, all has been quiet and well on his end. I haven't heard a peep out of him since bringing him home from the doctor's office. (I am washing his pants and his shirt now; in addition to some other dirty clothes that were lying around; while I am waiting for the washer to finish its cycle, I am typing this letter to you.)
It snows here in Nashville; we can get pretty cold at times in the winter. We love the snow; it is so pretty! Sometimes we have warmer than normal winters, and then we have primarily rain, but usually we get snow in the wintertime (that, or ICE, which makes for some rather tricky driving here! I am sorry, but people down south do NOT know how to drive in ice and snow!!)
We have our weather here in Tennessee; but the climate is more temperate than it is down in your neck of the woods (Al Roker, eat your heart out! LOL). You are primarily mild year-round; here in Tennessee our springs are mild, our summers are hot, and our falls are delightfully cool and snappy, and our winters are cold to mild (depending on the patterns of the jet stream and other weather-related factors). This is during a typical year; but we can have cool summers or warm winters, and it's like everything has been turned topsy-turvy. We have our blizzards, and we have our tornadoes or severe storms, but we also can have some stunningly beautiful weather! The weather is a lot more pleasant than it is in Louisiana: Louisiana, as much as I love the weather there, is hot and humid, and it is often times rainy or stormy! NOT good on someone who has arhritis or any other chronic condition that involves PAIN! LOL I don't think I could return to Louisiana to live: it'd be too much on my body! So I am glad I am here in Tennessee! Tennessee is perfect, as far as I am concerned, because at least HERE, you have FOUR seasons instead of just TWO, like y'all have down there in Texas! LOL (Or Louisiana!)
We do have some local Opries here in Tennessee, but most are in Eastern Tennessee. There are a few here around the Nashville area; but of course, here, the Grand Ole Opry is Queen! She is THE Opry that all Opries look up to! We used to play at some of the local Opries, but we don't do much of that anymore; one thing, I am too busy chasing kids and keeping up with my husband, who is just as busy as I am! LOL I do hope you get to come to the Grand Ole Opry; you would love it I am sure! Sorry you have been having trouble in obtaining tickets; maybe, if you want, I can get you some tickets! Would you like that? Let me know! (I have "connections". Isn't THAT nice to know?? So maybe you can get to the Opry yet!) I do know of your Opries down there: the Grapevine Opry, the Wylie Opry, Johnnie High's Country Music Revue, to name a "few"; seems your state is "Opry Central", what with all the Opries you have down there! LOL
Glad to hear that your husband's (and your) health have been faring; but sorry to hear of your hubby's disability being upped. That is a good thing, but then again, it's not. My husband's disability has been lowered because he is working, but he still gets it every month, and it helps out. I get some myself, but not as much as he does. ('Course I work a lot more hours than he does, too, so that is a major player in it.) My kids all get Social Security disability (SSI) (the disabled ones, anyway), and the older, non-disabled ones are finding jobs in the summer to earn some extra cash (cutting lawns, raking yards, picking up refuse, etc.), and it gives them a sense of responsibility, pride, and some well-earned cash! And of course, they get money whenever they perform, and that is always a blessing! So they know the value of a dollar, and they put at least 1/2 of what they make in their savings accounts; and they also get an allowance if they behave! LOL
The only time they have to worry about their money is if they cuss: I have a cuss jar that I keep in the middle of the livingroom, on the table; and if I or Bill catch them cursing they have to put money into the "Cuss Jar". (Most cusses cost a dollar or two, but the BIGGIES: the F word, the G.D. word, the J.H.C. word, or the C. word--rhymes with "Runt"--cost more. The F word only costs five, and the C word costs ten, but the other two--the G.D. and the J.H.C. words costs the kids a pretty $20.00! They know we frown on foul language, so it is an incentive for them to watch their p's and q's and to keep an eye on their language. They also learn not to do it because it only costs them money, and they are never happy to part with their hard-earned cash! LOL) I also won't tolerate filthy language coming from the mouths of my kids, and they know if they are caught using foul language, they WILL be reprimanded for it, and they WILL get their mouths washed out with soap! I do NOT tolerate cursing in ANY form, and I will NOT have my kids talking like a bunch of trashy roughnecks!
Well, I will let you go; I will write more later. Sorry for the ramblings; but you know me and how I love to ramble! LOL I will write more later; until I hear from you, you take care, and God bless!
(((HUGS))) and love from the Hills of Tennessee, your friend, Louie. :)
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
Friday, the 24th of September, 2004, 12:25 p.m., C.S.T.~
