Louisiana responds to an email from Rebekkah Rachel's mother in California after Naomi has emailed her.
Saturday, November 20, 2004~
Dear Naomi~
Hello, or as you say, Shalom!
Thank you for wriring; it was such a pleasant surprise to hear from you! My daughter, Ronee', and my son, Johnny, both of whom write to your daughter Rebekkah, think highly of her, and they were tickled pink to get her latest emails. So be expecting your computer to be very busy, what with incoming (or outgoing) emails! LOL
Thank you for telling me about Rebekkah and her special "problem", but from the sounds of things, it sounds like she is a courageous little lady with a good heart and a lot of determination and spunk. In fact, just your describing her, plus her emails to my kids, makes her sound a lot like Johnny and Ronee'! Johnny and Ronee' may have their health issues, but they are determined to overcome their disabilities, and they refuse to let their problems get in the way of whatever they do in life. Maybe that is one reason that God has allowed them to live this long! Pain insensitivity disorder doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but your daughter has proven to be a determined little girl with an unbreakable spirit, and that has really touched me.
To tell you about myself, Naomi, I am 35 years old, and I am quite short, shorter than most adults. I am what people call a "little person", or "dwarf" (I find the latter to be quite insensitive; so I prefer to be called a little person or a person of short stature!): I am only 4 foot, 7 1/2 inches tall. I have long, black hair, black eyes, and am dark of skin; I look Hispanic, but I don't have any Hispanic blood in me. I am mostly Cajun French, and I also have Cherokee Indian in me, enough to give me my dark coloring. I also have a little smidgen of Irish somewhere; but I am mostly Cajun French (and I have the French accent to prove that claim! LOL). I walk on a cane because I have ongoing back problems that have plagued me since I was only nine (I fell out of a tree while I was playing in the backyard with my four older sisters; for a few years I spent my time walking with the aid of forearm crutches and leg braces; but by the time I was a teenager, I was walking on my own!), plus I have degenerative arthritis in my spine, hips, and knees, and I also have sciatic nerve pain running down both legs. Still, even with all the pain I am in, I still go on, and I try to make the best of things. I was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and I moved to the Nashville, Tennessee area after our third biological child died. (I will tell you more about that in a later letter, if you would like.)
Bill and I have been married a little over 13 years now, and we are for the most part, happy. We have our moments where we disagree, but then don't ALL couples?? LOL He has been a wonderful husband and father, and he has seen me through some of the hardest moments of our married lives together, such as the deaths of our three biological children, the illnesses of our own adopted children, the deaths of my mother (she died from brain cancer) and my oldest sister, Georgia, and also Georgia's husband and two small daughters (they all died in a plane crash while they were on vacation in Maine), and also when my daddy had his open heart surgery last year (he nearly didn't make it, and he is just now back to where he was prior to his open heart surgery). Bill is a compassionate, gentle man with a heart of gold, and he was the one who led us to Christ; and ever since then, Christ has blessed our home (and our lives) tenfold. I can't imagine my life without Bill or any of the children, and I thank God each and every day for my husband and our children!
One thing about Bill, though: he is tall--very tall. He is 6' 9 1/2" tall; quite a difference from my tiny 4 1/2'! LOL Still, despite the difference in height, I couldn't have asked for a better husband than my Bill! He is everything I could have ever hoped for in a man--and much more!
We really didn't "plan" to adopt, but Bill saw that I had wanted children after the death of our only daughter, so he went out and started the necessary paperwork needed to start the adoption process--and, as they say, the rest is history. First, Johnny and Ronee' entered our lives; and we were, at long last, a family; but God wasn't done, oh, no, not by a long shot! More children came, and our family got bigger; and it seemed once we started, we just couldn't stop; and the whole thing just sort of snowballed. Now we have fifty Miracle Children, and we can't imagine our lives without ANY of them; that is how much we love and care for them, and they have blessed us inmeasurably!
I will be sending you a copy of my book, "A Family Made out of Rainbows and Miracles: The Sandusky Family Story--A True Story of Love and International Adoption"; I wrote it last year, and it is available at most bookstores. I will even autograph it for you if you'd like; and I am sending it to you free of charge. You don't have to worry about paying for it; consider it a special gift for me for the upcoming holidays! In it you will read more about our family and what we have had to endure, and how God's mercy and grace has seen us through unimaginable trials and how His love has strengthened us and made us whole. (There may be a sequel in the works, just as soon as I await word on my second book, which I have sent to publishers; haven't heard if that one has been published yet or not. Oh, well, no news is good news, as they say! LOL The second book is about nursing; I work at a large hospital here in Nashville, and I have been a nurse for over five years now.)
We attend services at Christ Community Assembly of God Church, which is a nondenominational church (all faiths are welcome); and we really get so much out of our church. We have a wonderful church family, and the church staff is made up of some of the friendliest and most caring and compassionate people around! Our senior pastor, Bruce Bilkey, has welcomed us with open arms, and when he preaches, people LISTEN and take notice. He is really good at what he does, and we get so much out of his sermons! If ever you are in our area one day, Naomi, you would be most welcome at our church, and we would love to have you! We at Christ Community Assembly of God love visitors!! :)
What do you like to do? I love to spend time "in the Word" or in prayer (I start the day this way, and I find it really helps, especially during times of trouble!), be with my husband or our children, ministering to others in need, singing, playing my music (I play pedal steel guitar and accordion), write letters (or books! LOL), read (I am a regular bookworm; my room is just FULL of books!), take walks, clean (I am a NEAT FREAK deluxe! LOL), and cooking. I am a mad Cajun cook; if I am not cleaning or raising a village LOL I am concocting some delicious recipes in the kitchen! But I won't be cooking THIS Thanksgiving: I will be letting someone ELSE do the cooking; time this Cajun cook has a BREAK! LOL We are going OUT for Thanksgiving THIS year! (But alas--I have to work Christmas! Every year, I alternate: one year, I am off Christmas and work Thanksgiving, and the next, I work Christmas and am off Thanksgiving. Such as this year. Oh, well, I really don't mind; people get sick during the holidays, too, and this is why I am a nurse, so I can help them--and hopefully, save them.) We will just have to have Christmas AFTER I get off work; at least the KIDS and my hubby get to sleep IN for once!
What is your favorite holiday (Jewish or otherwise)? Mine is most definitely Christmas; I have always enjoyed the magic and excitement that is Christmas, and it just reminds me of the many miracles that God has given to us as a family. I see miracles every day in our family, and I see miracles whenever I look into the sweet young faces of my children because that is exactly what they are. They are my angels, and they have blessed me more than they will ever know!
Well, Naomi, I have bent your ears long enough (they ought to be dragging on the ground by now! LOL), so I think it is best I shut this down. Besides, I have to get ready; we are taking our kids out for lunch (Olive Garden) and then to the movies (they want to see "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"), so we will be gone most of the afternoon. We will also do a little Christmas shopping and look at the Christmas lights later on; they are starting to appear in our city. (We don't have our Christmas decorations up yet, just our Thanksgiving ones! We will put our outside icicle lights and our other Christmas decorations up when December starts. We also have to go out and get our tree; we get a live Christmas tree each December.)
Until later, Naomi, thanks for writing; it was nice to hear from you! And tell Rebekkah I will write her again as soon as I can; and so will Johnny and Ronee'! God bless you all, and have a most blessed day!
(((HUGS))) and love, your new friend in Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah. :D
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
Reflections and Nature Watercolors is a collection of Margaret's spontaneous positive thoughts in celebrating and reflecting on life and her nature watercolors.
Saturday, November 20, 2004~
