Louisiana writes yet another email, this time, to a woman in Kentucky, who took the time to write to her.
Dear Jenna Fiona~
Hello! My name is Louisiana Sandusky, and I am happy to hear from you. Thank you so much for writing; I loved your letter, and I loved the picture of the dancing, banjo-playin' frog! That was too adorable!
You sound like you have your hands full, but I am happy that your kids are doing well. (I love their names by the way! :) ) You and Charles must be huge country music fans to name your kids after country music stars! LOL None of my kids are named after country stars, but I DO have a Barbara, a Tammy, a Johnny, and a Porter (as in Wagoner). They may share country star sounding names, but to my knowledge, they weren't named after a particular singer. I don't have a Reba or a Loretta, but I DO have a daughter (Ronee') who is crazy about Loretta Lynn and sounds a lot like her when she sings! LOL (My daughter wants to be a famous country star, just like Loretta.)
I am sorry you have a problem with kids with disabilities, but if you get to know them, you will find out that they need love, and they need homes (and families) too, just like kids who AREN'T disabled. My kids are disabled (well, MOST of them are!), but they are some of the sweetest, most loving kids you will find anywhere, and they love life and live it to its very fullest. My kids have disabilities ranging from the hidden ones (ADHD, learning disabilities, dyslexia, epilepsy, diabetes, etc.) to the more obvious (spina bifida, JRA--juvenile rheumatoid arthritis--, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, varying degrees of cerebral palsy, vision or auditory impairments, and mental disabilities, even multiply disabilities, where they have more than one. But their crutches, braces, wheelchairs, hearing aids, glasses, or whatever have never slowed them down, and they are a very active part of our community and they enjoy being involved in many different projects.
My husband and I adopted kids with disabilities because we found out that they need love too, and we wanted to make a difference in a deserving child's life; and this is why we took in kids with disabilities, no matter how major their disabilities were. We also took in kids who were older, of different racial heritage, or kids who were part of a sibling group, and we took in kids who for some reason or another, were considered to be "unadoptable" or "special-needs". We started with two, Johnny and Ronee' (they were adopted as babies; they are now twelve and are growing every day), and then we ended up with seven more, to bring the number of kids to nine; and it sort of snowballed; we now have fifty two children ranging from the age of 22 1/2 on down to just one year of age. I am also a proud grandma to five kids, four grandsons and a granddaughter, and our lives are centered around our careers and our role as parents (and grandparents). We are very family-oriented, and even though our time is severely constrained, we wouldn't trade all of this for a million dollars!
Tell me more about your family, Jenna. I would like to know more about your children. Our kids come from all over the world: Asia, the United States, Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. We don't have kids from Australia yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if somehow, somewhere, down the road, we end up with a child from the "Land Down Under"! We just adopted two children from Sri Lanka earlier this year, and they have since fit in beautifully!
Well, Jenna, I will go now; we are in Louisiana as I write this (we are in Breaux Bridge, for the annual Crawfish Festival; it is a yearly event for us), and we are fixin' to head off towards the festival grounds to hear some great Cajun music and eat some Cajun food. I will write more next time; I am looking forward to hearing from you! Take care, and God bless! Thanks again for writing!
(((HUGS))) and love, a new friend in Tennessee (who is now in Louisiana), Louisiana. :D *grinnin' like a possum*
Lovely work. I will say it again...you should make these letters into a book...they will inspire parents with disabled children everywhere. Love, Michelle
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.
Dear Jenna Fiona~
