Another day, another letter....Louie is trying to get caught up on some unanswered emails. This time she writes to her friend in Pocatello, Idaho, Erin McCabe. Erin and her husband, Paddy, are the parents to six children, all of them adopted.
Thursday, June 23, 2005, nearly five in the afternoon, central daylight time~
Dear Erin, Paddy, and Kids~
Hello! I suppose you are wondering what on earth has happened to me or why I haven't written in such a long time...well, I will tell you, so just hang onto the seat of your pants! LOL I have had much happen to me and the family, so here goes...
First of all, when I last wrote, I had just gotten back from Sri Lanka, and we were in the process of adopting two little kids I had cared for while helping out the tsunami disaster survivors and victims, and I was due to have back surgery in a few weeks...well, we DID get the children from Sri Lanka (a little girl, aged five, named Rani Kalpana, and a baby boy, now aged one year, named Arjun Ravi), and I DID have my back surgery. Happily, the surgery has been a smashing success, and I am happy to report that I am NO longer using the forearm crutches, and I am NOT using ANY walking aids AT all..I am walking ON MY OWN POWER, and I have NOT had ANY sciatic pain down my legs; it has been nothing short of a miracle, and it is as though I have been HEALED by GOD! I am even able to dance again, and I can lift my heavier kids again, something I hadn't been able to do in YEARS!!
Secondly, we are adopting yet again...yes, you heard right: we ARE adopting AGAIN! We now have an incredible *52 Children*, and we are going to be adding to the family within the next several months! Holt International called us about a little girl, aged eight, from Romania, who has spina bifida, and they even sent us a picture; when we first saw the child's picture, we immediately said: "YES!" So now we are waiting for Janica Kryzstina to complete her medical exams, and when the doctors give her the "All Clear", she will then be flown to America, and she will then be OURS! OURS!! We will have a new child to call our own!! As you can imagine, we are plumb excited, and we are already counting the days to when young Janica will become a permanent part of our expanding International Family!! :)
But enough about me and the family...how are YOU guys doing? What is new in your lives? You will have to let me know what is going on; I am all ears! Speaking of adopting, my good friend in Soulsbysville, California, Kendra Mae Williams, is adopting her FIFTEENTH daughter (she is due to come here ANY DAY now!! Her name will be America Hope, and she is from Sri Lanka!), and she just recently adopted a little eight-year-old blonde beauty named Chelsea! I think she is from Georgia! And she and the girls are coming out this summer sometime, so we will get to meet not only Chelsea, but little America Hope! And we will get to meet Hope, whom they got last year from Japan! So there is much excitement in the Williams household as well! :)
How is the weather there in Pocatello? I hear that area has had a lot of stormy weather lately..I pray and hope you guys are okay and that you haven't sustained any storm damage! We are having lovely weather here in Nashville: partly sunny out, with temps in the eighties, and low humidity...just delightful, perfect summertime weather!
We have done some traveling already this year: back in May, Bill and myself went to Greece for a wedding (we were in Greece for a week, and we had a marvelous time!!), and my son, Johnny, and my daughter, Barbara, went to Alaska, to visit a friend, for a week, back in April, and in May, the week after Mother's Day (one week prior to Bill's and my going to Greece), we went to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where we had a super time! We also went to the CMA Music Festival a few weeks back, and we again had a lovely time! But our joy has been tempered with some sadness: I lost a friend to cancer in Texas, and my daughter, Ronee', recently had hip replacement surgery (I am happy to say that she just got out of the hospital yesterday, but she is still in a lot of pain; still, she IS feeling better), and my son, Johnny, had tests, to see if his muscular dystrophy is getting worse (it ISN'T, which is a MAJOR answer to prayer!! GLORY!!). But other than these three events, life is very good for us Sanduskys, and we couldn't be any happier than we are right now! :)
Well, Erin, I know this isn't much of a letter, but now you are updated on the "doin's" of our life, and now you aren't in the dark. Again, I am very sorry for not writing sooner, but things have been chaotic at best, and you know how THAT goes, as you have your OWN family to worry about! And you know how things just sort of "happen" when you least expect it. Well, that has been the case for me. I just hope you understand why I haven't written.
I will get off now; I have to fix supper (we are having turkey enchiladas for supper), and I also have to hook my daughter, Jodie, up to her feeding tube; she can't eat by mouth, and so she has a gastrostomy tube in her belly, and we "feed" her that way. It takes an hour to do this. Until I next write, Erin, you take care, and God bless you all always! Do write back when you can! I'd love to hear from you again!
Toodles!!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your Tennessee friend, Louie May Sandusky (soon to be the Mama to *53* Miracle Children!!). :D
You are the Story Queen here at Author's Den; congratulations on number 1,800! That is quite an accomplishment, and a blessing for all who read your words.
A beautiful, compassionate heart Louie has, and a prolific, golden, compassionate pen YOU have--well done!
Thursday, June 23, 2005, nearly five in the afternoon, central daylight time~
