Louisiana continues writing on her computer, desperately trying to catch up on her mountain of unanswered emails from friends that have written to her. This time it is Betty Jo Ciagalore's turn. Betty Jo Ciagalore lives in South Miami, Florida, with her family.
Friday, June 24, 2005, 10:57 a.m., C.D.T.~
Dear Betty Jo~
Hello! I hope you aren't angry with me for not writing sooner, but I have been busier than a centipede in a toe-counting contest! NO KIDDIN'!~ I have been busy working oodles of hours (lately I have been working the night shift, and I have even pulled in some doubles this week, and I am plumb tuckered out!!), not to mention, trying to answer all the backlog of unanswered emails, raising my village LOL, and trying to help with the adoption community! I am so busy I don't know whether I am coming or going at times! LOL
I hope this finds you well...we are fine here, and we are getting ready for the Fourth of July (we are going to the parade and to the Nashville Fourth of July BLAST!, just as we do every July Fourth; we listen to the bands and watch the fireworks; we also go to the parade), and we are also getting ready for our visitors from California, the Williams family. I really don't know when they are coming just yet, but Kendra said that she'd let me know, and then they would come. I will then get to meet her two newest children, Chelsea, who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, and the brand new daughter, America Hope, who should be arriving any day now from Sri Lanka! We are also getting ready to adopt yet again (I know, I know...call me "touched in the head crazy"! LOL I need another kid like I need a hole in my pants! LOL)...but it is TRUE! We are adopting an eight-year-old girl from Romania named Janica Kryzstina, and she has spina bifida (she CAN walk, but on forearm crutches and braces on her legs). We will soon have FIFTY THREE children in our Internationl Family of Miracles! :)
We are also tending to two recovering children...Johnny recently had tests to see how his muscular dystrophy is progressing (to our surprise and joy, it is progressing slower than doctors thought it would; he's already lived seven YEARS longer than doctors predicted he would after he got it!!), and Ronee' just had hip replacement surgery a little over a week ago, and she is already home from the hospital. She can't walk or run just yet, or use her crutches (she is using a walker), but she is feeling a lot better than she did just after she had the surgery, and she is just coming along GREAT! She is rather slow yet, but it won't be long before she returns to being a little cheetah on her crutches! LOL
Rani and Arjun have since assimilated into the family, and they are now acting like typically American kids: they love McDonald's, apple pie, SpongeBob Squarepants and the Rugrats on tv, playing with their toys, and wrestling with their many brothers and sisters. I worry about Arjun because he is just a baby of a year old, but he is a tough little srap of a fellow, and he loves to be part of the action; nothing daunts him! As for Rani, she is more quiet, more reserved, but she will offer you hugs or a smile if she feels up to it. She is still receiving therapy, but she is coming along, and it won't be long before she starts using crutches to walk. (She had a massive head injury that left her with some physical disabilities; but doctors think she will make a full recovery in time.) Rani is picking up English like a sponge, and little Arjun is learning as well; and everything is so new and exciting for him! It is cute to watch him react to the world about him; he is such a little joy to be around!! :)
I also have since written a sequel to my first book, "A Family Made out of Miracles And Rainbows: The Sandusky Family Story--A True Story of Love and International Adoption", entitled "...And The Miracles Continue"; it just came out a few months ago, and I have already attended a few book signings, and it sure is exciting to see my book on the shelves at local Christian bookstores!! :) They also have my books at the local Barnes and Noble, and that is major big when it comes to bookstores! :) So my books ARE going places! :) (I now have three books to my name, and there may be more books to come in the future!! :) )
But enough about me...what is new in your part of the world? Has it stopped raining there yet? I heard on the Weather Channel that Florida has been inundated with rain, and there has been some flooding there. I hope and pray you haven't had any major damage to your place, and I hope and pray that y'all are okay! I am worried about you....Here, it is sunny and warm, temps in the middle eighties, and it may be pushing 90 degrees by Sunday or Monday, according to the latest local weather forecasts for Nashville. But no rain is forecast until at least the middle of next week or next weekend (I hope not because it's Fourth of July week, and I don't want our Fourth of July plans to be rained out!! The kids would be so disappointed if they didn't see any fireworks, and we would be disappointed too! The fireworks are what makes the holiday, and we do so look forward to seeing them every Fourth of July!!)
Well, Betty, I do hope you will write soon. I sure do miss your letters! Give your kids a giant (((HUG))) from me and the rest of the gang, and write when you can! God bless you all mightly, and if I don't hear from you before July Fourth, have a happy and safe Independance Day!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky (soon to be a Mama to *53* Miracle Children!! :) ). :D
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Friday, June 24, 2005, 10:57 a.m., C.D.T.~
