A father with three adopted children (and six very active sugar gliders) writes to Louisiana after reading her story in a book she had written.
Tuesday, July 5, 2005, 2:19 p.m., C.D.T.~
Dear Miss Louisiana Sandusky~
My name is Tony E. Hernando, and I am the adoptive father of three children, two boys and an older girl. I and my wife, Wendy, live in Port Aransas here in Southern Texas, and we adopted our kids from the Texas area; so our three children are all "homegrown".
We also have six sugar gliders. To best explain what a "sugar glider" is, it is a small marsupial animal that sort of resembles a tiny flying squirrel. They are similar to a flying squirrel, but they are not the same thing; it is an entirely different animal. They are tiny in size, but they can be a handful, and they are really good at creating mischief (or mayhem) if one isn't careful. They love to hide in tiny spaces or leap from place to place, and if they are annoyed, you will know it: they can raise a huge fuss for such a small creature. They are related to the koala bear, kangaroo, or oppossum (that is, a baby glider is born in a pouch, and when they are big enough, they can emerge from the pouch and expolore their world), and they are adorable with their huge, obsidian eyes, ever-quivering little pink noses, small, semi-rounded ears, long, furry tails, and clawed little feet. I will be sending you some pictures of our "furry little friends", so you can see exactly what I am talking about.
Now, our kids love our gliders, but they have to make sure that they don't accidentally leave them in a pocket, sit on them by accident, or let them fall in water or else, tragedy can very easily ensure. Or we have to make sure that we don't feed them plants or food that can be harmful to their delicate little systems. We pay very close attention to our gliders, and if trouble DOES come, they can always look for shelter and hide until they feel it is safe to come back out. We stress to our kids about being gentle with them, and so far, we have had very little in the way of problems.
But as I said, we are also raising kids, not just sugar gliders. We have two boys, Clint Ricardo (5) and Erenesto Hosue (7), and a preteenaged daughter in Renate Marisol, who is 11. All of them are Hispanic, as you can surmise from their middle names. They all came to us from the Houston, Texas, area, and we have had all of them over three years now. They are not disabled in any way, but they were abused; this was why they were put into foster care, and when a family could not be found to adopt them, we took them in, and now we are raising them as our own. We also got them their "pets", as a way to help them heal and open up, and teach them that not ALL people are out to hurt them, and to give them a sense of responsibility in caring for a little animal and raising them. They absolutely love their little furry friends, and we have enjoyed seeing them blossom in the process.
We do allow our kids to participate in sports if they feel like it, but we don't push the issue. Our kids do love to play, but they don't like the competition; instead, they are content to just to be with their gliders rather than play organized sports, and so far that has been the best for them. They do love to go outside and play (as all kids do), but they take their gliders with them, and we let the gliders fly around and run (when we DO take them outside, they are on a leash, so we don't lose any of them). Gliders, as small as they are, ARE very expensive (approximately $100 a pop), and if we should lose one by accident OR by death, then that is a lot of money down the tubes. So far, we have been lucky, as we still have all of our gliders. (Our gliders are named "Gizmo", "Peanut", "Big Eyes", "Screechy", "Stripes", and "Star".)
I work, but I am on vacation this week, so I am at home, enjoying the kids and the company of my wife (and our animals), and I happened to pick up a copy of your new book "...And The Miracles Continue", and I felt compelled to write to you upon reading it. I say you are an amazing woman because you and your husband BOTH work, yet you maintain a firm grip on fifty-two children (GOD, How DO you do it?? LOL), and you write AND run an adoption community and help other families with the adoption process. You must be related to Superwoman or something! LOL You have a very beautiful family, but I don't know personally if I could handle so many kids with such significant physical (or mental) disabilities! You have a heart of gold, and God is going to bless you very well upon your arrival to Heaven! :)
Well, Louie, I will write later; seems that there is a little glider raising a huge fuss; he is trapped between the couch, and I must rescue him before tragedy strikes! (Siggghhh...it's akin to having six more babies in the house! LOL Life with sugar gliders is a thrill a minute! LOL) I do hope to hear from you, and if you have any questions about sugar gliders, you have come to the right place! God bless you and your Miracle Family, and do write soon!
~Most sincerely, Tony in Port Aransas, Texas (my friends call me the "Sugar Glider King"! LOL We raise and breed them, and now we are up to six.)
This is an excellent write Karen as always, now you add to your slew of charachters sugargliders how do you do it?
God Bless
Michelle!
Reviewed by Richard Christopher Suarez
7/5/2005
Well! I hadn't any idea that sugar-gliders lived in
America or that they were such wonderous creatures,
However I now love them. I must also say that your
good heart has energized you and your entire family and
the Sugar-gliders being part there of are blessed with you all.
I enjoyed this true story and I would love to hear more.
May God Bless You and all of Yours' now and always in all ways.
peace.....Rich Criso Suarez
LOL at Kate's review. :) Your characters have more courage (balls?) than I would have. I'd go pure t-nutz! I agree with Kate, your characters are amazing, and so is the author who pens their stories! Well done!
Oh my goodness! I can feel a faint comin on... all those children and flying squirrels - and I can barely manage two teenagers, my husband and a dog!! Let alone me! Care and control has always been a bit beyond me once others "have a mind of their own", so my (several!!) hats go off to the massive capabilities of those you write about here. They truly are SPECIAL and extraordinary in so many ways - and must possess super-human strength and loving patience! AND they have time to read books and write letters... phew! Now I need a lie down... another eye-opening and compassionate write, Karen, thank you! LOL Kate xx
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Tuesday, July 5, 2005, 2:19 p.m., C.D.T.~
