Louisiana writes to a busy father in Port Aransas, Texas, who has three adopted children and a slew of sugar gliders, small, squirrel-like creatures, that keep the family busy.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005, 10:35 a.m., C.D.T.~
Dear Tony E. Hernando in Texas~
Howdy! How are you doing? Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me and tell me about your amazing family! Wow! Three kids, and six sugar gliders....oh, how cute they are!! I never knew such an animal existed; maybe I ought to get one for my son (but I will have to keep it away from his dog, "Ginger"; "Ginger" may think it is a snack! LOL)??...I will have to bone up on sugar gliders to see what they eat, how they act around kids or other animals, what their sleeping habits are, and the like. But they ARE absolutely adorable; they remind me of a squirrel or a mouse! (They must be related somehow; I don't know...)
I also thank you for commenting on my newest book, "...And The Miracles Continue"; I am glad you enjoyed it! I will be sending you its predecessor, "A Family Made out of Rainbows and Miracles" (autographed and free of charge); consider it a gift from me. But first I will need your personal (snail) addy before I can do it.
I don't know how I do it either...working and raising a family of over four dozen kids...only God knows the answer for THAT one! He gives me the strength and the knowhow to deal with this many kids, and I also work and raise a husband, run an adoption community, AND counsel other families about adoption. Some are just starting out on their adoption journey (I just wrote to a couple in Arizona who are looking to start a family by adoption, as an example), and yet I also write to people who are very experienced adoptive parents (as in my friend, Kendra Williams in California, who now has adopted fifteen daughters...and she is physically disabled; I just heard from her yesterday; have yet to write to her!). We share our experience as adoptive parents with one another, and we offer each other support (or prayers) if that is needed.
Tony, the reason my husband and myself adopted kids with significant disabilities (or even those WITHOUT) are because too many times people want HEALTHY babies with blonde hair or blue eyes instead of a child of another race; or a child who happens to be disabled or a child who is older; and there are so many of these children languishing in orphanages, hospitals, or whatnot, their lives in limbo, and having very little hope in ever finding a home or a fmaily. This is why we took in kids with special needs, to show the world that WE CARE, and we want to give these unwanted children of society a sense of hope and love, as only a family environment can do. We started out with just two (a boy, Johnathon--Johnny--and a girl, Ronee'), and from there, the numbers grew. We went from just two kids to NINE, and then fifteen, and so forth; and the numbers did NOT stop until just a few months back, when we added our 51st and 52nd children, Arjun and Ravi, to the family. Now we are waiting on yet another child, Janica from Romania, who will be here in a few months, where she will then become our 53rd child.
Our children MAY be "disabled" to most people, but we try to focus on their ABILITIES, NOT their DISabilities. Sometimes it IS hard NOT to focus on a particular child's problem when they are having a rough spell, but somehow, God sees that the child makes it through, and it isn't long before the child is back to his (or her) former self before the crisis came up; and when the children ARE well, they partake in all what life has to offer, and they live life to its very fullest; and they enjoy it so much. Our kids do anything from play sports to play music or sing, and they get to travel and see the country when time allows, and they also bring a sense of hope and joy to other people who don't have it as good as they do. They are also very active in their church, and they love sharing the Love of Christ with others. They bring us both unconditional love and joy, and the successes they have make life worth living as a parent. To us, each small or big milestone is immediately recorded and chrrished; and they make being parents FUN. We wouldn't trade any of these little precious Miracles for anything, and they give our life such purpose and meaning! It has gotten to the point to where we can't imagine our family without ANY of the children that we have taken in, and they are now all getting so big!
Well, Tony, I do hope that the questions you raised have been answered. I did enjoy hearing from you, and I do hope that you write back. Please give your wife, Wendy, and your children, Renate, Erenesto, and Clint our blessing and love, and give your little furry pets (((gentle hugs))) and kindly pats! I will look into possibly getting a glider for our family, but I don't know if the dogs or cats will like it! LOL We will see what happens; but they sure ARE darned cute! God bless you always, and do write again! I will be looking for your next letter!
(((HUGS))) and love, a new friend in Tennessee, Louie May Sandusky (soon to be a Mama to 53 Miracles!). :D
We often don't seem to understand how we do what we do when we do what we must, looking back on it later... but we do. Because we must! And faith always makes the load a little lighter.
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.
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
Wednesday, July 6, 2005, 10:35 a.m., C.D.T.~
