Thursday, December 15, 2005, Smyrna, Georgia~

Dear Kendra Williams~

You don't know me, just as I don't know you (I only know OF you, I DON'T know you personally), but you are a friend of Louisiana Sandusky's, and she said that I could write to you, so...I AM!

I am married to Kip, and between us, we have ten children (Iona Grace, Bethlehem Adonis, Josiah Timothy, Ishmael LaBonte', M'Bute' Ayala, Carson LaMonte', Patty LaTreece, Marisa Michelle, Dixon Tray, and Sugar Lyne'), and our kids range in age from infancy to teenagerhood. As you can imagine, they keep us very busy. I live in Georgia, and I have lived in Georgia my whole life. I did live in Atlanta for a long time, but last year, we moved to Smyrna, and we like it a lot better.

I first heard of Louisiana Sandusky when I read an article about her in our newspaper, and I was amazed when I heard that she and her husband, Bill, had adopted an incredible *53 children* into their International Family! She then wrote to me, and we have been writing to each other ever since. It has been fun learning about her, and she seems like a very caring, compassionate person who obviously loves her family and also the Lord, who is obviously very important in her life. She has already accepted me into her adoption community, and she has already put us on the prayer chain at her church, and I feel like I already know her through her chatty, warm personality which exudes from her emails! She has been a pillar of strength in my world, which, at the present, is a little rocky (my daughter, Bethlehem, has been very sick, and she has been in the hospital, but I am happy to say that she is doing a litttle better; but she still faces a hard, long, and painful recovery). She says she knows you quite well and has met your family, and she has had nothing but good things to say about you, so don't worry! :)

Kendra, you will have to tell me more about your town where you live (Soulsbysville). I have never even heard of it. Where is it located, and is it nice there? I live in Smyrna, Georgia, as I said earlier, but did reside in Atlanta for a while. We have only been in Smyrna for a year now, and the kids like it as much as we do. They have adapted to their new surroundings beautifully, and we have, to. Atlanta was too noisy, and we felt that it wasn't safe; so this was why we chose to move to Smyrna, which is more family oriented. But where we live there is a lot of Hispanic families coming in, so our kids are learning Spanish in school, and they are making new friends and are learning about new cultures, which will help them in the long run.

So you have taken in over one dozen girls of varying ages and disabilities. That is marvelous! We have adopted kids mainly from Africa, and they have been nothing but a blessing to us and to our neighbors, and it has been an incredible journey. We are not sorry for one bit we adopted kids with special health or medical needs, and they have taught us much about parenting as a whole. But time IS severely constrained, and I am wondering how YOU do it with 17 high-spirited GIRLS! Ten children for us is a daunting challenge! LOL But I just canNOT imagine being the parents to something like *53 CHILDREN!* WOW! That Louisiana Sandusky is some Miracle Mama! :) She must be related to SUPERWOMAN or something! LOL

Well, I am going to get ready to leave, so we can see Bethlehem at the hospital. Hopefully she had a better night last night; the one before last was a mite too much for her (she was having a lot of pain). I will let you know how she is faring, but please DO keep us in your prayers. May God bless your family this Christmas Season, and may the New Year be bright and full of promise for you and your family! I hope to hear from you soon, Kendra!

Love, a new friend in Georgia, Donna Sue Oliver (Mama to 10 special-needs children). :)