Louisiana Sandusky gets an email from one of her friends' friends in Kansas. Like Louisiana, the Elsworths are adoptive parents, with ten children, most with special needs.
Monday, January 16, 2006 (Happy Martin Luther King Day!), Dodge City, Kansas~
Dear Louisiana Mayrah~
You don't know me from Adam, but you DO know my friends, the Gardners (aka Wilma and Fred), from Oklahoma. They said that they write to you and that you have adopted a great number of children, most of them with special needs. Well, Wilma and Fred (and their ADORABLE little daughter, Pearl Xie) are staying with us for the time being because they lost their home (and everything but their lives and the clothes on their back) to a fire that destroyed their home back in Oklahoma. They are all fine, but as you can probably very well imagine, they are devastated; we were more than happy to accomodate them, and Wilma and Fred have been friends of ours for a very long time. So it was not a problem. The Gardners are indeed fortunate; it could have very easily been a whole lot worse!
To tell you a little about myself, Louisiana, my husband, Tim, and myself have been married for 20 years now, and we adopted children after it was discovered that we could NOT have children of our own. Oour children come from Haiti and Trinidad, and we have seven boys and three girls. Our children's names are: Robespierre (15), Anne-Therese (14), Camille (13), Toby (11), Roger (10), Dallas (8), Henri (7), Josephine-Marie (Josie; she is 6), Caden (5), and Kelton, our youngest at two and a half. All of the children are healthy, but Caden DOES have spina bifida, which requires hiim to walk on Lofstrand crutches and wear braces on his legs; but his disability has NOT slowed him down in the least! He is a little terror, and he loves tormenting his brothers and sisters! :) Still, he IS a very good kid with a gentle heart; but he DOES have his moments where he tries our patience! :) My husband is a minister, and I am a stay-at-home mom and a homeschooling instructor; so my free time Is limited at best. Still, it IS a good life, and Tim, the kids, and myself are happy! :)
I read your book, "...And The Miracles Continue", which I got from our local library, and it was most compelling reading to learn how your International Miracle Family took shape. You and your husband have hearts of gold, and it is obvious just how much God has blessed you with your ministry of giving needy, broken, desperate children a home (and a family) of their own. Your children are absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and they are indeed fortunate! God is definitely going to reward you handsomely when you get to Heaven! :)
I do hope to read your first book, but our library only has the one, and I don't know where to get a copy. Can you give me a list of where your book, "A Family Made Out of Rainbows And Miracles" is available? I would LOVE to have it! Thanks a bunch! :)
How long have you been writing? I have secretly wanted to write a book about my OWN family, but I am clueless as to how to get things going, when it comes to getting a book together, preparing the manuscript, getting the manuscript sent off, and then the process of publishing; and I would be utterly devastated if I got a rejection letter in the mail! Have you gotten rejected before, and if so, how did you handle it? How many books have you written, and are they all available, or are any of them out of print? Are they all about your family? Any advice from you would be greatly appreciated! :)
If you write back, that would be GREAT, but if you don't, I can understand. You probably get a lot of mail, and you are also busy with your jobs as a registered nurse and as a mama to your "Super-Family". But I DO hopoe to hear from you soon! :)
I will tell you more about myself and the family next time. Take care and God bless! :)
Most sincerely,
a new friend in Kansas,
Rachel Elsworth (mama to 10 children, seven boys and three girls!). :D
Ah, you inspired another friend to write a book! It's tough work to write a book, but it's even tougher work to market a book and collect quarterly royalties. It's why I have cut down a bit on my reviews. I am preparing for the review of my galleys from my editor when she finishes editing my second novel in line of five, so I am prepared for 16 hour days for a week or so, and then send it back to my editor and then a second galley is in line. It is a long process from thought to actually writing a book, getting it formatted in a word program, sending it off to the publisher and going through the formatting stages and font styles and cover design with the design team. And then preparing the press releases, and then listing your book for the public to buy. But we LOVE it! Thanks for the letter today, Karen Lynn.
I too, have to agree with the rest, you truly are the Queen storyteller, and I am one of your fans. Great new family joining your group of families that you write too...you will be busy
Love and peace to you
It is a joy to watch how all your wonderful characters come together and how they don't let rough times discourage them at all!
Much Love and plenty (((Hugs))),
your friends Birgit and Roger
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
