Saturday, April 1, 2006, 1:37 a.m., C.S.T.~

Dear Ginger Elyse~

Thank you for writing; it was good to hear from you! Your boys Emmanuel, Kirk, and Deondre' sound like cuties; they are going to break a lot of hearts when they get older! *grins*

I am glad that the bad times are behind you; no woman should ever have to put up with any abuse by any man! If my husband, Bill, EVER did that to me, I'd throw his butt in jail--and that is the truth!! I would not stand for such nonsense!!

To tell you more about myself, I have to tell you that the title to my book is "A Family Made Out Of Miracles And Rainbows"; you had it backwards. I am still glad that you enjoyed it; it really means a lot to an author to hear favorable comments regarding his/her writing! Thank you for taking the time to read my stsry and then commenting; it is very much appreciated!

Now that is out of the way, I can continue. I have been married for nearly 15 years now, and after the deaths of our three (natural)  children, God brought us children nobody else wanted: children with serious special medical needs, children older than the age of two, children who were racially mixed (or an entirely different race altogether from my own), or children who were brothers or sisters who, for some reason or another, couldn't be separated.

Our children resemble a mini-United Nations: we have children from Mexico, Guatemala, Frnnce, Germany, Romania, The Netherlands, the former Soviet Union, Italy, Iran, China, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Africa, Canada, and the continental United States of America. Our children range in age from nearly two years on up to 23 1/2, and they have all grown into handsome/beautiful young men and women.

Most are also disabled, as you have read in my book. We have children who have cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, auditory or visual impairments, scars from burns/scalds, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, Down's syndrome and/or other conditions causing mental retardation, speech problems, severe allergies, learning disabilities, and children who were once healthy, but due to accident/illness, now face a lifetime of uncertainty, as well as children who are perfectly healthy (but were still considered "unadoptable" because of age or heritage/racial background).

Despite their obvious (or not so obvious) problems, our children are children first and foremost, and they are our world. We live, work, and exist solely for our children, and now it has gotten to the point to where we cannot imagine life without any of the children! 

The kids have managed to wrap themselves around our hearts, and they bring us joy, hope, fear, uncertainty, and a lot of drama to our life each day, but it is a life we wouldn't trade fro all the Hummers or all the money in the world! *grins* (Not that we have a Hummer, mind you, but we would need a whole flock of Hummers to transport OUR brood! LOL)

My husband and myself both work: I am a nurse, my husband works at Wal*Mart as a "people greeter". He has been at his job for a little over two years now, and I have been at my job for ten (I may give nursing a little break fairly soon, so I can spend more time with my family and with my writing; it's been in my thoughts lately).

We get adoption subsidies for the children, and my husband also gets disability every month (not as much as he used to, but he still gets it due to his physical disabilities), so we are never worried about lack of money (plus God always provides somehow).

I am glad that you help out at the local homeless shelter. I have done that myself (we do it on Thanksgiving and on Christmas for a few hours in the morning), and we also volunteer at the veteran's hospital or home on days like Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veteran's Day. We get a big kick out of visiting and spending time with our brave men and women who gladly served our great country, and they enjoy it too; so it works out well for all parties involved. :) God bless our brave men and women, and God bless our Great Nation, the United States of America! :)

In addition to all the above, I also help other families with questions pertaining to special needs adoption, or I help them somehow in their adoption journeys. I help direct them to reputable adoption agencies or give them (free) advice based on what I have experienced, and I also enjoy being a member of a very active adoption community, in which we get together and discuss the adoption process, our families, and just life in general.

I have made many wonderful friends from as far away as England, and I have also made friends in quite a few states, as well as in Canada. Some of the parents are just starting out on their adoption journeys while others (like yours truly) are hardcore seasoned veterans who proudly wear their battle scars like medals.

I guess you can say that raising children with special needs is my Ministry (which it is). God has been so good to bringing us children in need; why not help others in the same fashion?

I am glad to be able to share my story/testimony with others, and I am glad to be able to have the talent to write and share my story in the literary sense. I now have three books out (one on nursing, two about my family); I am soon to have a fourth (a children's book about adoption; it is about our family).

There may very well be more books in the future if it is God's Will. Who knows what He has planned in my life? I just have to learn to take things as they occur and sit back and enjoy the ride! *grins*

Well, Ginger, I will go for now. It is just after two in the morning, and I am getting sleepy. I was up because my son, Johnathon (Johnny), who has Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, needed suctioning out again; I could hear him choking. He is now fine, but I worry so much about him! (He was lying on his back, and he choked on his saliva. That sometimes happens.) I or one of his brothers or sisters turn him over every few hours so he doesn't get bedsores. He can't turn over by himself any more because he has gotten so weak.

Living with a child with a neuromuscular disorder is a nerve-wracking experience, but he has brought us more joy, and he is a Medical Miracle: he has already outlived doctors' predictions by eight years, nad he keeps on amazing us (and his doctors) each and every day! :)

God bless you Ginger, and hope to hear from you! Thanks again for reading my book, and thanks again for writing!

~Most sincerely, a new friend in Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky (mama to 53 Miracles!). :)