Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 3:43 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Uma Tullaq~

Thank you for your letter; 'twas good to hear from you again! Sorry for not writing back sooner, but life has me going around in circles! LOL I hope you understand.

The books I sent to you should be there very soon (hopefully you'll get them in a day or two). I hope that you will enjoy them; let me know when they come to you, okay? Let me know what you think of them; I am all ears! LOL

How is the weather there? Has it warmed up any? Here we have had a recent round of severe weather (tornadoes, big hail, high and damaging winds, deadly lightning, even some damage in towns to the west of Nashville), but here we were spared the worst.

We did briefly lose power, and we did lose some trees and shingles from our roof, but otherwise we were spared. It was very terrifying, espeially when one of my children (Ronee') was injured due to a fall she had while going down the stairs. She is going to be okay; she suffered a mild concussion and a separated shoulder and is now wearing a sling. It scared us when she was hurt, but I am just thankful that it wasn't worse than it was!

We may get yet another round of it by tomorrow, but I am praying for God to protect us. Hopefully He will calm the storms down! I am more than ready for them to stop; we have had a rough go at it so far this spring!

Just because you are handicapped with an incurable illness doesn't mean that you can't have a child who needs your love! I have had to live with crippling back pain and sciatica for years, and for years, I used either a cane or crutches for walking. It wasn't easy, but God gave me the strength to care for my children, and I did it willingly--and joyfully.

Eventually, after a lot of thought (plus tears and prayer!), I had surgery, and now, I am finally free of the back pain and misery, and best of all, I am walking unaided for the first time in years. It has been wonderful, and it has been nothing short of a Miracle! So you have MS. Big, whoopin' deal! You can still raise a child if you have enough love in your heart! Don't let your disability stop you from achieving your dreams; I didn't! :)

I am sure that living with MS is miserable, especially during the flares. I have heard so many horror stories of people experiencing MS, and I am hoping and praying to God that it doesn't strike any of my own family members! I do have friends though who have it (Jenna Aurora Doucet, Sikik Egeesiak, Sari Constantinos, etc.), and they have had it rough at times! MS is a disease to be reckoned with, and it is one that desperately needs a cure for its sufferers!

Right now I am beside myself with joy: I have found out that two friends of mine in Georgia (Donna Oliver) and South Dakota (Ginger) are in the process of adding to their family: Donna will be adding two little girls from Mexico and Vietnam, and Ginger will be adding a little boy from India. I am so happy for them I could just cry tears of joy! It is alwaya s thrilling moment to find out that you are getting another child that needs a home or love! We have been there plenty of times, and the excitment never goes away! :)

I forgot to mention that my son, Johnathon, is wild with joy himself: he is finally going to meet his little girlfriend who lives in California! That is right: we are getting company for two weeks (they live in Sacramento), and Rebekkah Cohen has already professed to having a king-sized crush on my little boy, Johnathon! :) Ah, young love! I am so happy for the both of them; they will be good for each other! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they first catch sight of one another at the airport! :)

My daughters Camey, Tammi, and Barbara are all mad as wet hens: they all have to work on Easter Sunday. I think that is a sham: NO business should be open on an important, religious holiday like Easter! 

However, their bosses told my girls that if they don't work on Easter, they won't have a job. Crazy! I feel bad for them; I am sure that they already had plans; now those plans have flown by the wayside, and while the rest of the family is celebrating Christ's Resurrection at church, they will be slaving away at a very busy restaurant (Golden Corral and Fire Mountain, respectively). I don't think it is fair AT all!

Well, Uma, this is about it for now. I will write to you again soon. I hope that your flares ease off soon, so you can have your life back. But don't ever think for one minute that just because you are handicapped that you can't raise a child becusse if you have the ingenuity (and knowhow), you CAN do it! I have done it; I firmly believe that you can too! :)

God bless you, and write to me soon! I will be waiting for your letter! (I will also be waiting to hear what you think about my books! *grins* Just be kind on your review, that is all I ask! *more grins*) Have a wonderful Easter time, and hope that things with your MS settle down soon!

(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tennessee, Louie Mayrah. :)