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Dear Kate Grimswold In Colorado: Howdy From Music City! (Louie Writes...) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Monday, April 24, 2006
Rated "G" by the Author.
Louisiana is surprised to receive yet another e-mail from a parent with adopted children.
Monday, April 24, 2006, 6:29 p.m., D.S.T., Nashville, Tennessee~
Dear Katy Grimswold~
Hello (or, as we say here, Howdy)! Thanks for your letter; it was good to hear from you!
I am glad that you enjoyed my book, "...And The Miracles Continue", but to fully understand the Sandusky Family, you have to read the first one beforehand. That one tells how we became a family and why we adopted the children we did. (I will be sending you a copy--autographed and free of charge--; consider it to be a gift from the heart! I will be sending it in a few days, so be on the lookout for a package from me. :) )
To tell you a bit about myself, I have been married to my husband Bill for nearly fifteen years (as of June 26th), and we moved to Tennessee after the death of our third child. (Before then, we were living in Louisiana.) After we got over our grief, Bill suggested adoption; I thought we would give it a try. We first adopted a little boy from Germany, then a little girl from Louisiana a week later; after that, seven more children came, bringing our family from four to nine. The rest sort of folloed therafter; the rest, as they say, is history. :)
Our children now range in age from two on up to nearly 24, and they come from places like the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, France, Italy, Bosnia Hercozovina, Romania, the Netherlands, Iran, Russia, and Africa. Most are disabled, either physically, nentally, or (as in the cases of Roberto, Jodie, and Todd) both.
We didn't plan on adopting fifty-three chidren: it just--happened. God saw that we were desperate to have a family, so He brought us children nobody else wanted, and now it has gotten to the point to where we cannot imagine our family without any of the children! Our children are our greatest joy, and we will do everything in our power to provide opportunities for our children. We want them to know that even though they may be handicapped, they can still do a lot of things if they are given the chance. We want them to become self-reliant and successful at whatever they do, and we want them to know that their disabilities shouldn't stand in the way.
I am a nurse at a local hospital while my husband works at Wal*Mart (he is a "people greeter"). Add to this and my job as mother, my jobs as mother, advocate for the adoption of children with special needs, prayer warrior, nad a leader of an adoption community where I keep in close contact with other adoptive parents who are just starting their journey or are experienced parents with many children (like yours truly).
I would like to see a picture of your family, Katy. I would like to see what you, Don, and the kiddies look like. You know what I look like, so I won't send you a picture. I will send you some in the future, but right now I don't have many (I find that hard to believe! LOL). I am glad that your faith sustains you; if it were not for God I would not have the family I do today! He has blessed me in so many unexpected ways! :)
Well, I hope it warms up there in Denver. I heard on the Weather Channel that it was snowing there. Crazy weather we are having, yes? It has been below normal here, but we have also had a lot of severe weather here too. The last round resulted in some minor yard damage and a mild head/shoulder injury involving one of my daughters (she has since recovered, thank goodenss!). I am more than ready for all this severe weather to end!!
I am going to go now; the phone is ringing. Maybe it is Rebekkah Cohen from California calling to say she got home safely. (We had company for two weeks from California; we had a wonderful visit. Rebekkah is the girlfriend of my son, Johnny. Ahhh, y oung love...*sighhh* LOL) Take care, and God bless! Write again soon; I would love to hear from you again!
(((HUGS))) and much love, a new friend in Music City, U.S.A. (aka Nashville, Tennessee), Louisisana M. Sandusky (mama to 53 Miracles, most with special needs!). :D
A calculator configuring human compassion--->count them--->53 adopted children! Such rich figures of the Sandusky clan, caring and giving joy. Nice to see you mention my state of Colorado, I am three hours away from Denver. Thanks for the letter today, Karen Lynn. Blessed Be.
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