Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 4:20 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

I am so blessed; I don't know why God keeps on blessing me like this, but He does!!

We found out yesterday that the little Russian boy we applied to adopt is going to be ours. We are getting our fifty-fourth child!! God is indeed good! :)

The little boy in question is named Vlademir Aleksander, and he is seven years old. He is a handsome little fella, with thick, red hair and blue eyes that aparkle with life; and a winning smile on his pale little face. He is in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, and he cannot walk or talk, according to the agency we are working with (Spence-Chapin). He should be with us within the next few months if all goes according to plan.

My wife, Louisiana, is overcome with emotion, and I am too, now that I think of it. It is akin to having a baby, according to Louie: we are to be giving new life--and new hope--to a child in need, and even though he may not have been born to us, he is to become ours legally, and we intend on raising little Vlademir as our own and love him as though he had been born to us.

My wife and I have been discussing possible names for our son if we don't want to keep his Russian name; names that we have in mind include Caden Michael, Tyler Patrick, Garrett David, and Evan Tobias. Or we may just end up keeping his name as is.

Vlademir Aleksander Sandusky. Yeah, that sounds good; after all, our other Russian child, Sergei Ivan, has his original name, and he is happy with it! :) He has flourished well under our guidance, and he is now nearing nine years of age. He isn't so little; he is going to be tall and is turning into the perpetual lady-killer! :)

Now young Sergei will have a little Russian brother to love, to take care of, to protect, to pester, to argue with, and he can teach him about life here in America and teach him a whole new language. Sergei speaks English like a singer, and he has retained his native Russian; both come very easily to the boy, and he feels comfortable speaking both languages.

We are back home now (got in late from Louisiana last night), but I haven't been to bed yet because I am so excited about the approval of the adoption of Vlademir Aleksander. My wife has been on her computer, e-mailing friends and telling them the good news, and she has been in tears. I have been on the verge of tears myself because who ever thought that after fifty-three children, we'd end up adopting yet another??

Maybe we are touched in the head, I don't know; but we also may have an awful lot of love left to give! (I personally think it is the latter! We can never have enough love, and we can never have enough children! :) )

Raising a large family like this has become our Calling, our Ministry, if you will; we want to show the world that there are plenty of children who are in need of love or a family, and that even the most handicapped, the most medically fragile, the most neediest of children can get love and give it back to others.

We have children who are brain damaged and cannot talk, but they give love back, and we know that they understand. We have children who are dying, but they are living out their last days (Months? Years?) with joy and grace. We have children who have faced catastrophic illness or injury, and they have proved doctors wrong with their courage and will to live.

All of our children have been instrumental in shaping me into the man I am today, and I have become more attuned to the feelings of other people. I  have become a very humble man, and my children bring me much in the way of joy. Sometimes I can't help but to cry whenever I talk about our children: they mean that much to me, and I am so glad that God intervened to the point of choosing me to be their father!

~Bill. :)