Weds., August 23, 2006, 10:08 a.m., D.S.T., Nashville, Tennessee~

Dear Sikik~

Hi! Thanks so much for writing to  me; it was so good to hear from you! It's been a long time, I know! Sorry about that---

I am glad your health has been improving. That is such a relief to know! We have been doing good (knock on wood!). The only glitches we have faced as a family have been with Ronee' spraining her ankle when she fell in a hole while playing with her brothers and sisters (she's all recovered now and is off the crutches). Meanwhile, Johnny had to have tests done at the local MDA clinic. (I am happy to report that the results of his tests came out negative. His MD is not getting worse, much to our surprise!) He just got a new electric wheelchair (free, as provided by the MDA), and he really loves it!

We are getting ready to adopt a new child, our 55th. We are adding a little boy, aged six, who is coming to us from Israel. He was supposed to have come in December, but with all the unrest that is currently going in in that region of the world, the adoption agency we are working with figured it would be better for him to come sooner before any harm came to him. The child's name is Gabriel Abrahiam, and he has seizures. (To what extent, that isn't known yet. There is some talk he may have some brain damage; but we will have to see once he gets here if that is true . I hope and pray not!)

As you can imagine, we are excited beyond belief! The children are counting the days to when Gabriel will be joining the family, and we have started learning basic Hebrew, so we can communicate with our new family member-to-be! :)

(Gabriel Abrahiam is coming in just a few weeks. We have been busy tearing around, trying to get the house ready for him! :) )

We slso have our Alaskan cruise to look forward to. We thought originally that we were going on our cruise in later October, but it turns out that it is for next month instead! All the less time for us to wait! :) (We have already notified Carnival, our cruise line provider, about the change in our family, and they happily complied. Now Gabriel is going on the cruise too, along with the rest of us! :) )

Well, did you know that Bill and I went on a cruise this summer? We did! We went on a five-day Mexican cruise to Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen, in Mexico, and we had a marvelous time! We went to Mexico to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. (No, the children did not go with us. We needed a break. It was sheer heaven! :) )

The weather has been hot, but hopefully the hot season is overwith for us. Unfortunately, the hot season isn't over for places like Texas or Arizona, and Texas is in the midst of a devastating drought with the danger of wildfires. Parts of the nation have been inundated with too much rain (El Paso, Texas, for example, as well as most of New Mexico, for example) while other parts (the West, Texas, etc.) are crying for moisture or relief from the scorching heat!

Now we have cooled off to the eighties, and for that we can be greteful! I am looking forward to fall and the cooler temperatures (especially since we have our Alaskan cruise to look forward to! :) )!

Well, Sikik, I will go now. I am getting ready to go on break at work. Take care and God bless!

Love, your friend in Tennessee, Louie May. :D