Weds., January 10, 2007, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., 5:17 p.m., C.S.T.~

Dear Sari and Nikolas (and Baby Birtta)~

Hi! Thanks for your letter; sorry if I haven 't written in a while, but the holidays were crazy around our place, and we had all the kids home. Very busy times to be had! We had a wonderful Christmas once Johnny and Ronee' were released from the hospital: Johnny had a spell with his heart beating too fast, and Ronee' had problems with her joints hurting. They are doing much better now, thank goodness! :)

In addition to all the holiday craziness, we are getting ready to adopt four new children: a boy from India (Vijay), a boy from Iraq (Emir Muhammed), a girl from Vietnam (Huong Vu), and a girl from China (Mai Fong). We heard from the adoption agency a few weeks back, and the adoptions were approved: soon, we will have fifty-nine children! :) We are already counting the days to when they will arrive; they should be here within three to six months, according to our adoption caseworker.

I have also been working on a new book about nursing; it is a sequel to the first one. I now have five books under my belt, and there will no doubt be more in the future, the way it looks now. Seems once I start writing, I never seem to run out of ideas! :)

Yes, we did get the pictures of the auroras; they are really spectacular. We do see auroras here, but nothing like you guys do in Finland, and they aren't usually as bright or noticeable: too much in the way of city lights; makes it hard to see the auroras unless we get away from the city. The storm has to be awfully strong for us to see the auroras here in Nashville.

I loved the Christmas pictures of y'all; Nik looks like he was enjoying his ouzo, and baby Birtta is looking more like daddy every day! She has your features, but she definitely favors daddy with her dimpled chin and dark features! She has the best of both parents in her looks; she is one of the prettiest little girls I have ever seen! :) Give little Birtta (((HUGS))) from her (adopted) auntie in America! :)

Thanks for sending them; we enjoy looking at them! You look pretty good yourself, Sari: you look healthier than you have in months, and you look like you are putting on a little weight. Maybe you are pregnant again??...

How is the weather there in Finland? I know, I know: cold! Here it is mild, but by the weekend, an Arctic front is supposed to come, and we are supposed to dip into the twenties, with the possibility of snow. We may get a blizzard if things hold together right, according to the local weather forecasters; they are telling us Nashvillians to be on the lookout and to keep tabs on the ever-changing weather situation. I hope we don't get a blizzard; it is hard to get around in all that heavy snow, and it is especially difficult for my husband and most of my kids, who are all disabled.  I hope the weather isn't too cold (or too nasty) there where y'all are at!

I am on break at work: I have been working lots of evening shifts: seems one of my nurses sprained her ankle; she is back at work, but she is on crutches, and she is on lighter duty until her ankle heals. I will continue to work with her until she recovers; then I will go back to my normal day shift. I have been enjoying bigger paychecks; that is one big bonus to working extra hours, particularly the evening shift.

Work has been slower lately, but when I wrote to you last we had a factory fire, and there were eight to ten people who were injured (two seriously). It has been slow today, I only have four patients to take care of (all female, and all adults). I have been working either the Emergency Room or the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). My patients are, for the most part, doing quite well for being in the MICU, but they still bear much watching and medical attention; they keep us hopping!

Well, Sari, this is it for now: my pager is going off; they need me in the Pediatric ICU; seems that a kid there has developed some sort of problem. Hopefully the kid will be okay; I hate it when kids are involved in emergent situations; it just makes for more stress and heartache, particularly if the kid crashes and dies. Not good!

Take care, and God bless! Write when you can; I'll be waiting for your reply! Lots of love to you, Nikolas, and Birtta!

(((HUGS))) As always, your friend in America, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky (soon to be the parent to fifty-nine Miracles!). :D