Monday, March 12, 2007, 10:11 a.m., D.S.T., Nsshville, Tennessee~

Dear Journal~

I am very happy for my friend Kendra Williams, who lives in Soulsbyville, California. She and her new husband, Michael, were married on Saturday, two days ago, and from what I hear, it was a beautiful wedding. I am so happy for them; I hope life brings them nothing but happiness and an abundance of God's blessings; they deserve it!

Kendra now has twenty two children, all adopted, twenty one girls and one boy. They are adopting twin seven-year-old girls from Africa, so they will soon have an even two dozen children. Pretty soon at the rate she is going, she will end up with nearly as many children as us! LOL

Kendra isn't the only one who got married recently: my friend Audrey Jackson (now Callaway) is married as well, and life is treating her and her family very well. For a while Susie, her 12-year-old, was having problems with her breathing (Susie has muscular dystrophy, the same thing my fourteen-year-old son, Johnathon, has), but for now, things have settled down somewhat. I pray this continues, not only for Susie, but for Johnny as well.

Johnny has been doing great; he hasn't had a seizure in over three months, and his heart has been behaving, thanks to his medication. I do worry about him, though; the bottom can fall out anytime, and when he is well, I must learn to cherish the times where he is well because lately they had been few and far between. Johnny is doing wonderfully in school, his last report card had one B and all A's; we were so proud of him! He is doing super, and it has been a big plus for his personality! He is happier now than he has been in a long time, and he is enjoying life! :)

The weather was pretty all weekend. I have been off since Thursday, and I have enjoyed it. I go back to the hospital tomorrow. Wonder if I will end up in the MICU again; seems that is where I have been working as of late. I wonder how Tottie Weatherspoon is doing, and I am wondering how Aurora Skydancer is faring. She (Aurora) has been very depressed, and I am concerned about her.

Jeannette Hebert, who was recovering from necrotizing fasciitis, is finally out of the ICU, and she is in a regular room. She still faces a long recovery, though, and I am glad she turned the corner; she gave us many anxious moments.

Since being off from work, I have gotten a lot of yardwork in. I am just about done with the weeding, and the grass is really starting to green up nicely. The house is quiet; the kids are in school, and I am sitting here alone with Emir, our new son from Iraq. He is looking at me, trying to comprehend what I am doing, and who I am. He still isn't that used to me yet, but at least he is now smiling. That is a step in the right direction.

Next week Emir starts therapy, and he will be fitted with artificial limbs, both upper and lower. He had his limbs blown off in a roadside bomb explosion, and I am wondering what this may have done to his longterm development. He is a cute little guy though, and I am enjoying having a baby around the house again! :)

Opal, who is from China, and Emma-Ruth, who is from Vietnam, are both rapidly picking up new English words, and they are turning into friendly, giggling youngsters. They have adjusted well, and they are loving their new school. They have already made new friends; I am happy for them both.

As for Vijay, our son from India, he is having a bit of a harder time. English is still rather hard for him, and he still chatters away at us in Hindi. He is still shy in strange crowds, and he wants to be near us every second. He will hopefully get over his shyness, but we aren't going to rush him or force him into things he doesn't want to do. It is going to take time, and we must be patient with him.

Bill and I are enjoying our newest adopted children very much, and the other kids have already claimed them as among their own. They want to take turns fussing over them, and sometimes I am worried they will get into fights over who gets to take care of the baby or who will help the others with their English! LOL

We may adopt one more child, so we have an even sixty children, but that is up to God. We have been discussing it at length the past few days, and we have been praying about it. We would love to add a child from Nepal or someplace like Myanmar or maybe even a child from Scandinavia. Of course, the child would have to have some sort of special needs, because that is what we are used to, and if a problem comes up, I can always handle it. After all, I am a nurse!

Ronee' is caught up in the "American Idol" show. That is one of her very favorite programs, and she is already pulling for this heavyset woman with killer pipes. She hopes she wins because the woman is heavyset, and it goes against the grain of people who are "wafer thin" or attractive.

Ronee' has this habit of rooting for the underdog: even if they don't win, she is happy for them. She was rooting for Anthony Federov when he was on "AI" because he overcame great odds, and he wasn't expected to talk, let alone, sing again. He choked on a lollipop or something when he was a child, and he had to have a tracheostomy for a while. That he can talk or sing is nothing short of a Miracle. Ronee' can identify with struggles of this sort because she has survived many of them herself, so she knows what it is like.

All of my kids do. Life hasn't been kind to them at times, but with God's Grace, they have all triumphed beautifully, and they are all great kids! We are indeed blessed in having them in our lives! :)

Yesterday at church, Pastor Bilkey talked about loving your neighbor as you would your own family or yourself, and it is a good rule to live by. This is what I try to instill in my kids, and I guess this is one reason why they are so well-behaved. They have Godly rules in their lives,  and they know right from wrong, and if they do wrong, they can be expected to be punished. Their actions have repurcussions.

We also teach them if they fail at something it is okay; they tried their best, and we teach them to be proud of who they are. If they are disabled, that is okay; it just makes them unique, and it makes them extra special. We teach them to look at the positives regarding their disabilities, and we teach them that it is okay to cry or feel frustrated; it happens to everyone, even to nondisabled people.

I am still busy with my adoption community, and with my writing. Life for me is nothing short of a big adventure, and I love it! As long as I am doing something good for mankind, I am at my happiest!

Well, Journal, if I find out anything more about Kendra and Michael or about our decision to adopt a sixtieth child, I will certainly get back to you. In the meantime, I am going to try to scare up something for Emir and myself to eat. Take care, and God bless! Talk to you soon!

(((HUGS))) and much love, Louie. :D