September 2, 2007, Nashville, Tennessee, 12:34 p.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Amy-Jo~

Thank you for taking the time to write to me and reading my books. I'm always happy to hear positive feedback. Don't mind negative, mind you, but positive always makes a writer feel happiest. :) I appreciate it!

Thank you, too, for telling me about your family. You sound like an insteresting bunch! I laughed about reading Haven's zoo experience (although it must have been highly embarrassing!); yet tears flowed with joy when I read of Winter and the homeless veteran, also when I read about your children's hospital experiences.

Been there, done that--and all too often, I'm afraid.

Being a nurse, guess the hospital is my second home. *giggle* Have been a nurse for over eight years now; love it! I'm the charge nurse, day shift, sometimes nights, at Nashville Memorial.

As for those pompous jerks who think they are "doctors" LOL...I treat them with kindness. Deflates their egos verrrrrry effectively! LOL Flatter'n a flat tire! LOL

I say I'm a nurse, but right now am on maternity leave. Yessss, two's on the way (to paraphrase Loretta Lynn's song, "One's On The Way" LOL). Yup. Two, as in twins! As in BOY twins! LOL Six months along now, is as big as the house LOL, think I'm gonna' pop! So if you hear a sudden explosion....LOLOLOLOL There goes the neighborhood! LOL

On strict bedrest; doctor wants me not to take any chances in falling. As you've read in my books, I've already lost three children, so I am considered "high risk".  Only allowed to get up to potty (fake British accent), and then I have to take the wheelchair in order to get to the bathroom! GRRR! LOL

How do I handle sixty plus kids? Darned if I know! LOL Seriously, though, prayer, prayer, prayer--and even MORE prayer! LOL And a lot of ingenuity! Thank GOD I have my lovin' husband, Bill, my parents, and the older kids still left at home to help with the younger ones. We have a system that we strictly adhere to. All children are assigned chores, they are rotated every week, so it never gets boring, and no child is left behind.

Being bedridden (I hate that word!), means I'm off of work. Don't know what I am going to do with all this free time; not used to being idle. Catchin' up on NEEDED sleep, catching up on e-mails (have e-mails out the wazzoo; last time I checked, I had over 2,000 entries in my inbox! YARRRGGG!! LOL), being waited on hand and foot by my loving family...Ahhhhh. Gotta' love it! *sighing happily*

To answer some of your questions, Amy-Jo, my children come from all over the place, such as Iraq, Iran, Germany, Italy, Finland, Romania, Russia, Bosnia-Hergezovina, the Netherlands, France, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Africa, Israel, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and all over the U.S. of A.

No, we do not regret taking in any of the kids. We feel they are blessings from God. They are blessing our lives, as well as the lives of those in our community.

The most "challenging" ones we have are probably Debby, Richard, Melizza, Jo-El, Johnny, Jodie, Todd, and (sometimes) Ronee'.

There was so much red tape in getting them, and their health problems didn't make it any easier; yet God prevailed. They have been worth the struggle we had in getting them here. 

The easiest children we have are Emir (our youngest) and Bjorn, probably because both boys' situations were so dire.

Our children have conditions or disabilities such as vision and hearing impairments, mental retardation or Down's, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, asthma/allergies, JRA, cystic fibrosis, seizure disorders, missing limbs, dwarfism, emotional trauma, and learning disabilities.

Despite their so-called "limitations", they are all great kids who have learned to compensate for their disabilities extremely well. We try to treat them as children WITH disabilities. They are NOT their disabilities; they are children first! (Have a problem or disability second.)

We are very proud of all of them.

How do we handle any medical crises or skyrocketing medical bills? If we didn't have God...He has gotten us through some of the worst times imaginable in our lives. I seriously doubt we could have ever managed without His guidance and/or assistance.

When you hit a speedbump in life--He's there to catch ya! :) He doesn't commit errors! LOL

I hope this answers any questions you may have. I'm always glad to share my story with others, to show people that raising a very large family is hard, but NOT impossible. It CAN be done; we are certainly living proof of that! :)

I hear the kids rumblin' in from church--and do I smell pizza??? Dang, it sure smells goooooooooooooooooooooooooood! LOL Gotta' go! Take care, hpoe to hear from you soon, and God bless! Bye!

~Love, Louie in Tennessee. :)