Saturday, June 20, 2009, Nashville, TN., 10:49 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Louie here.  I am happy to be back home; I've missed my family so much!  I've been away, helping Kendra Kent with her daughter Holly, who is still recovering from her most recent hospital stay, and Maddie Cohen, who had a bad fall.  It was not easy, but I am glad I was there for them when they needed support the most!

As of this writing, I am sitting here in the den, enjoying the peace/quiet of the moment; it is a rare commodity at our place.  It is so nice to be able to hear myself think for once!  LOL

Husband and kids are still asleep; they probably won't be up for another hour or two (at least); Saturday is their sleeping-in day.  The only ones who are up are the animals and myself; we are having a nice, calm morning.  Hope it lasts!

Kendra was afraid she would have to have her shunt replaced (she has spina bifida), but thank God she didn't.  She was having blinding headaches; now she gets shots to help relieve the headaches, and so far it seems to be working.  She was very sick for a while; I'm happy to say she's doing (and feeling) much better, which has been a huge answer to prayer!

In six days, on the 26th of June, will be Bill's and my 17th wedding anniversary.  We don't know what we will do that day, but we do plan on enjoying each other!  The kids will probably give us the day off from working around the house or give us a card, not to mention, plenty of extra hugs and kisses.  We have the beset kids in the world; Bill and I are indeed blessed!

It seems hard to believe that Bill and I have been husband and wife for nearly 20 years.  It seems like only yesterday when we were mere pups.  LOL  I am thankful to have such a loving, godly, compassionate man for a mate; more people should be as fortunate!

Tomorrow is Father's Day:  tomorrow we plan on taking Daddy Bill (and my own daddy, Armand) out to lunch after church.  We also plan on taking the men to the park or maybe to a movie, or maybe even a round of golf or maybe even bowling.  The day is theirs; it's up to them what they want to do, but these are a few of the ideas they suggested.  Hopefully the weather will co-operate.

The weather lately has been terrible here.  Storm after storms, with severe weather, including the threat of tornadoes, flooding, and large hail.  It's been mighty interesting, let me tell you!  Hopefully now that the storms have gone, they will *STAY* gone; we're all "severe'ed out"!!

Johnny and Rebekkah have made up; they're an item again.  Seems the two of them had a major fight; for a while,  Johnny was so depressed he was contemplating suicide.  Bill got scared, so he got him into counseling; he has his first appointment on Tuesday.  Hopefully the counseling will do  him a world of good; it's not like Johnathon to want to give up so easily!

Johnny is now breathing with a ventilator; his lungs have gotten a lot weaker.  It's terrifying to see because we know his disease is getting worse.  I pray he is around for a long time to come; I hate the thought of losing him!!

We wlll have to be so careful with him now, to make sure he doesn't have any more problems; he is so vulnerable now as it is!!

Ronee' and Bill fly out to Las Vegas on Monday:  on Tuesday, Ronee' may be on television; she's vying for a spot on the show, "America's Got Talent", which starts up their fourth season on Tuesday.  Hopefully she will do well; we'll be crossing our fingers (and toes) for her!!  We will have to watch the show, in case we see Ronee' on the tube!

Next week (Staurday, in fact) is July Fourth.  We will be downtown all day, as we will be attending the city's annual Fourth of July Celebration ("Red, White, and BOOM"!); there will be continuous musical entertainment on three stages, contests, midway rides for the kiddies (and the young at heart), a mammoth parade (that's in the morning), a military flyover, food and fun galore, a special patriotic concert (in the evening), and the city's largest fireworks display that will last at least a good 45 minutes (the display promises to be even better and bigger than last year's).  There will be thousands upon thousands of people in attendance.

(Note to self:  Louie, be sure to pack plenty of sunburn cream and sunblock!!)

Well, I hear Bill talking to Ian and Isaiah; they've must have awakened.  I will go now; it won't be long before the other kiddoes follow suit.  I will write in here again soon; until then this is Louisiana signing off!  Take care and may God bless you!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Louie May Sandusky.  :)