Saturday,  October 17, 2009, 4:24 a.m., D.S.T., Nashville, TN~

Dear Journal~

Howdy!  It's me, Louisiana!

Thought I would write in here while the gettin's good, before the troops arise.  It's nobody but me and some of the animals up; might as well take advantage of the peace and quiet.

Just woke up not even fifteen minutes ago.  Once I wake up, that's it.  You might as well hang it up:  can't fall back to sleep once my eyes pop open!  LOL

Barbara and Arjun are still in the hospital, recovering from the swine flu; however, they are doing much better since Bill's update of five days ago.  They are both out of the Intensive Care, off the ventilators, breathing on their own.  They should be home sometime next week (probably about Wednesday or Thursday), according to Drs. Emmons, Ram, and Jagadish.

It's been a rough road for them; glad they are doing so well now!  It's only by the grace of God they're getting over this; over 80 children have died across the country now because of this swine flu; it's really scary!!

Ronee', Abrahiam, Camey, and Benjamin have about recovered from their bout of the (regular) flu:  they will remain in bed until Monday; we don't want to take any chances.  They continue to wear their masks, so not to spread germs, plus they wash/disinfect their hands frequently.  They look like surgeons!  LOL 

They are a little weak, plus all have the leftover coughing, but they feel more like themselves again; by Monday, they'll be able to return to school.

The rest of the gang have managed to avoid the flu, which has been nothing short of miraculous.  We have been loading Johnathon up with anti-flu meds, plus they got their flu shots; it's helped.  I pray this continues; I worry what might happen if Johnathon (or his sister Jodie or brothers Roberto, Corbin, or Todd) were to get sick:  all are so medically fragile; for them even a cold could prove to be dangerous.  We have to pull out all the stops to ensure that they remain healthy as long as possible.

Rani and Janica are doing well too.  They had the swine flu, but only a mild case of it.  They are in bed, too, until Monday.

Speaking of children, my friend Kendra is expecting.  Again!  Twins; we don't know if it's boys or girls, but anything's possible in that family!  She and her husband, Michael, are getting ready to adopt a little orphan from Kosovo; a little boy who has cerebral palsy.  They have over forty kids now; at the rate they're going, they'll match us in terms of number of children!  LOL

Tyler, her son, as well as her daughter, Kaitie, had the swine flu; both were in the hospital, but are now back home, where they continue to recuperate. 

Work has been CRAZY, to say the very least:  the ER continues to do a booming business all day (and night) long.  Flu cases.  I have been doing a lot of doubles lately; looks great on the paycheck, but it's murder on the ol' body!  I'm not as young as I used to be; some days when I get off I feel as old as Methuselah!  LOL

The weather here has been lovely the past few days:  partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies, clear, cool nights.  Seems the rains we've had of late have finally moved on (along with the threat of severe weather).  Glad to see the sun shining again; I will be able to get back out and putter among the plants, get the yard ready for winter!   I miss it when I'm not in the yard!

Got a nice letter from a lady in Connecticut; she and her husband adopoted a total of ten children.  I will have to write to her sometime this weekend.  Unfortunately, she is agnostic, but that's okay.  I will just have to pray that she sees the Light; I can't force Jesus on her.  :)

Apparently, Agatha read a copy of one of my books; she felt compelled to write to me.  I  guess when it comes to adoption-related questions,  I'm the guru or something; people seem to think I have all the anwers (which I don't).  LOL

I call it experience.  LOL

When you have as many children as Bill and I do, you tend to do a lot of learning along the way!   LOLOLOLOL

I have more e-mails to answer:  letters from Gayle Richardson.  Lindsay Bauer.  Michiko Osaka.  M'Buti Sormiento.  Audrey Callaway.  Sari Constantinos.  Heather Abramson.  So many letters, but so little time!  *sigh*  Some of them might think I must have died!  LOLOLOLOL

If I hear one more *Ding!*  "You've got mail!" on my computer, I just might chuck the thing clear out the window, go back to writing my letters the old fashioned way:  longhand!  LOL

And that's not counting the bills, letters from adoption agencies (or magazines), or the proverbial junk mail!!  LOL

It's no wonder the poor computer is smoking, or that the poor mailman has a bad back, from all the mail he's carrying in his bag (or truck)!  LOL

The flu has hit our church hard:  last Sunday, when we went, at least 1/2 of the people were out sick with it, including Pastor Bilkey.  He was in the hospital, too, with it; I remember treating him in the E.R.  He's not quite there yet, but he's on the mend.  (He had the swine flu.)

Joke:  how do you tell the difference between swine flu and the bird flu?

Answer:  With the bird flu, you seek tweetment; with the swine flu, you use oinkment.   LOL

 Someone sent that to me on my computer; I've been sharing it with everyone I meet.  Most people chuckle or laugh; others groan or say, "Oh, that's soooo bad!!"  LOL

A little nursing humor, I suppose.  (Very little ...  LOL)

Well, kids, I hate to go, but I hear one of the little twins (Isaiah) crying; he needs me.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is your friend, Louisiana Sandusky, saying so long!  God bless; talk to y'all soon!

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