October 19, 2009,  Nashville, TN., 10:24 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Agatha~

Howdy from Tennessee!  Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me; it is very much appreciated.  No, I don't mind your writing to me; I always enjoy making new friends!

Thank you for telling me about your family.  Since you already know my family's story,  I won't go into details except to say it's gotten to the point to where I cannot imagine my family without any of the children!

We are a big family for sure; there's no denying that.  It's just that God brought us two children; we then adopted some more; once we started, we couldn't stop until just last year.  We said "no more", but I'm waiting for the bottom to drop out. 

We said that several times before; we ended up adopting more children anyway.  *Giggle*

Our children are our world; we would do anything for them, to ensure that they have all they need.  I think Bill (he's my husband of 17 years) and I have done a relatively good job in raising them; none have taken drugs or gotten into trouble (much); we are indeed blessed! 

So many families are in such turmoil it's unbelievable!

Our children are no longer so little.  Our two youngest, Isaiah and Ian, will be two next month, around Thanksgiving time.  It seems hard to believe that the boys are walking and talking; it was only yesterday when we were changing their diapers or wiping their snotty little noses!  LOL

We did have some of our children in the hospital (flu; four had the "seasonal" flu; four more had the swine flu), but most are out back home, thank the Lord!  It was a scary time for a while, but God brought them through the fire, and they are now back in school.  Two are still in the hospital as I write this, but they will be coming home in just a few days; we can't wait; we've really missed them!

Hopefully no more flu ("piggy" or otherwise) will strike our brood; we don't need that, on top of everything else!  Goodness!

The weather here is chilly; in fact, tonight the Tennessee Valley is under freeze warnings.  It's supposed to dip below 40 degrees tonight.  Time to cover the tender plants/vegetation that's still in use!  We've been getting our yard ready for winter, but we still have a ways to go yet before we're through. 

I have been a nurse for over ten years; I love it (most of the time).  My husband works at Wal*Mart:  he used to be a greeter, but he now works in Security; standing on his feet a good part of the day was too hard on his health.  (He has arthritis and uses crutches to get around, or a scooter for longer treks.  He has very bad knees, feet, and hips.  He used to suffer from severe back pain for years, but he had surgery over a year ago, and it's finally worked after several unsuccessful attempts.)

Some of our children that still live with us work.  We also have children living out of state who work or go to college; they are providing for themselves and seem to be doing a great job. 

We are very proud of them, but we miss them terribly.  (Thank God for Thanksgiving and Christmas; that's about the only time we see the children who've flown the nest!  Then it gets extremely crowded [not to mention, chaotic!  LOL])

Bills do eat up a lot of what we make; however, God provides; we believe in the power of prayer; we've seen it work in our lives countless times.  He always seems to know what we need; He's never late!  :)

I wish I could tell you how wonderful God is; but you have your own beliefs.  That's okay.  I won't force it on you; I've come to find out that some people just don't want to hear about the message of Christ. 

A lot of people say religion turns 'em off.  That's understandable; there's a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing in the Christian community:  there are people who say they "walk the walk and talk the talk", but they do anything but.   It's no wonder people are mad at us Christians.

We aren't perfect, but we do try to live a godly life, as He would want us to.  We are raising our children to love God, too; that way, they can have a good foundation for life and be good role models to other kids/teens.

Well, Isaiah is howling his head off, so I must see what's going on.  I will write to you again soon; thank you again for writing!  It was good to hear from you!  May you be blessed in all that you do!  Talk to you again another day!

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