If I knew what I was in for prior to adopting over four dozen children, maybe I would have been better off if we didn't take them in; yet when I first saw their sweet faces, I could not say no.
Guess I got what I deserved. I am sure God is up there in Heaven, laughing His face off at the Sandusky Show going down here on Earth.
I should have sent my story to the television producers, but "America's Funniest Home Videos" has already been made.
I am glad the majority of the children are either gone or on the cusp of graduating from high school. I can get my house somewhat back in order and not worry about kids painting the pets with water-based paint, rubbing their poop on the walls or on the furniture, or bashing one another with plastic bats or their fists.
More often than not, they have learned to get along with one another because they know that if they don't, then Mamma and Pappa are going to lower the boom on them and they are not going to like it when we do!
I can remember Johnny bouncing in his crib until the springs broke or when Ronee' would pretend that she was a cat: instead of talking, she would meow or purr (or hiss if she was angry). The cats didn't like it much but a lot of the grownups found her antics entertaining.
I remember Roberto bashing Sunshine across the cheek with his crutch and Andre' and Tri starting Bill's truck he had at the time. Thank God Michael had the fortitude to stop it before it rolled onto the street!
I remember Barbara throwing her football through the picture window of the livingroom while playing football outside with some friends and some of the more able-bodied children and Stephanie trying to wheedle us into letting her go out with some friends .... and then coming home drunk (she got grounded for a month for that one).
I remember Jodie laughing uproariously in church during a quiet moment of prayer and reflecting (she still does this even today) and Porter putting his fish into the baptismal before services one year.
Boy, was the pastor surprised when he went to baptise some people, only to discover several goldfish floating merriy in the water!
He was NOT amused. And neither were we. Let's just say a certain young man got into a lot of trouble for THAT.
With all the shenanigans the kids have put us through, I am surprised we even have a house LEFT standing!! I can't tell you how much we have spent to have repairs done to the damage the kids have caused over the years and I am surprised that Bill or I haven't ended up going into an insane asylum!
I'm just glad that we made it thorugh the little-kid period of parenthood in (fairly) one piece, but then now we have grandchildren to contend with, so whenever they come for Christmas or Thanksgiving, we have to do everything in our power to save our house for total destrcution!
The demolitions done to the homes on "Extreme Makeovers: Home Edition" have nothing compared to the Sandusky Kids! They can dismantle an entire house in mere seconds! Too bad we can't call the crew of the show to fix our house when mischief strikes Casa Sandusky!! It would be a miracle if they could!!
