Louisiana writes of the joys and challenges of parenting children with significant special needs.
Our children mean more to us than just about anything else in life (excepting for our Lord God, of course; as He was the One who brought our children into our lives). They are our world, and without them, we would not exist.
Our children are a ragtag collection of races, colors, and handicapping conditions; but by adoption and love, they are at once united, and they are now legally brothers and sisters. They come from places like Africa, the United States, Mexico, France, Guatemala, India, China, Korea, Vietnam, Italy, Croatia, The Netherlands (Holland), Canada, and Russia, but they are now as much brothers and sisters to one another just as I am to my sisters.
Our children are incredibly beautiful; whenever you first see them, you see love and joy in their young faces, and you see the potential that bursts from their little bodies. You see the determination and courage they show as they get from place to place, and you see that they are not going to let their disabling conditions bring them down. They may be disabled, but they are CHILDREN first, not just DISABLED children. Their disabilities are only a very small PART of who they are, not WHAT they are; and whenever Bill or I look at them, we no longer see the appliances they may use to see, hear, walk, get around. All we see are our children, and they are absolutely perfect, in our eyes.
And our children are so....well, NORMAL. They laugh, they sing, they cry, and they argue and fight, just like any other children their age, and they have wishes and dreams, too, just like any other child, whether disabled or not. And, like all children, they can be expected to get into trouble whenver they misbehave and are disciplined on a regular basis.
One little girl wants to be an Olympic gymnast, and another little girl wants to be a country/Cajun entertainer and has the talent and drive to take her to the top. One little boy wants to grow up and have a family (but won't get to fulfill that wish, as he is dying; still, that is an admirable goal to have), and another little boy wants to become a NASCAR driver. A teenaged girl wants to play tackle football on her high school team (in fact, she is seriously thinking of trying out next week, but frankly, I have my reservations, as I am scared she is going to end up badly hurt or paralyzed for life), and another teenager wants to work in a pizza shop when he is old enough. (He isn't quite 16 yet. He is our oldest son.)
So even they are disabled on the outside, they are NOT disabled on the inside, and they love and enjoy life for all its worth. They don't let their crutches or their wheelchairs or lack of sight/hearing/speech get to them: they will find a way around their disabilities, and so far they have adapted beautifully. I have never seen such courageous or determined children in our lives, and Bill and myself are both in awe over them. It is like they are Heaven-Sent, and they definitely do have the love of God in their faces and in all they do. They shine with the Love of God, and people are always blessed whenever they see our children.
I am in the process of writing a book about our family, and the title of it will be "A Family Made Of Miracles and Rainbows: The Sandusky Family Story--A True Story of Love and International Adoption". I am just about finished with it, and next week, I shall be putting the finishing touches on it and mail off the completed manuscript to different Christian-based publishers. And hope for the best and pray that my book DOES get published.
That would be a dream come true for me.
I don't know what Bill or I have done to deserve having the children we have, or why He has so faithfully and continuously blessed us as He has, but I surely hope that He doesn't stop! Life is so good right now, and every day with our children is a day-to-day adventure filled with surprises around every corner. You never know what will happen, and you never know what life will bring to us. Good or bad, we will get through our adventure, and as long as we have God on our side, then we needn't worry!
All I can say is that I feel honored and privileged as a mother to have the family I do because they have certainly made MY life more rewarding and fulfilling!
I have written a chapter called I Am That, I Am in this inspirational compilation book by best-selling authors and wonderful people from all walks of life xox :-D (Its sister book is called Adventures In Manifesting - Success and Spirituality)
Our children mean more to us than just about anything else in life (excepting for our Lord God, of course; as He was the One who brought our children into our lives). They are our world, and without them, we would not exist.
