Hey, I've been on this forum for a while, and today it hit me that I never put my own introduction on here.

Well, I'm 22 years old (will be in August I mean, yeah, a summer child :D ).The first 19 years of my life 've lived in Belgium (my homecountry) and then moved to the Netherlands at the end of 99, because I wanted to move in with my b/f I met on internet. The first 6 months I wasn't able to find a job here, so I decided to pick up my old hobby again and find me a pen pal. In my search, I came on a 'Prison Pen Pals' web site and picked out 5 guys I wrote (never expecting they'd write back). After a while I was getting so exited about my pen pals, that I started to write more and more prisoners. At this moment, I write about 40 guys in US prisons. Because a lot of them are very lonely, I started my own 'Pen Pals in prison' web site (Pen Pals in prison (http://prison.netfirms.com) )

I always told myself that I was not going to get involved too much with these guys, because I was in a serious relationship. Then, the first week of May, Darrell's first letter arrived and I immedialty felt this was going to be a special person for me. I never suspected I would fall in love with this man, after 2 years of intens correspondence. We write each other 2-8 letters a week. 6 months ago I had to sit down and think about my feelings for him very seriously and I found out I'm not only in love with this guy, but I really love him. Meaning, I want to share my life with him and am willing to wait for him, no mater how long it'll take. He's my sweet little baby boy (my pet name for him)

I will try to attach one of his pictures. It's not the best one I have of him, but at least y'all have an idea about how the guy looks that stole my heart. And I just want to say that y'all are very sweet! :)

and since everybody seems to like photo's, here is a picture of my 2 baby brothers, and the son of my older brother.
The one with the purple wig is my nephew, the oldest one, sitting in the back, is 8 years old and the other one is 2 years. The one with the wig just turned 1 on March 31

oops, here another try

It was nice to hear your story..and to hear that you are in love:D...the pictures of the kids are soooo cute...thanks for sharing them..i think it is nice to see the people and their loved ones...

I was hoping you were going to put those pics up, Soraya! Handsome man & great kids!

thanks! Darrell is indeed really cute :D if you want, I have a lot more pictures I can add....let's see if I can find some
this is a picture of the oldest one in the other picture, from when he was still a baby

hmmm, it's upside down...

let's see, this is my youngest baby brother when he was only a few months old

and just because I like sharing pictures, me again in black and white

Soraya...
Thanks for sharing girl... We got a regular PTO family photo album goin... :)

yes indeed...when I scan more pictures, I'll make sure to share them with you!

Wow Soraya - cute guy : ))) How on earth do you manage (or did you manage) to write 40 guys?! I have trouble writing to one - my husband!!

Thanks for sharing you pic's it was nice to see you and your baby....

Don't forget she finds time to moderate here! :P

Just giving credit where it's due! :)

hahaha good question, I amaze myself, writing all these guys, getting on this forum almost every day, work on my web site and work a regular job, plus answer my emails. But this are things I love to do (exept my job, but that's ok, cuz I need to find another one anyway), so I love to spend a lot of time on it!

I will post some more pictures of my baby boy. here is one already

it is so nice you are sharing your family with us..you make me wanna go post more pics!!! i think it is so nice to have faces to go with the names...what cute lil kids!!

SORAYA-THANKS FOR SHARING WITH US- I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE PURPLE WIG- I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A PIC OF YOU WITH THE WIG (LOL)

SHERRI

Thats a wig!?!?! hehe

HAHAHAH Sheri, I'll keep that in mind when I go to visit my parents again!

I've talked to Darrell yesterday afternoon. I was writing him a letter and all of the sudden the phone rang. I never expected to be him, because normally it's like 2:30 pm when he calls. I was sooooo exited!!. He might be moving next week, so I'll finally be able to start working on visiting him. Can't wait, especially not after reading about Shortie's visit! By the way, Darrell always calls me shorty too hehehe

He's very nice looking Soraya and you were so cute as a baby!

hehehe, well I approve of his looks too....to say the least LOL...I have one where he has his shirt off...I won't even start to tell what I think when I look at that picture. want to see it?

that baby is not me, it's my baby brother! but he's a cutie pie too :D

I saw the pic of Darrell...what a good looking guy!!
I bet I know what you were thinking when you saw that pic of him w/his shirt off!!
All your pics are cute giril!!

D

well I think some thoughts are better left unknown for the others...darrell says i have a really nasty mind sometimes...

I know what you mean girl!!
When EJ & I first started talking I was a good little "church girl" as he put it. Well not anymore...hee hee

Even the one with the baby lost in the pillows?

Leonda, that is also my baby brother yes,it's the oldest one on the picture with the 3 lil guys.

Now that church girl thing sounds very familiar. Darrell is like: you look like a good church girl, but there's no telling what you would do when we're alone...:D

Sorarya

Good looking family, including Darrell.... May your high hopes and dreams all come true.... You are a very special young lady.... You are 22.... I have a grandson 18, and a grandaughter who is 17... not too much younger than you.... I wish you everything you want in life.... Keep being such a careing person because young people like you are very hard to find...

My Love
Donna

me as a baby

and my baby boy!!! njummie!!! :D

the last pic I have of him

as soon as I receive more pics, I'll make sure to post them here too

LOL Soraya you were so cute.
He looks nice, I love tight stomachs. I have to get more pictures of Steven.

girl, I can't wait to put my hands on his stomach!!!! just looking at his pics wakes up all the butterflies I ever had in my stomach

Thanks for the pics. I agree, I do not know how in the world you can write to all of these people. I have alot of respect for all the work you do.

Soraya...

Like those pics girl!! Your baby boy is VERY CUTE!! :)

Diona

you can say that again!! :D

ok, here's another picture of me (just finished eating a magnum icecream)

NICE PICS SORAYA!!! I LOVE THE ONE OF YOU AND THE CHICKEN....

hoi hoi, das een leuke knul zeg, die Darrell van je!!
in english please (i heared everybody think that haha) :
hej hej thats a very nice guy, that Darrell of yours :)

tot gauw/see ya soon

HEHEHEHE, leuk he zo in t nederlands LOL

yeah, he's the cutest LOL...but then again, everybody thinks that of their man. his looks are good 'adding' to his great personality.

Sherri, the one with the chicken is also my fav. pic from myself. i was already fond of animals since i was a baby. the chicken only let me carress it...and when i started to walk, my parents always had to look for me, because i was always sitting in the field next to our house, between the cows :D

I missed the chicken one I may have to go back...LOL
Great pics Soraya.

soraya ~ gee, you're gorgeous, your significant other is gorgeous, and your family is lovely! lucky you! i agree with that other folks...how in the world do you keep up with 40 people!?!?!? >^..^<

JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW YOU ARE DOING??

thanks Shortie...I'm doing pretty good. But I'm nervous to move next week. I've never lived on my own and I don't have a job yet, so I hope it'll all work out.

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT SORAYA-KEEP THE FAITH

You're moving next week? Congrads! I moved out of my parents house every since I turned 18 and now I'm in my second apartment.

HEY GIRL- GOOD LUCK MOVING-ARE YOU AND JORDI STILL GOING TO REMAIN FRIENDS? I REMEMBER WHEN I MOVED OUT ON MY OWN- IT WAS SCARY- BUT THEN I LOVED LIVING ALONE-NOONE TO PICK UP AFTER!!! YOU'LL DO FINE.

yeah. luckly Jordi and me are still best friends. We're going to shop together tonight, for my house. He offered to help with the things that need to be done and all that. I'm not so scared to live on my own. When I'm lonely I'll just call Jordi or visit somebody. I'm just a little worried about my financial position. ONly have a month left to find a new job.

Congrats on finding a new house & your big move Soraya!!
I have a good feeling that you are going to find another job soon!! Have you heard from the day care place (correct?) that you had previously posted about?

Diona

yeah, they wanted someone with more experience...hey I'll try to make some pics of my new place and post them here

That's too bad girl...believe me that's all I have been hearing lately myself.
It's always..."You are a qualified candidate, but unfortunately we went with someone else with more qualifications!" Makes me want to go crazy sometimes because I NEED to get out of my current workplace.

I would love to see some pics of your new place!! If I can get mine scanned & get a good pic of myself I will post them here as well. Anybody who looked at EJ's pic knows what HE looks like, but not me...hee hee!!

Diona

yeah don't keep hiding yourself for us!! :)

soraya, if you are interested in working w/ kids have you considered opening your own daycare? I'm not sure if that is easy or not where you live but I did it here and I LOVE it!

well, actually I was talking about that yesterday!! I'll just have to look into the rules and regulations for it. I would love that!!

That's a great idea. I was a certified Home Day Care Provider for 5 years. It makes good money too. You can work your own hours, make your own rules.

There are some drawbacks though, like some parents seem to think you are the last on their list to pay, those that don't want to take care of their kids and leave them with you forever, yet feeling they only need to pay for the 40 hours they contracted with. If you need any help in setting up a situation for Home Day Care, I can give you lots of advice from record keeping to contracts with the parents and stuff.

that would be wonderful!! You guys are making me very enthousiastic about this!! I will look into this asap

soraya-i dont know how it is set up where you are but if here if you want guaranteed payment- you could accept kids on the dept of social services child care assisatnce program b/c they pay caregivers directly monthly-only problem is you have to be willing to accept their rate

thanks a lot guys for the info. At this moment this idea is on 'freeze', because I'm moving. I showed the house to my brother on Saturday and spend all Sunday afternoon cleaning and moving furniture around. And finding some ideas to decorate. I'm going back tonight, Jordi is coming too, we're gonna get some pizza and eat in my new house. I'm lucky, because I have a garden. It's quit hard to find a house with a garden in the city. So this summer I'll be the one giving BBQ's I guess LOL

I'm all exited to go and live on my own, I love decorating and painting and all that. Can't concentrate on my work...during lunch I'm going to buy a refrigerator and a phone...

GLAD TO HEAR THINGS ARE GOING GOOD!!!! LET US KNOW HOW THE DAYCARE ISSUE GOES. SOUNDS LIKE JORDI IS STILL STAYING BY YOUR SIDE-AND BEING A GOOD FRIEND- THOSE ARE HARD TO FIND-
I LOVE TO DECORATE NEW HOUSES- LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANY HELP-LOL ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,JENNIFER

yah Jordi is such a darling, sweetie pie and my best friend. Come over any time you want and help me paint the walls. LOL

SORAYA, TRUST ME-YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO HELP YOU PAINT- I PAINTED MY KITCHEN AND SWORE I WOULD NEVER DO IT AGAIN-I WOULD RATHER WORK 150 HRS A WEEK AND PAY SOMEONE TO DO IT-BUT I'D BE GLAD TO BRING PIZZA AND BEER....

ok then Sherri, you just make sure I get some food and some drinks...I don't drink alcohol though... I always tell myself I'm not good at painting neither, but it's turning out pretty good. I have one wall in dark red (in my living room) and will put 3 Japanese signs on it...but y'all see the pictures when it's finished.

They brought my fridge yesterday. Now it starts to feel like my house more and more. of course I needed to do some shopping to have something in my fridge LOL

Hi Soraya,
Welcome to PTO! We're glad you found us! (hehehe) Very!

I'm glad you are here, Soraya!

I'm so glad I found this place. When I first arrived here, I was very confused about my feelings for Darrell, what to expect and I didn't really know a lot about the prison system in general. Thanks to all of you for educating me :)

David, you're crazy! I like it :D

just wanted to share some good news with you. you've seen the picture with my 2 baby brothers and my nephew (the smallest one, with the brown hair)? Well, that little dude, Matthew, is getting a brother or sister. My mom told my yesterday I'm gonna be an auntie again, my sister-in-law is pregnant again. At last some good news from somewhere :)

oops, I just checked the picture again, Matthew is the one with the purple wig :D

Just wanted to extend my congrats on being an auntie again girl!!

I can't wait for the day I become an auntie!! Somebody else to spoil. I used to spoil my lil sister, but now she is 14. Can't spoil her too much because she wants some pretty expensive things!! Can you believe she wants ME to buy her a car when she turns 16? My lil sis must think big sis DJ has some MONEY stashed under her mattress or something...hee hee!! :fb:

hahahahaha. I spoil my baby brothers too. they're only 8 and 2, but the one who's 8 also thinks I have money growing trees from times to times...we gave him his own tv for in his bedroom for his birthday this year. you should have seen his face....it was a tv we bought for ourselves, but then we got another one and had that one left....he thinks it's completely new...well we only used it for a couple of months

congrats!

Yeah my lil sis hit me up for a pager about a year ago & then last year in November it extended to a cell phone for Christmas. Her face when I dropped the phone off was priceless!! She had such a good time setting things up & CALLING ME CONSTANTLY...hee hee!! Oh well she's like my own little girl so I do anything I can for her.
Luckily this month for her b-day she doesn't want anything as expensive as a cell phone (THANK GOD)!

I know exactly what you mean when you say your sister is like your little girl. I have that feeling with my brothers too, like they are my children :) when I'm around them, my mother feelings come up