Terrible, Horrible, No good, very bad day......

This is what I was having 3 years ago today....UNTIL...in the midst of tears.......I received a call from the woman processing our adoption. What did she have to say? She said "we got the signature!!!!!" I couldn't believe it! After 20 months of waiting for this ONE signature, we were finally on our way to getting passports for the kids! I was in shock! This day means so much to me! Not only was it something that I had been waiting for for a long time, it was also another one of God's lessons and promises come true. I had been involved in a Bible study and realized just a few days prior, that although I was praying for this signature, I didn't really believe that it would happen. I didn't really pray as if God would answer this prayer. I was saying the words, but I wasn't trusting that God was big enough to come through for me. During this Bible study, I realized this. I repented IMMEDIATELY! Apologizing to God for not believing in Him. I immediately began praying with full trust that God could and would come through for us. Just 4 days later I got the call! Talk about a Miracle!!!!

I remember this lesson frequently. I remember that God is bigger than anything and if I believe in Him and remember that HE CAN and HE WILL, then my prayers are not in vain and He will answer in perfect timing! Thank you Lord for the 2 beautiful blessings that you have allowed me to parent!

Ecrissa's progress.

Ecrissa has had her first Cochlear Implant activated now for not quite 2 years and her 2nd one for only 5 months. She is really doing a nice job. She is usinga few words consistently and is understanding more and more that is said to her. She still relies on ASL, but is more and more able to understand spoken language.

The 2 video's above were taken on 12/31/11 and she got a little nervous in front of the camera so her voice is a little more quiet than it usually is, but enjoy hearing her sweet voice!

5 more working days............

And I get to be a stay at home momma for 2 weeks!!! I'm so looking forward to it!!!! I love my job. I'm the luckiest person in the world to be able to have a job that I look forward to going to every day....however, I love my kids more!!! I love every minute that I get with them and I'm looking forward to our Christmas break!

This was a fun weekend! We went to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services "Signing Santa" and had a blast! Both kids sat on Santa's lap. Ecrissa is so fun to watch in an environment where everyone is signing and she understands all that is going on around her. My Dad and step-mom joined us and they too were amazed at the difference in Ecrissa. Many people came up to me during our time there to tell me how much she's grown since this summer when she attended their day-camp. And, when I say grown, I don't mean that she's gotten bigger...I actually mean matured. She is able to hold a conversations, she understands when people are picking on her or someone else and she joins in the fun. She answers questions, tells stories and well.....is just amazing!!! :)

She also got to be interviewed! You can barely see it in this photo, but there is a video camera and they are asking her questions and she was answering them! SO. STINKIN. CUTE!!!!!!

Jaryse loved sitting with Grandpa! Aren't they cute!!!????

Jaryse entertained himself while his sister was being interviewed and was being the little social butterfly!

On Thursday night we were blessed with the opportunity to go to the Grand Rapids Ballet production of "The Nutcracker". What an experience. I have never seen the Nutcracker and the kids LOVED it! Ecrissa was so attentive all the way through the production! Jaryse asked me at the beginning of the show "Momma, do they talk?" and I told him "no, just dance" and he replied with "Oh, I wouldn't like being in this play, I like to talk!". LOL! Love this kid! He did enjoy the first act and then fell asleep during the second, as it was an hour past his bedtime at that point. Regardless, we enjoyed ourselves and feel totally blessed!

Well, there is always more to write, but I need to get things ready for the start of the week! Off I go!!!!

Can I request....

a ground hog week?? Isn't ground hog day when the same day keeps happening over and over. Well, this past week was so awesome I want it to keep happening!!!! In the past 2 weekends MSU has won 2 football games and 3 basketball games and hopefully one tomorrow! Seriously, I love it!!!!! The kids and I got to go to one of the basketball games and we had a blast!!!!!!!

I had the week off from work and so was able to spend some time in both of the kids' classrooms. I LOVED every minute of that! I am amazed at how much my kids have grown academically, even since the end of the year last year. I loved seeing the things that they are doing in class and how they are doing in school. This also made them feel very special.


Last night we had a "family date night" at the new PF Changs that just opened near us! Jaryse's favorite food is Chinese and we all loved it! We all dressed up in nice clothes and the three of us (well, 4 if you count Ecrissa's American Girl doll) went out to dinner. It was so nice and the kids' were perfect! I was even told by an older lady that the kids' were so well behaved. That is always nice to hear.

Ecrissa loved the basketball game. She enjoyed dancing when the band played and she cheered and cheered! Jaryse was singing the fight song by the end of the game! Nothing makes me prouder!LOL

My mom, step-dad and my step-dad's mom came over to our new home for Thanksgiving! It was awesome! I have never had the opportunity to "host" my family for a gathering. I can't say that I was perfect, in fact, I never even got out of my sweats, did my hair or make-up, but the food was good and we had fun! My step-dad was awesome and helped me with some little odd jobs that I couldn't do (or didn't want to do). It was great!

We also decorated the house for Christmas! Our house is very festive and we love every inch of it! I am so incredibly blessed and I just can't believe that I deserve even 1% of what I have. Thankful for sure!

Go State!

Wow! It's been awhile!!!!

Whew! I don't hardly even remember the last time I blogged!!!! I know that school started and then my life became a blur! We got to move to our new home on October 2nd and I feel like I've been working triple time trying to unpack and get us all settled! I have had lots of people ask for pictures of the house so this blog is my attempt to share some! I did not get any of the yard, but there is a nice back yard that is all fenced in with a play structure. The kids love it!

So, here are some pictures......in no strategic order...in fact, in a sort of random order!

The house from the front.

The kitchen (If any of you ever were in either of my last 2 apartments, you will know how HUGE this kitchen is for me!)



My bedroom (view 1)

My bedroom (view 2)

Living Room (view 1 with the sliding doors to the deck)

Living Room (view 2...including the munchkins!)

Jaryse's Room

Dining Room

Ecrissa's room (view 1)

Ecrissa's Room (View 2)

Laundry Room

Well, there you have it...well most of it! I realized I didn't put the pics of the bathrooms though! The house has 2 full baths with one of the baths having a jacuzzi tub in it. We do feel like there is alot of room and we are all feeling very blessed!

Other than unpacking our home, we've been busy with karate, dance, IEP meetings, soccer, school and school related activities, work and family fun! I will try to post some pics of the kids soon!!!!!

Hope you all are well~

luvs and hugs

CK, J and E

Beginning of the school year 2011

First, I just have to say.....They have gotten so big!!!!! Sometimes when I look at pictures I have to look twice because I can't believe that either one of those kids in the picture could be my baby!!!!! The first week of school went great! Jaryse even enjoyed it! For any of you that really know my boy, you'd know that this is just short of a miracle!!!! Ecrissa ALWAYS loves school and she is doing great!

The second week of school as started off a bit rockier! Jaryse is home and was home yesterday with strep throat! UGH! He is such a trooper, but he has EVERY symptom that could possibly go with Strep. You know, you read the list of possible symptoms and most people get a few of the most common symptoms, well not my little guy! When he gets sick, he does it right and he gets EVERY symptom...even the rare ones! He is on the mend today and beginning to feel better, but is still not well enough for school. So, the reason that I have time to post on the blog!!! Yesterday I spent all day cleaning while he was in bed...trying to get rid of the nasty germs attacking my home, but this morning I have a few minutes to share the last weekend before school started! The following pics are just a couple from our last weekend before school!

My kids love Chuck E Cheese and my parents are quick to take them! This is amazing to me. Given that when I was a child, I NEVER went to CEC unless it was a super special occasion. This is the difference between being a parent and a grandparent apparently. When they were my parents, the answer was NO, but now that they are grandparents, the answer is YES. Anyway, we have a lot of fun there as you can see by the faces on my angels!

Regardless, I'm happy to be a part of their lives! I'm blessed!

Summer is flllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyying by!!!!

And so was someone else!

Yep! That tiny little speck at the top of the first picture is my little dare devil doing the Rip Cord with her Grandpa and Cousin at Michigan's Adventure last weekend! She is afraid of NOTHING!!!!!!!!! She went up there and free-fell 180 feet and LOVED every minute of it!!!!!!

She loved all the big roller coasters and even kept her hands high in the air, all the while giggling and laughing hysterically!!!! Before the ride was even completed she was looking at me signing more and again with a huge smile on her face!!! It was so fun riding these rides with her. She had me laughing and laughing the whole day!

Jaryse had an awesome time too! He rode the bumper cars multiple times (I think 4 or 5!), the little go-carts, the big go-carts with me, and any other "driving" ride he could possibly ride! He was all about the cars and driving! He is still to little to go on the big roller coasters and truth be told, that is just fine with him! He was happy drive all the different kinds of cars and to ride the train through the park 3 times! (He is not my dare devil, but he sure is cute!)

We also got to be a part of the Haitian Adoption Reunion here in West Michigan 2 weeks ago! SUPER FUN! We met many families with children of all ages adopted from Haiti. The kids had a blast meeting new friends and so did I!

We are down to just a few weeks left of our summer. I was sorta hoping that the summer would never end, but alas, it will. I am so grateful for the time that I've had to be with my kids this summer and the fun that we've had with friends and family! We are definetly blessed!