Remembering God's amazing abilities to answer prayer

So, today is another one of those days that I am remembering my life 1 year ago.  I'll actually never forget it!!!  The kids and I were still in Haiti, just a couple of short weeks after finally getting the signature that we had waited so long for.  I was having a good day, things were "normal" for us, but I was really hoping for a miracle.  I had kept my phone on me all day waiting to hear if their passports had been released from Haitian Immigration.  By early afternoon, still no call.  "Bummer" is what I was thinking.  I knew that this particular day was the earliest they would be released and that it was more likely to take a few more days, but I so wanted this miracle to happen!  I was driving through Petion-vile to go to do therapy with a little girl and had enough time to run a quick errand.  As I was driving, I looked at the clock, and realized that the government offices would be closing within minutes and since there was no call, the likelihood of receiving that call was very small.  I began to pray.  Begging the Lord to make this miracle happen.  Telling him that HE could keep the offices open later, that HE could put it in the man's heart to print them and release them today, that HE could make the man picking them up to go and check one more time, even though it was too late in the day. HE. COULD. MAKE. THIS. HAPPEN.  I pleaded with the Lord until I parked my car at the store.  I ran into the store (forgetting my phone), asked the lady if she had the item I was looking for, she said no, I returned to my car.  I didn't even shop.  As I put my car in drive, I noticed I had a message.  I listened.  IT WAS THE CALL!!!!  The message was from the guy checking on my passports, he had them in his hands.  WE GOT THEM!!!!!!!!  Unbelievable!  The Lord did it!!!  HE DOES IT!!!! HE answers prayers!  Sometimes He answers them slowly (like waiting 20 months for a signature), sometimes He says no or wait.  But on that day, HE said YES IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!  I cried and shook and praised and smiled and laughed and rejoiced all by myself in my little white car.  I'll never forget that feeling.  Not only the feeling of thrill for recieving the passport, but for that amazing feeling of God answering my prayers!

Today, I sit here right now with my son napping and my daughter snacking and I rejoice again.  I also mourn.  I know that the Haiti that I was living in 1 year ago no longer exists the way I remember it.  The child that I was on my way to do therapy with is no longer on this earth, she did not make it through the devastation of the earthquake.  I am so devastated for those people.  I miss Haiti and I love Haiti.  I continue to pray for all that are in Haiti.  So, today, I thank God that He does answer prayers and I am reminded to never cease praying.  I will continue to pray.  And I believe, He will continue to answer!

1 year ago today........

.......started out like most days in Haiti for me.  The kids went to school, I went to the clinic (which I miss so very much) and hadn't heard anything on the adoption for months.  My brain often calculated how I could raise enough money to support myself and the kids in Haiti, as it seemed that we'd be stuck in MOI for-ev-er!!!! We had already been waiting 20 months for this ONE signature. 

Then, late in the afternoon, I got the call!  THE CALL!!!!! THE Call that I had been waiting and praying and crying for!  For 20 months, I'd waited, and finally we got it!!!! I'll never forget hearing Dixie's voice on the other end of my phone saying "We got the signature!!!".  I was BLOWN away.  My body shook, my heart raced, tears ran out of my eyes, my face was smiling, my knees were weak!!!!  I was so happy!!!!!

This day was truly the beginning of the end of my 4.5 year wait to bring my Haitian Angels home to the US.  Now today, I sit here, remembering.  I remember my time in Haiti.  I remember all that we experienced.  I'm so grateful!  I know that most of what I did know of Haiti is mostly rubble on the side of the street.  The places that were once so familiar are now destroyed and resemble nothing but a pile of cement.  My heart is breaking.  Please don't get me wrong, I'm so thrilled that my kids are here in the States, that we are safe, that they are growing, learning and did not have to witness that tragedy.  But.....my heart is breaking for the country that I called home for nearly 3 years.  The people that I learned to understand and eventually communicate with.  The culture that I began to understand, if only the little that I could.  The beauty.  The smells.  The idiosyncrisies of Haiti.  I miss it.  But today, I mourn it.  I know so much is lost.  So many lives.  So many families.  So much dispair. 

I will always love Haiti and I can't wait to go there again, hopefully to help bring some healing to at least one person, hopefully more!  I know that God has us here in the States.  I remind myself each day that if He had wanted me there during a disaster such as this, I surely would have been there.  He would have made sure of that.  But what He did, was made sure we were here.  This is where I need to let Him lead me.  I'm trying to do that each day. 

As these next few weeks pass, and I am reminded of our final weeks of our journey to America, I will rejoice in all that the Lord did, does and will do in all of our lives. 

A very heavy heart

So much has happened in the past week, my brain is like mush.  I am just going to start with thanking the Lord for who HE is.  My heart is so heavy for my friends and loved ones in Haiti.  I feel worthless here in the States.  I know there is nothing I can do to take away the suffering that they have all indured.  

Ecrissa is doing fine.  She had her follow-up appointment yesterday and everything looks good.  She went back to school today and had an awesome day.  The kids in her class were very excited to see her!  That is fun for me to see.  Many times, Ecrissa misses out on so much because people don't sign and are unable to communicate with her.  But, when I walked into her classroom with her this morning, everyone was signing and she was communicating and they all were smiling and it was so heart warming!  I long for her to have so many more friendships and connections such as this!

Jaryse is still loving having grandma and Aunt Ginger here (as is Ecrissa).  He is doing well, although, he'd rather not go to school everyday!!!

I celebrated a birthday today.  I am so blessed by my friends that came by, my family that pampered me and my children.  My children are a gift to me every day.  I couldn't ask for a better gift than waking up with my two precious angels.  I will never take them for granted!

Please keep Haiti in your prayers.

Cochlear Implant

We made it!!!!!  Today was a crazy day with lots of emotions, but filled with prayers from people all over keeping us full of peace!!  Ecrissa had her surgery and is doing great!

The above pics are right after we checked in.  She was so cute.  The first thing she did was told the receptionist that she was getting an implant!!!

Then we went into pre-op where Ecrissa was a superstar!  She kept her Franklin book with her and that helped her deal with all the stuff that was happening and she even asked for the gown and the bed!!! So cute!  She got a little frustrated waiting for things to begin, as the surgery before us set us back about 30 min.  Ecrissa has a hard time understanding why we had to just sit there and wait, so she whimpered a little.  But she handled most of it well.  They took her back at about 10 am and it took about 2 hours.

Jaryse enjoyed playing and watching movies with Grandma Sessions and Aunt Ginger

And then, at about 12:30 I was called back into recovery!  Ecrissa had the one bandage on her right ear and she was still sleeping.  She came out of the anestesia very very combative!  This didn't surprise me though!  I have a little fighter on my hands and she did the same thing after being put to sleep for the MRI and ABR.  This time though was worse!  She was super mad and super uncomfortable. She kept trying to rip the bandage off of her head, so they added some gauze.  When she continued to pull on it, they added an ACE bandage!  So, she got herself really wrapped up by the end of it!  Finally, they had to give her some meds to make her a little sleepy and help with the pain.  After that, she finally calmed down.

Since been home she's been great.  She's not been whining, she's not been pulling on her bandages, she's been resting nicely watching movies.  She has only eaten a couple of bites of bread and yogurt and a few sips of juice,  but she has been up every now and then to ask for things and she's moving around well.  A bit slower than usual, but moving nicely all the same!  As I type this, she's lying next to me in my bed, sleeping peacefully. 

I am so very proud of this very special little girl and so thankful for all of your prayers today!  I know that the reason I held it together and was able to be the Momma that she needed today, that she's safe and that the surgery went well was because of your prayers and God's hand in our lives.

I know this is the beginning of a brand new chapter for us and I'm so looking forward to it! 

Please, keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.  They need them more than ever.  The information that is coming out of that country is devastating and your love, prayers and support of the people of Haiti is desparaetly needed!  My heart is breaking for these people and at times I'm so overwhelmed with the needs there.  I just turn to Jesus and beg Him to be so clearly present there that all Haitians will bow to HIM!!!!!

May the face of Jesus show so brightly in that counry that no one can turn away from the one true Lord.  The one that loves them more than they can ever imagine. 

Today is the day

Ecrissa goes in for her surgery in 3 hours.  She is still sleeping and I am pacing!  I know she'll do great!

I am praising the Lord for His greatness right now!  I know that I can pray for him to hold my daughter, protect her and guide the doctors hands.  I can also pray for the people in Haiti as they deal with this horrible disaster of yesterday.  I can pray for what seems like so much, but to Him, it's so easy!  He has each one of us in His hands and I don't have to choose who to pray for.  I don't have to make decisions regarding who needs Him more!  He can handle it all!  How amazing!  I'm so grateful for that! 

Praises and Prayers

Today has been, well, a day to say the least.  I am feeling so torn in so many directions emotionally.  Today is 10 months home from Haiti!  What a wonderful accomplishment!  Can you believe it!  Then, as I'm praising the Lord for that, I hear that there has been a HUGE earthquake in Port au Prince.  Huge, like greater than 7.0 with many after shocks, some greater than 5.0.  This breaks my heart.  This poor country has gone through so much and so many people are going to suffer and die because of this tragedy.  I'm heartbroken.  I prayed for people that I know, people that I don't and then I prayed and continue to pray that this earthquake will be the event that opens the eyes of the Haitian people to the Lord!  I pray that they will see HIS face in this and that they will turn their lives over to HIM!  This is my prayer. 

Please Lord, make this tragedy into something good as you have promised you can and will do!  Father, take this event and allow the people of Haiti to see your loving face.  Bring them to their knees in worship of you and only you!!!!!

I am feeling sick.  I am struggling with my allergies and my throat is sore and my nose and eyes are watery!  UGH!  It's tough with the momma is sick!  Then, as I was waiting to pull into a parking space today, a guy in a BIG HUGE truck, was not looking where he was going and backed right into me!  The kids and I are fine, but I had to call the insurance company and deal with that whole ordeal. Just sorta irritating, but I'm sure glad that it was nothing more than a dent in my car!  Also, the kids were so great during this!  They didn't make a peep. They sat and waited so patiently while I got the insurance information from the other guy and while I talked to the insurance company.  I am so amazed at how patient they were!

Along with all of that, tomorrow is Ecrissa's cochlear implant surgery!  I am so nervous!!!!  I am so excited!!!!!  I am just full of all sorts of emotions!!!!!!!!  I have waited since the day I found out she was deaf to have this surgery for her!  She sorta knows what's coming and she's telling everyone she sees that she'll be getting an implant.  I'm not so sure she understands the full extent of what this means for her little life, but she has some grasp that something big is happening.

We are all sitting here on the couch watching a movie and waiting for Grandma Sessions and Aunt Ginger to arrive.  I am so happy that I will have help for the next 10 days from 2 really great family members. God always provides.  I'm tired, but so grateful for all that the Lord has provided in my life,our safety, our health, my children and His love that is always there and always so strong holding me and getting my through it all!

If you think of it, please pray for the people of Haiti and my little Haitian Princess as she has her surgery tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!!! I am so very excited about all of the wonderful things that the Lord has in store for me and my family this upcoming year! I read my blog entry from last New Years and I realize how much my life has changed since then. On January 1st 2008, I was recovering from a very difficult time in Haiti. I did not share all of this publicly, but I had had a phony kidnapping threat (started out that we all thought it was real, turns out is was a prank by a local kid), credit card fraud on my only credit card (which left me without a valid credit card for over 2 weeks), passport renewal l(eaving me without a passport in Haiti for a week and a half )and an audit by the IRS-----All happening between Dec. 15th and Dec. 31st. It was quite possible the hardest, scariest, and most stressful 16 days of my life!!!!

On Jan. 1st, I was still quite depressed from dealing with all of that plus I felt as if I was never going to get to bring my children to the states. I had been dealing with so much with the adoption and there did not seem to be any forward movement, that I had almost given into the fact that I'd live the rest of my life fighting that same fight. That I'd live in Haiti, with my wonderful and precious children, but never able to let them be a part of my family on American Soil. Little did I know, that 21 days later, we would receive that MIRACULOUS signature and only 2 1/2 month later, we'd be stepping foot on American soil as a family!!!!!!!

Today, I am full of praise for that. As I sit here and enjoy this holiday with my kids I am STUNNED!!!!! I am just absolutely amazed that I am this blessed! I am so grateful that last week my babies were able to be a part of the Christmas traditions that I have treasured my entire life. In just 12 more days, my little girl is going to be undergoing the cochlear implant surgery, and last year I thought that she may never get that chance! I'm overwhelmed by what the year 2009 brought to the three of us, and so very excited for 2010!

Thank you all so much for you love, friendship and prayers. We are forever thankful!

Please keep this sweet little girl in your prayers as she undergoes this surgery and life changing event!