Kids are funny!!!!!!

I don't know if I was more busy in Haiti or here!!!!! Of course, I have to admit that over Memorial day weekend, the kids and I took 3 days of resting and doing pretty much NOTHING!!!! I felt very lazy, unaccomplished, fat and well just lazy after those three days, but I think that after three days of laying on the couch with both kids on top of me was good for the three of us. I really felt that they both needed to "just be". So, we took a weekend to "just be" together. I think it was good for us. We rejuvenated a bit and bonded a ton!!!!

Late last week we were able to get a car. It is used, simple, basic and I do not have a picture of it yet, but I do have a picture of the car that the kids both wanted me to get!!!!!!!



Yes, the black 2009 Convertible...hmmmmm....a bit out of my price range!!!! :) Well, Jaryse has told me only 3 times everyday since last week that when he grows up, he wants a black car "without the thingy on top!!!" LOL!!!!

The kids are still having fun with all of their dress up clothes and Grandma Wilcox just sent more dress up clothes in a package this week! We are so excited!!!! We have our IEP set for Ecrissa (to determine her summer school placement and fall school placement) for mid-June and we have the appointment with the ENT to discuss Cochlear Implant next week! I am thrilled and nervous all at the same time! I am praying for positive outcomes in all of these upcoming appointments!

I think I'll be happy when school starts in the fall, as I think we'll actually form a schedule that will last for more than 2-3 days! I think that'll be good for all three of us, but for now, we are enjoying all of the time we have together and thanking the Lord for each and every provision!

To answer the question........

...."how is mommy adjusting???" I am going to attempt to answer this question that everyone seems to keep asking me! I have so many emotions and feelings that it's hard to even answer!

First and Foremost, I am Blessed!!! I have so many wonderful people who have given so much to help make our transition smooth, to bless me and the children, to help with the difficult things and that have loved and continue to love us daily. I am overflowing with happiness at the blessings that the Lord has provided!

I seem to be keeping up with things. The house is clean, organized and functional, the kids are bathed and teeth brushed every day and fed 3+ times a day! :) I keep up with the laundry, I am keeping up with work and paperwork, the dishes are done daily and I have been checking out programs and schools for Ecrissa, going to deaf and hard of hearing meetings, clinics, doctors appointments, on the phone with various deaf and hard of hearing professionals and programs and insurance companies and doctors!!!!

But, I have two conflicting inner battles. One says, you are working to hard. I'm exhausted. To keep up with work, the house, two kids, their special needs, etc, etc, I am exhausted. I keep telling myself that I need to take more time to rest and chill with the kids. But, as soon as I do that, I have this other inner part of me screaming, "YOU SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING!!!". I feel like I should do more sign language work with Ecrissa, read a book to them, do an art project, Do searches online for Ancheri Care, spend more time reading the Bible, call friends that I haven't caught up with yet, dust again, vacuum again, and the list goes on and on depending on the day!!!!!! I rarely feel that I've done enough, yet at the same time, I feel over worked! How does that work???? How can both of these feelings be so strong at the same time!!!!!! I don't know, I guess it's normal mommyhood and as a single mom, I am sure that I am always going to feel tired, yet that there are things left undone!

All in all, I am doing well! I am encouraged daily by something that the Lord puts in my path! I know that there are always going to be frustrations in this life. I am thankful for the blessings that outweigh the frustrations. It keeps me going and helps me to realize that I am not perfect. I am going to miss nights of bedtime stories, I am going to leave the kitchen a mess, I am going to forget to do something, but the bottom line is, as long as we are together as a family with Christ as our center, we will make it and lead happy and healthy lives!

2 months.....

since we left Haiti..................

1 month since arriving in LA............................

1 week post hearing aids.................................

1 adorable little boy.........

1 adorable little princess ( 1 day post birthday!)

Equals one very happy (yet still adjusting) Sessions family!!!!!!

Ecrissa's 6th Birthday!

Thanks to many wonderful people, Ecrissa had a very very wonderful and memorable 6th birthday!!!!! Princess was the major theme with dress-up and pretend play the theme for the gifts. She got all sorts of dress up gear and a tea party set to top it all off!!! She was so excited with the decorations that Grandpa and Grandma Sessions sent, the wonderful friends that showed up, the yummy cake and ice cream and the amazing gifts and love that everyone shared!

Jaryse got in on the fun too! They were all so cute and funny playing together and having a blast!

I am happy that it all came together. Around 9:30 this morning, I wasn't sure!! LOL!! I thought I was crazy and was actually in Haiti! See, I gave Ecrissa a bath and braided her hair, then cut Jaryse's hair and went to throw him in the bath. Well, after about 2 inches of water, the water STOPPED!!! Yes, there was no water!!!! Then, I remembered! They were shutting the water of in the building for some plumbing work! Holy Cow!!!! Good thing I'm used to this! Jaryse got a really cold bath with a cup pouring water over his head, and Momma just cleaned up and sprayed some pretty smelling spray stuff on!!! LOL!!!!!!

But.....then I remembered that I hadn't baked the cake yet! I went to get the box and you guessed it, I need 1 1/4 cups of WATER!!!! I didn't have any more bottled water and NO tap water! Well, such is life I thought! It won't be the end of the world if she doesn't have a cake! But, God is good and the water came on before I had to go to work and I was able to get the cake baked before I had to leave for work! Whew!!!! I even got a shower when I got home from work before everyone came over! God is good!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes on Facebook, Email, and telephone calls today! It sure is amazing the wonderful people that God has brought into our lives to make our lives so full of Joy each and every day!!!!

And a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my 6 year old Princess!!!!!!!

Jaryse missin' grandpa's and grandma's and Ecrissa's HA HA's

On May 7th Ecrissa got her hearing aids!!!!! She was so excited to put them in her ears. She has seen them on other people and on the models in the audiologists office. She just knew she was something special to be able to get to shove those plastic things into her ears!!! LOL!!!!!

She doesn't seem to be re-acting to much, but since she has never really heard before, her brain doesn't know what to do with the new sounds that are coming in. This part of her brain has never worked, so it doesn't really know to pay attention to the new input. When we first turned them on, she made some really funny faces and wrinkled up her face and put her hands on her head all while shaking her head "no". It made my eyes water. I could feel the "pain" that she was feeling. OK, not really, but it kinda felt to me that I could! She wore them for 4 hours the first day and then had a melt down and began signing to me that they were bothering her.

We are working on "hearing" and she'll start some other therapies this week or next and hopefully she will soon learn to "listen/hear". Wow! So many steps and new things for this little princess!!!!!

She has been doing wonderful with them! She leaves them in her ears, and does not rip them out. I have not had any problems with her in this aspect. I was told that she'd might not want to wear them, take them out herself, or give me a really hard time, but she hasn't. She has been a true trooper in this whole process so far!

This is Jaryse in his CARS pajama's and putting on his new slippers "like grandma Sessions". He is too cute. He has to wear his slippers every night, just like grandma Sessions he says. He is adjusting well, although he continues to ask to go back to Haiti to see his friends and he misses all of his grandma's and grandpa's in Michigan. I am so lucky to have such a loving boy that he really forms tight relationships with people, remembers them, loves them, and misses them.

As far as Momma, well.....I'm adjusting. I am amazed that I don't just fall back into American life. I really miss Haiti. I know many of you may think I am crazy, but I do. I miss speaking Kreyol, I miss the medical clinic---ALOT!!!!! I miss my friends there, I miss my therapy kids. I miss rice and beans with Legume. I miss Mango's, I miss the big yummy Avocado's, I miss sweet banana's, I miss my weekends in Jacmel. I know, I sound like a weirdo. Here I am in the land of plenty, in LA, with all the luxury's of running HOT water, 24/7 electricity, clean water, no one following me yelling "blan blan, bo'm ti kado", and shall I continue in all of the ways that the US is "better" than Haiti. I am sure most of you are thinking I've surely lost my mind. But, I am surprised at so much here. I am still surprised that I can safely be out after dark--everyone goes out without even thinking of it!!! I am still surprised when the lady at the teller actually has correct change (my mom laughed at me cause I often used correct change in MI). I am still surprised that all the cars stay in line and not cut people off. I am still surprised that there is customer service here and when I walk into a store, I am asked if I can be helped. I am still surprised how much STUFF is in every store and how many CHOICES that I have. I am actually still surprised at the price of things! Milk: Not so expensive, Avocados: super small and SUPER expensive, bread: SUPER SOFT, not so expensive., Mango's: can hardly find them, but the one that I am most happy by is the shear number of forms of Diet Coke that is available at every turn, fountain Diet Coke via drive through, cans and 20 oz, and 1 liter AND 2 liter bottles of Diet Coke in gas stations, grocery stores, target and my refrigerator!!!!!! OK, maybe Diet Coke can help ease my sadness of missing the wonderful (yet slightly Diet Coke deficient) country of Haiti!!!! :)

Update on Ecrissa!

Being in the States and especially LA has brought about lots of fun things for my little princess! She has had her hearing tested, played on many different parks throught LA, which she loves and points out the park every time we pass one (she uses the sign for slide, indicating her favorite part of the park!). Some of Ecrissa's favorite parts about being here are not only the parks but also, donuts, taking bubble baths in warm water, and her new gymnastics and class and her new friend Aliyah!

Aliyah is a 9 year old girl who is also hearing impaired and utilizes sign language as her primary means of communication. I work with Aliyah in the gym while my friend Joclynn works with Ecrissa. We work them together, encourage not only their physical fitness and mobility, but also work on playing together, communicating with each other and giving them each a new friend! They have so much fun together and they are WAY TO CUTE together!

Aliyah came into the gym this week and told everyone that her friend was there! How cute are they!!!!!!

Ecrissa also got her impressions made for her hearing aides. Yes, we still plan on going the cochlear implant route if she qualifies, but we had to cancel our appointment with the ENT (it's a long drawn out story, but I am sure that this is going to work out just fine!). The "rule" is that children should wear hearing aides for 6 months prior to the implant anyway, so we should have the molds back by Wed. and hopefully by the end of the week have her in hearing aides. This will allow us to start our "hearing aide trail" and so we are still moving forward in our quest for the implant! :)

She was so funny! She was modeling her "goop" that they squeeze into her ear, that starts out very soft and sticky, but after a few minutes it hardens and takes the shape of her ear and ear canal. They'll send that in to have the molds for the hearing aids made! So fun!

Ecrissa is doing well. She is transistioning pretty well. I think she'd do better if she was in school (we really really really miss Mrs. deBlaeij!!!) but all in all she is handling all the moves and all the new things very well! She has her moments, but we all do. I am grateful for God's faithfulness in bringing us to the states and moving us forward in getting services and education for this little girl!