You know you are addicted to Diet Coke when......

You have two open cans at once!!!! YIKES!!! :) I didn't realize that I hadn't finished my first one and I opened a second, in an different room! YEP, I think that shows true addiction!!! Oh well, I am not joining Diet Coke's Anonomous just yet, I much to much enjoy my addiction! Plus, hey, I'm a single mom with two kids, isn't one small addiction acceptable????? :)

We've had a good week this week. I am so blessed! Sometimes I feel spoiled that God would bless me with my two amazing kids AND take care of us too!!!! We are still getting on our feet, slowly but surely my caseload is picking up. I am always thrilled to watch how God multiplies the loaves and fish when it comes to finances and making ends meet for us! I don't know how He does it, but I sure am grateful that He does! We always seem to be just a bit short when I add it up, but somehow, when it comes time for the check to be mailed, there is enough! Thank you Jesus!

We got the results from Ecrissa's CT scan and it is all normal! YAY!!! One more check in the "so far so good and eligible for the cochlear implant" box! We have just a couple of small things left to complete and then the audiology evaluation in August and then we should be able to hopefully move forward in scheduling the surgery! YAY!!!

She will start summer school the first full week of July, which I am so excited about! I know that she will have a blast and learn a ton too!

The kids have had a blast at camp this week and playing with their friend from church. When I get the pics I will share them!

OOPS! Catching up on the blog!!!

I could have sworn that I just updated this thing, but apparently over a week has gone by!!!!! This past week was crazy busy and was filled with at LEAST one appt. for Ecrissa each day! Needless to say we had a productive week and I felt good Friday night as I was getting into bed, feeling completely exhausted, but so thankful to the Lord for working everything out and totally having His hand in our lives! She had her CT scan (which is part of the preliminary evaluation for the cochlear implant) in which she was a super star!!! She mostly held still, until the very end, and the technician did not think it'd be a big deal and that the scan would adequately show what they needed to see. We still need to complete a few more things before being able to make any final decisions regarding the implant. The IEP went well, and I am hopeful for a productive and educational school year! Her medical/nursing evaluation showed that she has grown 2.5 inches since we've come home from Haiti, that is almost an inch a month! Call me crazy, but I think that is ALOT!!!!!

These are pictures of Ecrissa in her ballet outfit!! She loves ballet!!! There is a group that we've joined that is a ballet group for kids with special needs and they've given Ecrissa a scholarship from the financial obligation. I am so thrilled and delighted that she gets to be a part of this and she has a BLAST!!!! She is so happy and the teachers say that she does a great job! It's hard for me to watch, cause she doesn't pay attention to the teachers but to me when I'm there, so Jaryse and I take a walk together and have some Mommy/Son time while Ecrissa dances her little heart out!!!

My kids have had fun taking pictures this week! It's been quite comical the pictures that I've gotten! I have many of the inside of Jaryse's nose, the floor, the ceiling and even inside the toilet! LOL! The following 6 pictures were taken by my little ones! I'm never sure whose pic is whose, since they really are very good at taking turns, and I'm being serious here, they take turns posing and they really do a good job of sharing the camera!

This is the entrance to the school where they both will attend in the fall (and Ecrissa this upcoming July for summer classes). It is a school for the deaf, however they have kindergarten through 5th grade for hearing siblings. The siblings are taught by a hearing teacher in a hearing environment, however Sign Language is incorporated in the school day. I am thinking that this should be a good thing for both of my kids. I am looking forward to the school year and praying for lots of great learning to occur!

This is me working on the enrollment packet for them to enroll in this school, there are lots of pics of me doing this!! :)

More of the school :)

Mommy on the phone....................and Mommy doing hair! I am always amazed at how many pictures that they manage to get of me! LOL, I am hoping it's because they love me and not because they are trying to embarrass me!!!!!!

We are looking forward to a busy week this week too! The gymnastics program that I am working for is having camp in the mornings for the upcoming 2 weeks. I am working the camp Tues. and Thurs. and the kids are enrolled for Mon., Wed., Fri (again scholarships, as I can't afford it at this time, but see how God works everything out! He's amazing!!!) I am so excited for the kids to have some awesome experiences this week and for mommy to have some kid free time! I am a bit nervous, as I am ALWAYS with my kids and I hate missing the fun and exciting things in their lives, however, I know it's good for them and I know it'll be good for me too! I am looking forward to hearing the stories and hearing how much fun they have this week! It'll be a packed week, and hopefully some early nights to bed and deep sleeps all the way through the night for all three of us!!!! :)

Three Months in the states..........

Seriously???? How can that be????? If feels like yesterday, no wait, it feels like a hundred years ago, I mean, it feels like last week, but wait, I miss Haiti too much for it to be last week, it's really been 19 years, no wait, Jaryse is only 4, so, it must be less than that, WHOOOOOAAAAAAA hold on, too many emotions!!!!!!

The truth is, we left Haiti 3 months ago today. March 12th! Whew! So much has happened and I've had so many emotions and my kids have already experienced so much! I am so grateful to all of you that have made our homecoming and our time in the states so far so wonderful. Thank you for understanding that we are overwhelmed. Thank you for being there to help, thank you for praying for us, thank you for being there, thank you for giving us space, thank you for understanding how hard this is for us, even when sometimes we don't even understand how hard it is for us!

I am grateful to the Lord for his grace and mercy and for all that He has taught me, all that He has provided, and all that He still has in store for us! I can honestly say, that I wake up each day and thank Him for it all! The good and the seemingly bad. I have learned, that the bad, or what I think is bad, He really really honest to goodness does use for Good! He promises that He will and HE DOES!!!!! For what is meant for evil will be meant for Good! I clung to that in Haiti and I continue to cling to that promise now, for I have seen that God does keep His promises! I see it each and every day in my life and the lives of my two amazing precious Haitian Angels!!!!!!!

Home sweet Home?????????

Is home Haiti or Michigan or Los Angeles????? Well, yesterday was home at a Haitian restaurant in downtown LA eating Haitian rice and beans!!! Jaryse had been asking and asking for rice and beans, so yesterday we went to TiGeorges' Chicken downtown LA for some rice and beans!!!!!!!

Jaryse was all smiles and super happy to be eating this dish! We had a wonderful conversation with the Haitian man that runs the place and I got to practice speaking Haitian Kreyol! It was so fun!!!! I was thrilled that I hadn't lost my ability to speak Kreyol and George was boggled by the fact that I could speak Kreyol!!!! LOL!!!!! It was a fun time had by all.....well.....until Ecrissa choked on her chicken and vomited her whole lunch up! GROSS!!! There is always a silver lining....She made it to the bathroom and the toilet!!! Whew!!!!!

Thank goodness for a little piece of Haiti here in Los Angeles!!!!!

House Ear Family Fun Camp!

This weekend was SUCH A BLESSING for the Sessions' family!!!! We were able to attend the Family Fun Camp put on by House Ear Institute because of a generous scholarship that they awarded us. This camp is for families who have a member who is deaf or hard of hearing! It was such a wonderful experience for us. This was the first event of this sort that we have ever attended and I am so glad we did. We arrived on Friday evening and left Sunday afternoon after wonderful workshops for mommy, camp activities for the kids, meeting of new people and wonderful opportunities found!

It was so relaxing to allow my children to enjoy their weekend in such a safe environment and watching Ecrissa in this place was soul lifting. I did not have to translate for her, I did not have to explain her behaviors, I did not have to watch her every move for safety reasons and she was able to communicate with just about everyone! It was awesome! I learned a ton in the workshops and from talking with other parents, not to mention how wonderful it was to have adult conversations while the kids were playing with the camp counselors!

The kids made new friends, learned about the wildlife, played sports, played in an ambulance, got prizes, did arts and crafts and just had a wonderful time with wonderful camp counselors who used sign language and spoken language.

This camp was such an encouragement to me. I had a rough week last week (as you could tell from the lack of a blog update). I was emotional, felt out of place here in the states and wondered when I could go back to Haiti, worried and worried and worried about finances, fretted about my decisions regarding Ecrissa's education, couldn't sleep as my brain worked and worked and worked all night long on all of the stresses in my life.

This last weekend did not solve my problems, but it gave me a break. I was surrounded by families who truly understand my role as a parent to these two children. I have not had the opportunity to spend time with families and children who live in the world of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was such a wonderful release of tension to be able to express myself with these families who TRULY know how I'm feeling and what I am going through, feeling and worrying about. I was able to really think through and talk through my thoughts and feelings with people who have experience with this and who actually listened---All while my kids were safely playing with other kids and counselors who wanted to play with them!!!!!!! What a treat!

Life hasn't lost all of it's stresses by spending 2 nights in the middle of nowhere in a cabin, but I feel rejuvenated to face it all one day, one step, one minute at a time!

Thank you Father for providing this to me and my children!