Summer Fun!!!

So far the past couple of weeks have been pretty low key. I mean, as low key as a home can get as you are settling in from a move across the country after moving from a third world country!! LOL!!! Summer school has been wonderful for Ecrissa. I know she's learning alot, she has a few friends (and they are all deaf and use Sign Langauge!) and she likes her teacher! I am thrilled and all of us are learning more and more sign every day! It's wonderful! We are still going through the evaluation process to determine if she's a medical candidate for the cochlear implant. I know I am always saying this, but some things just take time! We had to do a three month hearing aid trial, which is up August 7th and she then will complete a full 2 hour audiological evaluation at UCLA. Then there are a couple of other tests that have to be done and from there a team of professionals will determine if they think she's a candidate! I know that no matter what happens, God is in control and everything will work out perfectly for Ecrissa. I know that, because God loves her more than I can imagine!

The kids continue to grow like weeds, they are learning a ton, they are experiencing all sorts of things and we are just having a ball as a family. I am not going to lie to you.......I'm exhausted, but it's all worth it!!! I love watching them, I love holding them ,I love seeing them soak it all in! I don't know how they have all the energy that they do, but I love it!!! I end each day falling into bed fully exhausted and I often wake up just as exhausted, but each day is filled with something that is an encouragement. There are many many things that are hard, many things stress me, and a ton of things keep me moving and do NOT allow total relaxation, but I know that God is giving me strength to make each day the best it can be for my little angels.

I am amazed at this. I was reading some of my old blog posts the other day and broke down SOBBING. Those feelings of fear, frustration, anger, loneliness, uncertainty, and basically giving up on ever leaving Haiti with my two children came flooding back with such a familiar intensity. It seemed like I was still in it. I remember it so clearly. I remember the feelings of despair all mixed in with love for the country of Haiti and love for my children. I had so many emotions in me that I was a mess. Yet, at the same time, it seemed like those days were so long ago, yet also like it was only yesterday. I am glad we made it through that, I am glad I wrote about it. I never want to forget what God has done for us.

Grandpa and Grandma (my mom and step dad)Holton send us packages on a consistent basis (as does my grandma). We are so thankful for them and really look forward to them! Jaryse will check by the mailbox on a daily basis to see if "the package came", even if one is not supposed to be there! He also told me a while ago that the mail man brings the packages that grandma's send! I guess he thinks that is the only thing that comes in the mail! In the most recent package, there was a gift for Jaryse that was a pretend razor, pretend shaving cream, a brush, mirror and comb. Jaryse told me this morning that he needed to take a bath, cause "he needed to shave" . Gotta love it!

Another "first" at the San Diego Zoo!!!!

This weekend was such a blessing!!!! I had the opportunity to take the kids to the San Diego Zoo with a very special friend of mine! Rachel and I have been friends for quite a few years and she went with me to Haiti the trip before I moved there. The last time she saw the kids, Jaryse was 15 months and Ecrissa was 2.5 years old. Well, needless to say, she was happy to see them on U.S. soil!!!

The first thing we did of course was check out the map and Jaryse was quick to help Rachel figure out where we were going. This was after we could get Ecrissa away from the Giraffe statue. She was so intrigued by the statue and the pictures and everything that she was seeing, it was hard to pull her away to go see the actual real and living animals!!! Once she did finally figure out that we were going to see live animals, she was so excited!!!

The kids had so much fun and they were so intrigued by everything and it brought tears to our eyes watching how they just took everything in with such interest and excitement!

I remembered to bring the sign language dictionary so I was able to look up some of the animal signs that I didn't know! That was fun too! We did all of the signs that we could with both kids and they loved it! A great learning experience for all of us!

The kids were such troopers and so well behaved! We spent about 6 hours at the zoo and the kids were AWESOME the whole time (with just a few minutes of melt down right before lunch, but food solved the problem!). They loved all the animals and they enjoyed a puppet show and they got to feed the Giraffes! They had SO. MUCH. FUN.

I don't think I could be happier than I am right now! I LOVE LOVE LOVE sharing all of these experiences with these amazing children. What a great weekend! Big loves and Thanks to Rachel and her husband Daryl for taking us in and spoiling us this weekend!

Home for 4 months!

This post is a couple of days late, but it's been a bit crazy around the Sessions home! Sunday, July 12 was our 4 month anniversary of leaving Haiti. We left March 12th and spent a month in Michigan and came to Cali on April 14th. On Sunday, we celebrated God's promises and the children were publicly dedicated to him. What an amazing thing! I am so grateful that God has entrusted me with these two little lives but even more grateful that He promises to raise them with me, if I give them to Him!!!! I did, I do, and I will!!!!!! I have faith that because of His love and guidance, these two children will grow and develop into the amazing people that He purposed them to be!

In other news, Ecrissa has grown so much that after only 2 months of wearing hearing aides, she is due for new molds. So, we had an appt. with our audiologist yesterday and new impressions of her ears were made and we should have new molds in about 2 weeks. We have more visits scheduled to keep moving forward towards the cochlear implant. We have not yet been 100% cleared, accepted and given the go-ahead to schedule that surgery yet. Please keep praying for this!!!!

Ecrissa is also LOVING school! She is learning and I am thrilled for her! She is a happy girl and definetly growing up way to quickly for her momma!!!!

Fun!

Just a couple of cute pics and a funny story!

So, many of you who know my son, know that Jaryse likes to "give away Momma's Suga" (aka Sugar). For those of you who don't know, Jaryse thinks it's HILARIOUS to kiss someone else, while momma says "NO NO NO NO THAT'S MY SUGA, DON'T GIVE AWAY MY SUGA, GIVE IT TO ME!" So this is a crazy funny game that started when he was probably only about 17 months old and continues today! Well, his favorite person right now to give "Momma's suga" to is my friend Amanda!

She also thinks it's funny, as you can see by the look on her face.......

But then, well, Jaryse gets a bit out of hand..........

and yep, the husband of Amanda (aka John) has to step in and sit on the Suga Giver!!!!! Don't worry, John isn't hurting Jaryse! He was careful not to squish all of "momma's sugar" out of my little man!!! :)

I am so blessed with beautiful children and wonderful friends! Thank you Jesus!

One of those days.....

Well, I guess everyday can't be wonderful! The kids are wonderful, Ecrissa is doing well in school and Jaryse is FULL of hugs and loves and kisses and awesomely nice words for me, but the world is taking it's toll on me today!!!

Dealing with life, bills, and making ends meet is making me nervous! I know God has it all worked out and I am so thankful for all of His provisions. Basically, I'm just sad today dealing with all of the stress that comes with being a mommy that wants the world for her precious babies.

My step-mom sent me the following "story" via e-mail. I liked it and I thought it might bless some of you as it has me, so I decided to share.

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky... He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?' Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers.'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story: ?? ? ?

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

My prayer today is that no matter what happens, God sees yours (and my) smoke signals tonight and rescues us! I pray this in full confidence, knowing that HE loves US and will come through for us!!!!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a wonderful day and I trust that you all did as well! God has blessed us with so much that I don't even know what to say! Every time I looked at my kids yesterday, I was in complete awe of where we've been and in complete wonder and anticipation of where God is taking us! We had an all American day with some rest and relaxation.....

Pictures.......

hanging with friends.........

eating hot dogs, chips, rice krispie treats.......

and swimming.

We finished off our night with some beautiful fireworks over the LA sky! What more could our family ask for!!!????

Thank you friends, family, and Jesus for all that we have!

Looking forward to the weekend!

I know, it's only Wed., but it is Wed. night!!! That means I'm on the downhill slope to the weekend right???!!!!! I am excited about this weekend because it will be the first 4th of July with my new little Americans!!! I am so excited to spend this holiday with them!!!!!

We have had a good week so far. The kids are doing well and are enjoying gymnastics camp again this week! I am keeping them busy so we can all sleep at night!! :) They got to go Kayaking again today. This is Jaryse's favorite day of the camp. HE LOVES the boat!!! I am so happy that he gets this opportunity! Ecrissa seems to like it too, but she likes the gym and ballet class more, she is definitely the girlie girl who likes to spin and watch her dress (and ballet outfit) fly!!!!

The above picture is of Jaryse as he got out of his boat. I know it's hard to see, but I had to take them from so far away. He's the little speck in the middle of the picture, standing with the yellow life jacket on!!!!

The picture below is of Ecrissa just before she docked. She's the little one in the boat!! :)

So I have a Jaryse "funny" and an Ecrissa "cute" from this past week! First, Ecrissa. On Sunday we went to her ballet class, I was proud of myself for getting all three of us out of the house by 7:45 am with her in her ballet outfit, church outfit in the car and the stuff for the beach (as we had my baptism at the beach on Sunday) as well as my beach stuff and Jaryse's beach stuff all in the car! Whew! Score! Super Mom!!!! WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As soon as we pull in, I realize that I forgot Ecrissa's ballet slippers. AAAAHHHHH, darn! Well, I think to myself, maybe she'll forget that she needs them or that she has them (this is only her 3rd class and only the 2nd with the slippers). Maybe I'll get a pass this week. WRONG AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ecrissa quickly remembered when we got to the studio and saw the other kids. Darn again! She looked at me and pointed to her feet, looked at me with a look as if to say "um, mom, the shoes". I signed to her, "I forgot". Her face dropped into a horribly disappointed look. Then, her face changed to "well, maybe I'll give her a second chance" and she again pointed to her feet (where her slippers obviously should be) and looked to me again. I smiled meekly and signed "I forgot, at home". She shook her head in utter disappointment, sighed and walked away shaking her head as if to say "my mother, sheesh!!!" LOL! It was so cute. Her body language was hysterical. Like to say, "come on mom, you can do better than that! Where are the slippers that should be on my feet!!" Maybe I'll do better next week!

Now Jaryse. Last week one night (they all run together for me!) he was exhausted! He had had a long day, no nap, and we were running late getting to bed! He was done. But, you know when you get that tired, you can't do anything. You want everything, but want nothing, need help, but want to do it alone, and you know, basically just can't deal anymore! So, I decided, time for bed (good mom decision huh! ). So, I asked Jaryse to go in and brush his teeth and he didn't want to. So, I helped him to the bathroom, and put the toothpaste on his brush, all the while he's crying, saying he's not tired and doesn't want to go to bed. So, I handed him his toothbrush and he quite seriously looked at me and YELLED " WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE A GOOD MOMMA????? I DON'T WANT A GOOD MOMMA!!!!" I couldn't help to laugh, but I am glad even when he's mad and sad, he thinks I'm a good momma!!!!!! In the end, he brushed his teeth and fell asleep in my arms within minutes of laying him in bed! God is good!