not much of a post.....

Things have been pretty busy around here. The end of the school year is coming up and I think we are sorta in the middle of another transition phase and so we've all been pretty cranky! The kids are having tough days at school and I'm having a tough time knowing how to support them. I think being a parent is tough. I remind myself daily that God gave me these two kids because we were meant to be a family. None of us are perfect, but we are all 3 perfect for each other. I need to remind myself that God knew this bump in the road would be there. I am turning to Him, begging him to show me how to be the best momma I can be to these two amazing children. I often feel that they are short changed. But, again, I remind myself, God doesn't make mistakes.

Please don't get me wrong, we are OK. It's just a small valley that we are going through, another phase of life, and each transition is just another step that we take as we mature and grow.

I am thankful for all that we have.

Ecrissa is doing AWESOME with her hearing! She has started pointing out sounds to me! It is so fun to see the things that she is hearing.

Jaryse started reading! He has been reading one of the bedtime stories and he loves it! It's so amazing to see him doing this!

Please keep us in your prayers as we make it through these last few weeks of school!

Hangin' out!

I don't have really anything to say since we've done NOTHING this whole weekend! Jaryse has an ear infection and was having a really hard time Friday and Saturday so we have just stayed in the house (for the most part, except for the quick run to the grocery store----gotta feed the munchkins!). I don't feel guilty for "wasting" 2 whole days. Nope. I. Don't. The three of us have lounged around the house, messed it up, watched movies, tickled each other, taken naps, eaten junk, and all and all just been a family. This is priceless to me.

Sometimes I feel like I should do more. I should have a cleaner house, I should work out more, I should read more to the kids, I should do more speech therapy with Ecrissa, we should ride bikes more, we should...we should...we should. But the truth is there are really only so many hours in a day. And it's weekends like this one that remind me that the only real thing we SHOULD do, is be a family that loves each other with the love that the Lord put in us when He made us a family. I'm grateful for this time that He's given me these past two days to hang out in our home and be together!

I think we are all well rested for this upcoming week! Jaryse has his first field trip tomorrow and he is quite excited about it. I think he'll be fine to go to school and enjoy the field trip. Ecrissa has been fine and she is learning more and more about sounds. She has actually started pointing out sounds to me when she hears them! So cute!

more soon!

Video of the class signing Happy Birthday to Ecrissa!

Whew! I finally got that to work! I was having issues getting this very short video on the blog! But, I did it! I would apologize for the video not having any sound, but it doesn't matter, because there was not really any sound in the room anyway! Everyone was signing Happy Birthday and it's so cute! I will apologize for only getting the last part of the song, as they started so quick and I wasn't quite ready with my camera, but it's cute anyway! Enjoy!

Princess Ecrissa is 7 years old!!!!!

Ecrissa woke up this morning like no other morning in the past few months!!! She woke up with a huge smile on her face and knew with no uncertainty that today was her day!!!! I always decorate the kitchen table after the kids go to bed for special days, so she knew that the table would be something special.  This is what she found! 

A table full of presents for her!!!  She smiled and put both hands on her heart!  After school she opened all of the presents!

And at school we had a small party for her at the end of the day.  It was so cute!  All of the kids are so close and they take such good care of each other!  I had such a fun time being in the classroom and watching her communicate so fluidly with her classmates!  She was so happy to be the center of attention and the other kids were glad to give her the attention.  Such a wonderful thing to see!

We ended our day with a family dinner at Chuck E Cheese's and the kids had a BLAST!!!!  They are both in their beds trying to calm down after an intense day of Happy Birthday Ecrissa!!!!!

It's a rare Thursday.....

When I have the energy to blog.   There is something about Thursdays that are hard for me.  Nothing to do with what is scheduled for the day, it's just the day!  I think that it's not quite Friday (so I don't have that pre-weekend adrenaline--mainly my weekly goal of PJ Saturdays!) and I'm already exhausted from all that is shoved into Sunday - Wednesday.  I've always had a hard time with Thursdays, as far back as I remember, through high school, college, grad school, doctoral program, Haiti years, and even now that I'm back in the States.  Thursdays should be banned!  However, God strengthened me today!  I don't know why, but today was a great day, I had tons of energy, the kids were great, I got a ton done and now I even have the energy to blog!  Hopefully I don't crash tomorrow!!!

Anyway, this has been a great week for us.  Monday and Tuesday were my later nights working and the kids stay with babysitters.  They had a blast with both of my friends that they stayed with for the couple of hours after school until I got home.  As a mommy, it's so reassuring to come home to 2 happy kids.  I already beat myself up for leaving them with a babysitter (all of 5-6 hours a week).  I have this image that I am supposed to do EVERYTHING and be their EVERYTHING.  But, I can tell you, that I feel so relieved when I come home and they are happy and I can tell that those couple of hours were good for them!  That is good for me!

Earlier this week, our caterpillar turned cocoon hatched! The kids were very excited to let the butterfly go. I'm not 100% sure what happened (as I am not a caterpillar/butterfly expert) but the poor thing never flew away. It moved, but didn't fly. Hmmmm...... guess we didn't do so good! Oh well, the kids had fun and they learned alot!

Tonight, Jaryse lost his first tooth and Ecrissa was my fairy running around the house all evening in her dress up clothes!  What a great life God has blessed me with.  I struggle weekly to have enough money to pay for the things we need, but God provides.  What we lack in funds is more than compensated in the love and joy that we have in this house.  I wouldn't change a thing!

Love having a good week!

A couple of weeks ago, Ecrissa had a really rough time.  The new hearing, the new input, the sounds, the demands on her had just pushed her to her limit.  I felt so bad for her, but during her 45 minute tantrums, I still got a headache! 

The past two weeks have been really good.  She is handling things better and has made some wonderful progress over the past couple of weeks.  She is now 11 weeks after hearing her first sounds, that is just about 3 months.  It is expected that she will respond and develop in her hearing and language at the same rate as an infant would do so.  So, she is expected to be functioning like a 3 month old baby in terms of her listening, hearing and language skills.  She is doing that.  She seems to be developing nicely.  I am so thrilled.  I know that we have a long road ahead of us, but each step of the way she continues to amaze me.

Jaryse continues to crack me up!  He is always doing something to keep me laughing!  He has his first loose tooth and is so excited for it to fall out!  School is up and down for him.  Most days are pretty good, but some days are tough for him.  There are days he comes home and sleeps for over 2 hours.  He is learning so much.  He is beginning to read and he is writing all of his letters.  I am just so thrilled for him.  He is super excited for summer vacation though!!!!!

As for Momma.....doing well.  I had a couple of kid free hours today as my friend took the kids shopping and out for lunch.  It was awesome!  The kids had fun and I enjoyed a few minutes to clean up the house, eat some lunch and watch a bit of TV.   As I was sitting in the quiet house, I missed my babies.  I am so thankful that I get to be a part of the lives of these two kids.  I am so glad that they weren't gone any longer than they were!  They energize me and I can't imagine my life without them!  Right now, they are both sleeping and I'm catching up on a few things.  I like the house being quiet AND having the kids here with me!