Cheri Kay in Haiti....where my life became meaningful.

Yes, my little community workers went Trick-or-Treating!!!! In Haiti, we didn't celebrate Halloween or really even mention it. Since there is so much Voodou in that country, Halloween is not a holiday that I paid any attention too. Here in the States though, Halloween didn't feel evil to me. Not like I would feel during "all saints and all soul's day" in Haiti. So, the kids and I had a blast tonight! We went to my friends house and had dinner and then we did some trick or treating around their neighborhood. This was not only a first for the kids, but a first for me! I had never TAKEN kids trick or treating! I remember being a kid trick or treating, but I've never been on the "mommy" side of it! It was so fun! The smiles on their faces were AWESOME! I did notice a couple of things though. 1. When I went trick or treating in Michigan, we were FREEEEEEEZing and it seemed like it ALWAYS rained! Tonight here in LA was a perfect temperature...

This morning, Jaryse and Ecrissa carved pumpkins for the first time. Ecrissa wasn't sure she liked touching that slimy inside stuff, but Jaryse had a blast! The pumpkin is wearing one of Mr. Potato Head's hats!!!! Good thing Mr. Potato Head doesn't mind sharing! We've had a restful couple of days. We skipped out on extra stuff this weekend and mostly just stayed home. We ran one errand that took less than an hour and took a short trip to the park. Other than that, we stayed at home. We've played dress up, painted, watched movies, colored, read books, carved pumpkins, and basically just laid around and did not a whole lot! It's been nice! I think we'll all be rested to tackle the week ahead of us!

This past week has been a week of reflection for me. After finally making it home from Haiti with my two amazing children, getting the kids enrolled in school, finding work, dealing with and finally coming to the end of the bulk of the doctors visits, and trying to make a schedule for the three of us that is looking at least similar from one week to the next.....sorta.....I have finally had a chance to think and reflect. What have I discovered? I'm not sure!!! I am still discovering feelings that I have had and haven't had the brain capacity to realize that I've had through all of this! It was 9 months ago today that we finally got the last signature that we needed and had been waiting for over 17 months to receive! At that point, without even processing my previous feelings of despair and depression, I was onto the highest level of elation possible to mankind!!! Then, we made it home and have had so much on our plate that I haven't even thought of me and my adjustmen...

We are in the middle of a week full of amazing milestones for the Sessions family! Today is 7 months being home from Haiti, Wednesday is 6 months after moving to Los Angeles, 5 years ago yesterday I met my beautiful little girl, 5 years ago on Saturday I had met my little man! I am so blessed and I cherish each day that I have with my amazing children and I give all glory to the Lord above for his promises!!!!

We have had a week!!! It's been full of laughing, crying, cleaning, learning, growing, changing, loving and even a little bit of sleeping!!!!! Monday was a hard day. I woke up feeling crappy and I think that my mood rubbed off on my son because he had a pretty hard day at Kindergarten! When I asked him what happened and why he said to me "Momma, I just hit my limit with school today!" Poor thing!!!!! I couldn't help but laugh inside at how stinkin ' cute this kid is!!!!!! Ecrissa has been moved out of the Kindergarten/ Pre -Kindergarten class and into the 1st grade classroom! I have had mixed feelings about it, but in the end I think the new challenge is going to be great for her, plus this class only has 5 students in it, so the extra individual attention will be great!!! We have her IEP Meeting for school next week, so I am sure we'll make some nice forward progress with school and the services that she recieves at school next week! I'm exc...

.....I am the world's worst blogger! I have two very amazing superstars that keep me one busy Momma!!!! Things have been pretty good! This week, the kids finished their third week of school. Both kids are doing really really well. They are learning a lot and I can see it every day! Each day they both come home telling me things they've learned or signs that they've learned or something! It's amazing to me! I don't remember making this much progress each and every day!!!! Both kids are very good about doing their homework each night and have been really good about the nighttime routine and getting ready in the morning! I am so blessed with 2 amazing children! Wednesday was Jaryse's 5 th birthday! First, I can't believe that he's 5 years old! Second, I can't believe we are finally celebrating his birthday in the states!!! WOW!!! So, we had a small celebration in his class with cupcakes, a crown and the singing of "Happy Birthday...

One half of a year ago today these three people were loading a plane to leave Port au Prince Haiti for the first time as a family. They had been a family for over 4.5 years with a bond of love and a determination to make the best of every minute. Jaryse and Ecrissa became US citizens and this was the beginning of some amazing new opportunities! Jaryse is a new Kindergartner with UNLIMITED opportunities in front of him! He loved his first three days at school and I can already see how much he has learned and will be learning! He has also been given the opportunity to start gymnastics (through a wonderful donation by the gym) and HE LOVES IT! His coach told me last week that he is very talented and has good strength. His face lights up when it's his day and time for gymnastics class. Ecrissa has had so many tests and there are still so many unanswered questions, but she is truly an AMAZING little girl. She has blossomed here in the States growing over 4 inches in th...