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!

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!!!! :)