The girls met their aunties today, and received two cuddly teddy bears which they didn't let go of for hours.

We tested my daughter's hearing today.  Now we finally have a clear picture of what we're dealing with.  She has profound hearing loss in both ears.  But there is a corner of hearing that will benefit greatly from hearing aides.  The audiologist was excited because she said that there was enough hearing for her to have speech therapy.  She will also be able to hear background noise.  My daughter is thrilled about getting hearing aides.  The good news is the kind that she needs to provide for the various frequencies that she hears is not the most expensive.  The not so good news is that each hearing aide costs $1,600, and she needs two of them.  Our insurance said that they won't pay for it and our state doesn't have any help either.  I would rather not postpone getting the hearing aides as they will be crucial in her learning English and American Sign Language.  Just getting back from China though, and needing to spend quite a bit more than planned or budgeted, I don't see how we can get them  right away.  It's another one of those money frustrations that life presents...     I would like to resolve this one soon for her sake.