God's Working in Anne's Life

I want to start by thanking you for all the support and encouragement you continue to give to our family.  We can feel the prayers and know that God is working! 

As many of you know, Wednesday was our day to have a visit with Anne.  That was a big day for her as she got her braces removed.

We expected that we would have her for the appointment and then need to rush back to get her to school.  However, because she is so far ahead in school, that is not a concern right now.  So we were pleasantly surprised that we got to spend ALL day with her, we just had to get her back in time for church that evening.  Adia and Jonathan had not yet been able to see Anne since she left, so after the appointment and a quick lunch, we headed to school to pick them up.  They were pretty excited to get out of school early! :)  While we were there picking them up it was during lunch time, so Anne was able to see her best friend real quick!  We had a fun, but busy afternoon, going shopping and getting things rounded up for Anne.  We even needed to make a special trip to the grocery store as Anne wanted to cook supper for us and try out a new recipe.  It was pretty good!  The kids were able to wrestle and play with each other....the laughter was so much fun to hear!  We also were able to surprise Anne with a visit from Hawa.  It was so fun being able to watch them interact again!

How is Anne doing?  We saw some really positive changes and heard encouraging things from Anne as we would listen to her talk.  She knows that she has made some poor choices and that she needs to take responsibility for those.  She wants to come home, but is thankful that it was recommended that she go to this home because she is seeing how much she needs the help.  Because she is meeting with a therapist, in order for insurance to cover these meetings, she "needed" to be diagnosed.  Her therapist has diagnosed Anne with generalized anxiety.  She is loving Celebrate Recovery!  She is overall much more happy and has a sense of peace about her! She is listening to Christian music a lot and she had quite a list of songs that she wanted to download to her MP3 player.  She is having a lot more "breaks" in between the times of self harm.  Today is a monumental day for her---the longest she has gone since she relapsed! :) 

Last weekend was a pretty strong test for Anne as there was some conflict with one of the girls in the home (who ended up being dismissed).  This conflict was NOT with Anne, but Anne and the other girls were witness to it.  It was pretty scary for them!  Anne was stressed and scared, and started to go to her instinct of self harm, but she STOPPED!!  She instead played music and allowed God to help her!  What a huge step and praise!  This not only encourages us to continue to pray for Anne, but also the other girls that are hurting and living there.  You never know when your prayers will protect them and the host parents as well!  It has been a long week for them there and we pray that next week will be much better for them!

Anne continues to love sign language and has learned enough now to start teasing me.  She knows what she is saying and knows that I don't! :)  They have recently started an art program, so she is enjoying getting to do that.  She is also enjoying learning how to play guitar.

Recently, the home had a special event, in which the girls were able to model some new clothes.  They had someone come in and do their hair and get them all pretty.  I'm sure that helped the girls feel special on that day!

This is the outfit Anne was able to model.  She really enjoyed this outfit. :)

Anne had in the past struggled with where she fit in with the other girls.  Watching her interact with them on Wednesday when I brought her back, I think she is finally starting to find her place. One girl even made comment that she liked Anne, because she was a good friend and is there for her when she needs her.  Anne has been told that she is like a breath of fresh air as she is kind and thoughtful of others and that she has integrity.  The staff are also seeing Anne demonstrate leadership for the other girls in the home.  We pray that as Anne continues to heal, which is the most important thing, that God will be able to use her to minister to these girls.  I haven't spent much time with the girls there, but when I have, God has already started a spark of love towards these girls and I pray that I can be an encouragement to them whenever I am able to see them.

Thank you for praying for our special day with Anne!  Adia made comment that while she was here that our family finally felt complete again.  Jonathan thought Anne was home to stay.  The kids are academically seeming to do fine, but emotionally, their school teachers can tell that they are struggling.  Please continue to pray and that we will know as parents how to help Adia and Jonathan heal as we all try to heal together.  There is definitely an emptiness in our home without her here.  I think it has become a stronger feeling of emptiness now that Hawa has left.  

It has been recommended to us that we should check out the step studies that Celebrate Recovery offers, so we have been busy trying to get some research done on that.  Skeeter has switched to third shift, so doing things in the evenings has become somewhat of a challenge for us.

Thank you to all of you who have written Anne!  She was pretty excited about showing us the stack of mail that she had received.  She is pretty busy, so her communicating back with you might not happen very often, but she does appreciate your taking the time to encourage her!  Please continue to pray for Anne as she continues to make changes in her life.  We pray that as she re-programs her thinking that it will become a permanent way of thinking for her.  We pray that she will continue to sense the Lord's strength and peace in her life! 

Reunion with Anne and Update on Hawa

This past month has been the longest year of our lives (yes, I  meant to write that :) )!  Yesterday, was finally our special day to be reunited with our precious Anne!  Our meeting was at 9:30 a.m., and we happened to get there a little bit early.  Anne was with a few of her fellow students and the teacher out in the hallway.  To see the expression on her face and reaction when we came through the door was priceless...a memory that will forever be ingrained in my heart!  Since she was with her teacher, she wasn't sure if she could come see us or not.  Once her teacher told her she could go, there were lots of tears and hugs as we got to hold each other!  I think she also enjoyed the surprise of chocolates, flowers and a valentine balloon.  Jaydon was so excited to see his big sister before he left to go to his babysitter.  Anne went back to her class for a bit while we met with some of the staff members.  The staff encouraged us so much in that they have all fallen in love with Anne and are so encouraged by her honesty in her struggles and hard work in school, etc.  Following that time, Anne and the host parents joined us for what was an encouraging meeting where we all worked on putting together goals to help support Anne in her healing as well as ours.  Following the meeting, we were blessed with a HUGE surprise!  We could take Anne out to lunch, go shopping or do whatever we wanted with her for a few hours.  We were so excited to be able to spend some time alone with her....much less be able to take her off campus.  Anne enjoyed her freedom from campus for a bit as well! :)  Anne is doing as well as can be expected and is starting to form bonds with the people that are there.  As with all addictions, it will take time to find freedom from the struggles.  While she is healing, she is being taught skills that will help her for the rest of her life (ie. how to handle and resolve conflict, financial management, etc).  She is taking basketball, music and sign language as some of her electives.  She is really enjoying the sign language and tried to teach me some new words. :)

This is one of the swings on campus that we sat on for a bit before we finally had to say good bye to Anne.

The building right behind where we are is the main campus building.  This is where the offices are as well as where all the girls have their classes.  All the girls have a desk and are all in the same room.  They have a teacher that is there to help them should there be any questions with their work.  Every 2 weeks, if they get their work done, they get out of school early that Friday.  Anne is doing very well with her school work and is already 1 month ahead!

Anne wanted to take this selfie.  You can't really tell it in this picture, but we each wore our part of the matching heart pieces for our necklaces! :)

Now that the 30 days are over, our contact with Anne will increase, for which we are so very thankful!  We will be allowed visits with her about every 2 weeks, and can have phone calls with her every week, starting next week.

Last week, I had talked with Anne's therapist on the phone and she said that there would be some papers for me to sign so that she could start meeting with Anne.  However, when we got there, the papers were not there.  I was curious as to how that would affect Anne being able to start her counseling.  However, by the time we were all finished up with what we were doing, the papers arrived and we were able to get those signed.  She should start seeing the therapist tomorrow.

We get to see Anne again on the 24th.  That is the big day for her and being able to get her braces off.  They said that following the appointment that we could keep Anne for a few hours to spend some time with her instead of rushing her back to school!  YAY!  We already have a shopping trip planned and we are hoping to get Adia and Jonathan out of school early so that they can finally get a chance to see Anne.  Adia is really missing her and is so ready to see her again!  I think she is looking forward to talking with Anne a bit on the phone next week. :)

An update on Hawa....we have received her moving date.  Hawa will be moving this Saturday afternoon to her new host family.  In the previous post, I mentioned that Hawa had requested to be moved to another family.  This information came from the agency.  This past week, as Hawa opened up about how she felt about moving, she shared that she does not feel the same way as the agency says she does.  Hawa feels that she was not asked nor given a choice in the matter.  I'm wondering if there was a miscommunication somewhere between the agency and Hawa.  No matter how Hawa feels, due to the policies, she would still be moved.  Hawa knows who the host family is and thinks that they are nice people.  They are an amazing family!  So Saturday will be a busy day for all of us as we transition to Hawa moving and our family getting adjusted to yet another new.  We pray for Hawa as she adjusts as well as the new host family as they adjust to having a teenager in the home again.

Thank you to all of you who continue to call, text or email to check on us and show your support!  We appreciate you and all the prayers you are sending on behalf of our family!

More Changes and an Update on Anne

We can finally say that NEXT week, we can see Anne!  Although, I have been thankful for the pictures the home posts from time to time, I am so very excited to be able to actually see her!

Next Wednesday morning, we will be having a meeting with Anne, her host parents and a staff member to go over some goals.  We will go over goals for Anne as well as goals for us to be working on here at home as well.  The meeting will be about an hour long and I'm not expecting that we will be able to have much time with Anne alone as it will be during school hours.  If, however, we do get some alone time with her, then that will be a pleasant surprise!

Her original date to get her braces off, was February 1.  This did not fall into the window of being past the first 30 days.  Because I wanted to be a part of this milestone, although it took some effort, we were able to get the orthodontist appointment changed to after that window.  I will get to finally have some time with her alone, while we travel to and from her appointment, which will be here in Hutchinson, on February 24.  I am hoping to get a feel for how she is really doing and adjusting to her life in the girls home.

Since Anne has left, she has written us once.  She at that time, seemed to be adjusting as well as could be expected.  This week, I talked with one of the staff members, and she told me that Anne has really been struggling emotionally lately.  We are praying that Jesus will hold her and that she will desire to hear Him and want His help in her healing.  Next Friday, she will begin meeting with a therapist to start learning about strategies to cope instead of cutting.  They will also try to start determining what the triggers might be so that she can start learning the signs of when she might be tempted to harm herself.  We pray that God will continue to work and heal!

Hawa definitely took Anne's leaving in a hard way.  Because she misses Anne so much, she has requested to be moved to another host family.  So within the next week or so, Hawa will be moving to another host family.  Although we will miss her, the family who is willing to host her, will be attending our church so we will still be able to see her from time to time.  Please be praying for her as she adjusts to her new host family.  Also, please be in prayer for us as we will have "lost" two daughters in a short amount of time.  Of the kids, Adia is taking this move the hardest.  Since Anne left, she moved in with Hawa and has been sharing a room with her.  Adia will really miss her big "sister" and will have a lot of adjustments to make once Hawa leaves.

Thanks for continuing to uphold our family in prayer!