Easter Weekend with Anne

"Is it too late to turn around and go back home"?  "Can't you just call and tell them you're going to keep me another night?"  "I don't want to go back."  Phrases like this were what I listened to as I drove Anne back to the home on Sunday evening.  This mommy's heart was breaking to have to listen to this and know that this was something that I needed to do even if it wasn't "feeling" like the right thing at the time.

Now let's go back to the beginning of the weekend.....

We were able to go see Anne and the other girls perform at their spring concert last Thursday afternoon.  The girls did a really good job! 

After the concert, we were able to enjoy some refreshments and talk with some of the other girls and staff there before we took Anne to the house so she could pack up some things to come home for Easter weekend!  I noticed even before we had left that Anne seemed a bit more discouraged than how we had seen her in the past.  It wasn't long before we found out some of the reasons why.  Without going into detail, please be in prayer for her and her roommate Lexi.  Lexi is a pretty manipulative girl, and appears to keep trying to get Anne into trouble.  She has lied about Anne and accused her of things that are not true.  She has also treated Anne in an unpleasant manner.  After hearing about what had been happening, this momma's bear claws came out and I called to talk with a staff member to see if they were aware as to what had been happening.  They were not aware of all that had been happening and planned to talk with Anne when they had an opportunity.  Anne was in tears over the weekend and was pretty nervous about going back so I am praying that the staff will have the wisdom to know how to best handle this situation and that Anne will continue to remain strong in her desire to not self harm.

While here, we were able to have a lot of fun with Anne, especially Thursday and Friday.  Anne was able to spend time with a few of her friends by talking, playing games, watching some movies and just being silly.  Our attempt at a group selfie picture, didn't turn out so well. :)  You can hardly see Jaydon.

By Saturday, Anne was starting to show that she was struggling more emotionally.  However, it was neat to watch her put into practice her coping strategies that she had been learning and I praised her heavily for that!  We had some amazing talks on Saturday!

On Sunday morning, she was doing pretty well, but by the afternoon, she was starting to shut down.  I'm sure the stress of knowing that she was going to have to go back was kicking in.  However, we were able to have some fun while she taught me how to play a couple of new games.  One of which I won, the other, I lost miserably!

Adia and Jonathan enjoyed finally being able to build a snowman!  Who would've thought that they'd be able to do that on Easter??  The snow was a neat reminder as to how Jesus can make us as white as snow!

Now that the "high and joyful" feelings are starting to pass for Anne, she is having to so to speak come back to reality.  The reality is that life is hard and that you can never get completely away from stress. Its all in how you deal with the stress the Lord allows to come into your life.  Now is a crucial time for her as she will need to continue to practice what she has been learning in how to cope and handle her stress.  Now is when the going gets tough!  Now is when she really needs the prayers to continue! We pray that she will continue to rely on the Lord for the strength she needs to make right choices. 

We will have our second family meeting with some of the staff and house parents next Tuesday so we will see how they feel Anne is progressing.  I am also hoping to learn that there has at least been an attempt of a solution to Anne's situation with her roommate.    Thank you for continuing to support our family through prayer!

Anne's First Weekend Pass

This past weekend, we were able to enjoy Anne for her first weekend pass!  The weekend went by so very quickly, but we had a blast all weekend long!

We started by going to pick her up on Saturday.  Then we quickly got ready to go get our long overdue family pictures done.  After spending some time with family, we headed back home.  That evening, Anne and Skeeter went to see a movie together and then hung out with some friends afterwards.
                                        
Sunday, Anne was pretty nervous, but excited to be back at church.  She has really missed her church family and friends.  Sunday afternoon, was spent catching up with some good friends.  Then she and I enjoyed a movie together, until she fell asleep. :)

Monday, we went shopping to get her some new clothes and then Anne was able to meet with a teacher from school who has been so very supportive of her.  Then after lunch, we headed out to take her back "home".

While here, Anne asked us a couple of tough questions of which we couldn't give her a definitive answer.  I told her that this is all new to us, so we will need to be in touch with the staff at the home and see what their experiences have taught them. One of the questions she asked was when she would get to come back home.  She is so ready to come back!  She so badly wants to be able to go to her school next year in the fall.  We were told the average time in the home was 12-18 months.  Will Anne progress more quickly and be able to come home sooner?  We don't know!  We do know that Anne is doing remarkably well!  Although she is doing well, we don't want to bring her home after the healing has just started taking place.  We want her to have a complete change of mindset and have some solid coping strategies in place.  Anne knows that we have the authority to pull her out at anytime, as we do not have a set time "contract" in place.  We do know that she will for sure be there through the end of the school year and likely the summer.  After that I guess will be determined by how the Lord leads.

This week is their spring break, so next week, I'll probably touch base with the staff there and see if I can get any insight from them as to when Anne might realistically be able to come back home.  Please be in prayer for us as we seek the Lord's perfect timing in all of this!  Although we miss her terribly and feel like a piece is missing from our homes and hearts, we want to make sure the healing is taking place as it should.  I must admit that having her here for the weekend made it much more difficult to say good bye than when we just have her for a day pass.  However, I am hoping for another weekend pass for Easter! :)

As for us at home....I have mentioned in the past, that Adia and Jonathan have really been struggling with having Anne gone.  As a result, their attitudes and behaviors have changed quite a bit for us here at home.  Their school teachers have been able to notice as well.  After talking with one of their school teachers, I started to explore the idea of getting both of them into counseling, especially one that would do play therapy.  I contacted one of the local Christian therapists who I had been in contact with since I had been getting advice for Anne, and she was able to work them in right away.  So, we have already had one session, and will have this be a regular activity for them to help them learn to work through their emotions in a healthy way.  This will also be helpful for me, as I learn how to better help them cope, etc.  There will likely be some family sessions in the future as well.  It was amazing to me to see how much the kids "showed" through their playing and how much more they were willing to talk while they played.

All of us struggling through this has just been a reminder for me that even though I might sin in "private" it is going to affect everyone around me in some way or another.  Sin not only hurts the one committing it, but also the ones we love and care about.

Thank you to all of you who have continued to pray and support us on this difficult journey!

Our First Overnight Visit

This week, I called the girls home to see what we could expect for Easter, as this was the first major holiday we've had since Anne had left.  I wanted to find out what the possibility would be for being able to see Anne, even if she couldn't come home.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there is a high chance she will get to come home for a visit over Easter weekend!  However, since she hasn't stayed overnight at home since she left, they wanted to do a trial run to see how it went.  So....I am excited to share that we get our first overnight visit with Anne next weekend (Saturday into Sunday)!  I am fine with having as many trial runs as they want!!! :)   If next weekend goes well, then she will likely be able to stay overnight during the Easter weekend as well! This has been pretty amazing news, as we weren't expecting overnight visits until closer to summer time (per what we were told when we first took Anne to the home)!

Anne is pretty excited to go to Winter Jam next Friday, so if you are going, keep an eye out for her.  She is hoping to run into someone that she knows. :)  

Thanks for praying!