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!