All's (well, some's) quiet on the home front...lol

Wow...it's been almost a week since I last posted. Sorry about that, but no news is good news, right? Things have been going fairly well. She's taking her medication every day. She's on Strattera...I think I mentioned that. We met with Gretta yesterday (mental health case manager) and she had Dar, Cassie and me fill out a questionaire about Cassie, kind of an assessment to find out what services we may need. And we meet with Brooke from the Probation Department at the county next week. I think Cassie may be a little scared of her, which is good. I think she is one of those people who can be quite nice if you mind your p's and q's, but can be quite a "b" if you cross her. Cassie seems to be afraid to cross her, which is fine by me.

I met with my boss last week on Friday and I started back to my normal schedule on Monday morning. Dar and I came to the conclusion that God has given me my dream job, I love it and they like me, and that I should not give that up. My boss seemed very glad to hear that I was coming back! So we sat Cassie down, listed out the rules on an index card that she carries with her, and told her quite simply, that she needs to follow them. I said every single choice she thinks about making, she needs to check it against the rules and see if it would break a rule or not. If in doubt, call and ask.

The rules are pretty basic...no drinking, drugs, or smoking. No hanging out with anyone who is drinking, doing drugs, or smoking. We listed two of her "friends" who she is not to associate with in any way..not in person or on the phone or in text. We also said that before she can go anywhere or be with anyone, she has to have permission from us. If she can't get ahold of us, then she should assume the answer is no. We are doling out consequences for breaking the rules in very small bites. 12, 24, or 48 hours of grounding, for instance, or extra jobs around the house. We also made the rule that if she gives us attitude, we give her one warning. If she continues, she loses her phone for the rest of that day and that night, to be returned to her upon my waking the next day.

Yes, we've had to bear out those consequences a couple of times. For instance, she spent the night at a friends' house this week and the next day they went to the lake to go swimming without asking permission first. She got grounded for 12 hours and was REALLY mad at us because she and the friend had planned to have a fire that night at the friend's house. We stuck to our guns (something we're learning to do, which sounds horrible, being we've been parents for 15 years, but you have no idea how well this girl can argue! We keep telling her she should be a lawyer! lol) She got mad, stormed upstairs, cried crocodile tears, yelled, screamed. But within the hour, she was back to friendly and bubbly.

It's a roller coaster ride, I tell you, keeping up with her mood swings. At least the "mads" seem to be short in duration. We've had a couple of episodes like that, but like I said, we're learning to stick to our guns, and that seems to be working. I guess that's all we can do, is just keep trying new things and stick with the ones that work.

I also got a call today from the North Mankato police liuetenant who's handling our case, and he just had a couple of questions. He told me he'll give me a call in a week or so with an update. That's all I know on that end. I pray that justice is served, that's all. The rest is in God's hands.

Anyway, thank you again for all of your prayers and support. It means the world to us. Please keep my niece and nephew in your prayers as they both had surgery today to remove their tonsils. Sound like there were some fairly major issues developing, so it's a good thing they were removed! Please pray for a quick recovery for them, and for patience for their mom as she cares for these two precious "patients". :-)

Love you all...
Kendra