Court

We had court today. It went pretty good. Cassie dressed up in a white ruffled skirt and a pink top. She looked so pretty! She was kind of nervous going in front of the judge, as she should be. He directed his questions to her and she had to answer for herself, which was good. We were only there for support and extra input. She ended up having three charges...truancy, tobacco possession and runaway. She received 8 hours of community service for the tobacco possession, 16 hours for the truancy and another 16 for the runaway. The probation department recommended 24 for the runaway, but the judge gave her a little break. So a total of 40 hours of community service, which they serve in 8 hour increments on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the summertime. She's also on probation for 6 months. Part of that is Project Night Hawk, in which they can and will stop by randomly, mostly at night, and do a breathalizer and a urinary analysis on her to make sure she's not using. She'll have to attend a smokers-education class that will cost her $20. She has to attend a cognitive skills class that meets for a few hours a week for 14 weeks. That will cost her $50. Then she has to pay a correctional fee of $50. She had to approach the judge's bench at the end to receive her dispositional orders from him. I think that part scared her the most!
We leave the day after tomorrow for vacation in North Carolina. We've scheduled three days to hang out on the Carolina coast. There's fireworks over the water on one beach on Thursday night. And we're supposed to meet up with Katie and Tony at Myrtle beach on Saturday. In between we're going to try and find some sand dunes and lighthouses to visit as well as swim in the ocean and go exploring. We are all so excited and can't wait!
Thanks again for your prayers and support. Things are going fairly well other than some attitude here and there.
Love ya'll!

Thanks for hanging in there with us...an update

Well, it's been another week and nothing really to report. We're just toodling along. I apologize for not getting an update out more frequently. Between working 40 hours last week and four full time days this week (thank goodness for the 4th of July or it would've been 5!), trying to maintain some semblance of order on the home front, keep up with Cassie and Chris' moods and activities, and preparing all the details for vacation, I'm exhausted!  

Dar's working like a madman to pay for vaca. He's working his full time job, which entails leaving the house at 5:30am and getting home at 5pm. Then he grabs a quick bite to eat before heading over to Tru-Green for his second job. He fills the trucks with the chemicals the guys will need to treat the lawns the next day. He also cleans the offices for them and does all the maintenance and upkeep on the equipment. Busy job! He's been averaging 15 hours a week there. In addition to that, he's been mowing, like I mentioned before, for the landlord and another acquaintance of ours. I don't see him a whole lot and this busy, busy is putting a bit of strain on our relationship. We just don't have any time to "connect". 

I keep telling myself, "Hang on, Kendra, in 7 days you leave for North Carolina and then you'll have more Dar-time than you can handle!" Ten whole days of family togetherness. Woo hooo! I'm praying hard that we ENJOY the time together, but knowing our family dynamics, I'm very worried that personalities will clash and moods will get dark and crabby and THAT won't be fun at all! Please join me in praying for a refreshing time together, for restored relationships, and for a fun, relaxing, GREAT time to be had by all!

I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but our first destination on vacation is Fort Mills, South Carolina, which is actually right by Charlotte, North Carolina. We're heading to the site of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker's (sp?) former ministry, which is now called Morningstar. I heard of this from Tina Wagner and she said there's some amazing things going on there right now! They are having nightly meetings called Holy Spirit Breakout complete with healings and miracles. I am ready for some supernatural, God-breathed experiences, and am going with an open heart and an open mind. My logical, oh-so-serious brain sometimes struggles with all of this, but I'm trying desperately to walk closer to Jesus. I want to be close enough to FEEL His power and might, to have some of that rub off on me! This is my prayer. 

We plan to arrive there (actually, at a hotel in Charlotte) on Friday around 5pm, have time to swim, rest, eat, and freshen up before heading to the service at Morninstar at 7pm. We'll sleep (soundly I'm sure after 25 or so hours of straight driving!) at the hotel and then drive the last 3-4 hours to Kate and Tony's on Saturday. I can't wait to see them all! I'm sure Dominic has grown SO MUCH and I just want to get my hands on that baby. :-)

But, the real reason you're all reading this is to find out how Cassie's doing, I'm sure. She's doing well. I think the small bites of consequences is working well. We're also giving her more freedom simply because she HAS to learn to handle it. Getting her into therapy will be good, too, as I pray it will help her deal with all the emotions/thoughts she has cruising through her heart/head. I believe God is going to use all we've learned (and are continuing to learn) on this journey to help others. I'm excited to share with other mom's who are struggling with teenagers some of what God has taught us. In His time...not mine. 

She mentioned to both Dar and I on Tuesday that she'd like to re-dedicate her life to Christ. I pray that this is genuine but my wounded/healing heart has been broken so many times that it's hard to accept without any doubts. I only had a moment to talk to her about it as she brought it up on my way out the door to work, but we had a good, mini-talk. I told her that Jesus has never moved. She may have turned her back on Him, distanced herself from Him, but He's still there, waiting for her, calling her back to Him. He still loves her, He still died on the cross for her, and He'll continue to draw her heart towards Him. His name is written in blood on her heart and she can't escape the fact that she IS a child of the risen Savior! I've told her many times that the only way she's truly going to change her behavior and thoughts is to submit herself to the authority of Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit can change what's inside. No matter how much "will power" we think we have, it may hold us for a while, but will always fail to change us permanently. Only the Holy Spirit has the capability of making us into a NEW CREATION, a beautiful, fruit-evident, child of God. I told her it's that fruit that I need to see from her. If she's truly re-dedicating herself, then the fruit will come. Please continue to pray for her salvation more than anything. Even if our life goes smoothly from now on, never another bump in the road, but she walks through life without allowing Jesus to reign supreme in her heart, I will consider this battle LOST. It really is the only thing that matters! I pray that each and every person reading this knows this truth, and has trusted Jesus with their very heart. He's the only One who will or can ever truly love you the way you were created to be loved!

Love you all...thanks for hanging in there with us!

Kendra