Happy Birthday Marquel and Annie!

Marquel turned 12 and Annie is now 10! Since both girls have May birthdays their Father let them have a party and invite their friends, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Marquel has grown so tall, she has gone through 3 sizes this school year alone. We came up with a plan for doing extra chores to earn money so that she could pick out her own clothes and learn the value of money.

Both girls passed their Reading and Math achievement tests. Yeah!! They got to take turns eating off the red plate that we use to celebrate special occasions. Marquel can now look forward to 6th grade and Annie to 4th.

Events such as birthdays always make us look back over the events since we met them in September, 2005. How far they have come -

from never going to school to never wanting to miss a day!

from failing grades to passing their tests easily.

from needing help to get dressed to picking out clothes that actually match.

from never having any toys to learning how to take care of their things.

from existing on a bag of chips to eating a family meal with good manners.

from looking at the floor to looking people in the eye to say hello.

We realize they have a long way to go to bring their emotional development up to their chronological age, but we see so much progress. We have learned more than we ever thought we would about the results of a mother who is an alcoholic and the long-lasting effects on the children. They will no doubt have to work the rest of their lives to overcome the trauma caused by neglect and abuse.

A few weeks ago Marquel asked me, "Will I still come to your house when I am in college?" I assured her that she sure could if she chose to. How wonderful that they have a future to look forward to! Of course we could not do this without the help of all of you!

Until next time -

Stephanie