Riley is the girl who will be the most challenging to bring into the “family” mentality. She is a very social girl and is very happy, outgoing and engaging. But she also has a wall up. She is independent and while she has no issues being here, sometimes it seems like she wants it to be as “friends” not as “family”. She is OK if you hug her, but that is it. She isn’t going to hug you back and please don’t try and give her a kiss!

Tonight while we were playing around, she opened her arms to give me a big hug. I realized it was within the context of our playing, but it still took me back a little and you could see the look in her eye like, “Uh oh. What did I just do?!”  But, she gamely embraced me and even called out for Kelly to watch. It was, at the very least, a start. We will, with God’s help, breakdown the walls of pain and rejection these girls (and boy) have experienced and replace it with love and self-worth. They deserve nothing less ….

Cameron