Yep, she still loves to take photos of herself. Good thing she's so cute. And humble. :-) I'm pretty sure a momma couldn't love a child more than I love her....

Today was the first day of the kids' fall break. We did.....are you ready for it?......not much at all. And it was wonderful! We slept in, ate late, painted the very handprint-stained staircase, layed about, piddled. In the evening, the kids played outside and ran and played sports games with neighbor kids -- a few stayed inside and watched movies. Becca made up tons of cookies. We badly needed this low-key day and the collective lifting of spirits was nearly tangible.

That said, the unspoken tension of all this going on with Max is still quite high. The kids still worry. They don't know for certain what is going on for him and for them. None of us do. The uncertainty - for a house full of kids whose lives have been filled with uncertainty that usually did NOT turn out well for them - is NOT a fun way to live. The kids all do pretty well - but they take turns getting upset at what seems "no reason at all". It might not be apparent at the moment, but the tension is still there, brewing just under the surface.

CPS comes out tomorrow to interview each of the children. Hopefully, soon, there will be more answers for the kids to settle their minds and hearts. And I'm anxious as can be myself. With kids who have been through very traumatic backgrounds, and most of whom have reactive attachment disorder, false allegating is a skill they excel at. I'm hoping that most keep their talents hidden tomorrow...I shudder what it might mean if one chooses to come up with something untrue and see how an investigation might run with it. I worry all the time for the safety of the kids in this. Heaven knows, turning to CPS was the only resource we had left to KEEP them safe....and we keep hoping it won't backfire.