"Hello, welcome to the Barton home! My name is ______ - Come on in!"
[This is how you would be greeted by the 8 girls living in our house if you were to ring our doorbell right now.]
We'd love you to sit down and meet our girls. We just completed our first full week with them at the Barton home doing life, hearing their stories, and learning together. For their personal privacy, we won't use their names or very many details.
Meet "A", our almost-18-year-old long-termer who has shown great leadership since we arrived and has been a joy to get to know. She's learned through the experiences in her life to demand her desires and manipulate if needed to get what she wants; however, we survived our first Wal-Mart trip together yesterday without any impulsive purchase or arguments!
Meet "B", our what-you-see-is-what-you-get girl. She is truly a leader and has been a huge encouragement and help. A 16-year-old long-termer, she has taken some of the little ones under her wing and been a great role model in the home. Her story would break your heart, but just the other night she shared with me, "I feel like I am holding on to one last shred of hope, but I keep believing God has something better for me in this life."
Meet "C": She is the one we are still trying to get to know. She has given us absolutely no trouble (except extreme boy craziness), but I know has a lot below the surface we've been able to see. We're praying for opportunities to break the surface. She's also 16 and is a long-term member of the Barton home.
Meet "D": M is a 13-year-old short-term member of our home and has an attitude bigger than life, and she has been the biggest struggle in the home for us thus far. I have to continually remind myself of what I read in her file and that the love she rejects is still what she needs; those are the moments God strengthens us the most. We're praying for some breakthroughs between her and us, her and the other girls, her and the other staff, and most of all, her and the Lord.
Meet "E": V is 12 and is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. It doesn't help that she fits right smack dab in the middle of the ages we have right now (6-18) at Barton. She has a soft heart but a thick exterior, yet we have been able to develop a good relationship with her so far.
Meet "F": She is one of the 2 8-year-olds at Barton whose short term is almost up, and I am already going to miss her. She is a sweet, loving girl hungry for positive attention and truly desires to do well. We're working through how to handle our emotions and anger, and she is making some great progress!
Meet "G": Our other 8-year-old Barton family member, C is the spunkiest little ball of fire you ever did meet. She is the one we have stayed up each night laughing together in bed about before falling asleep. Everything she says is quotable and her smile lights up your heart. C's biggest struggle is what we call peer relations around here.
Meet "H": J's our new little 6-year-old and she's all over the place. She's a soft-hearted sweetie who loves hugs and invading everyone else's personal space. We're learning a lot together, and she spices up just about everything we do together as a home.
[This is how you would be greeted by the 8 girls living in our house if you were to ring our doorbell right now.]
We'd love you to sit down and meet our girls. We just completed our first full week with them at the Barton home doing life, hearing their stories, and learning together. For their personal privacy, we won't use their names or very many details.
Meet "A", our almost-18-year-old long-termer who has shown great leadership since we arrived and has been a joy to get to know. She's learned through the experiences in her life to demand her desires and manipulate if needed to get what she wants; however, we survived our first Wal-Mart trip together yesterday without any impulsive purchase or arguments!
Meet "B", our what-you-see-is-what-you-get girl. She is truly a leader and has been a huge encouragement and help. A 16-year-old long-termer, she has taken some of the little ones under her wing and been a great role model in the home. Her story would break your heart, but just the other night she shared with me, "I feel like I am holding on to one last shred of hope, but I keep believing God has something better for me in this life."
Meet "C": She is the one we are still trying to get to know. She has given us absolutely no trouble (except extreme boy craziness), but I know has a lot below the surface we've been able to see. We're praying for opportunities to break the surface. She's also 16 and is a long-term member of the Barton home.
Meet "D": M is a 13-year-old short-term member of our home and has an attitude bigger than life, and she has been the biggest struggle in the home for us thus far. I have to continually remind myself of what I read in her file and that the love she rejects is still what she needs; those are the moments God strengthens us the most. We're praying for some breakthroughs between her and us, her and the other girls, her and the other staff, and most of all, her and the Lord.
Meet "E": V is 12 and is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. It doesn't help that she fits right smack dab in the middle of the ages we have right now (6-18) at Barton. She has a soft heart but a thick exterior, yet we have been able to develop a good relationship with her so far.
Meet "F": She is one of the 2 8-year-olds at Barton whose short term is almost up, and I am already going to miss her. She is a sweet, loving girl hungry for positive attention and truly desires to do well. We're working through how to handle our emotions and anger, and she is making some great progress!
Meet "G": Our other 8-year-old Barton family member, C is the spunkiest little ball of fire you ever did meet. She is the one we have stayed up each night laughing together in bed about before falling asleep. Everything she says is quotable and her smile lights up your heart. C's biggest struggle is what we call peer relations around here.
Meet "H": J's our new little 6-year-old and she's all over the place. She's a soft-hearted sweetie who loves hugs and invading everyone else's personal space. We're learning a lot together, and she spices up just about everything we do together as a home.
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