Hi Phil,
Well, chris has calmed down a lot.  Yesterday he threatened to take off
on us, but we just stayed pretty firm and calm and asked him if he really
wanted to make matters worse and I guess that he decided that he didn't
because he stayed home.
        We had a counselling session this past Tuesday with Eric and even
after only hearing Chris's version of events from last week, Eric was
pretty supportive of our decisions.
        Chris has begun squaring all the holes in the walls that need to
be patched.  I have to laugh because we also have mice in our walls.
Mice are known for coming in out of the cold in the winter and mobile
homes give easy access.  Anyway, Greg and I have joked that, between
Chris's punching holes in and the mice eating holes outward, we'll be
lucky to have any walls left come spring.  (GRIN!)  Who knows, maybe the
mice think that they're helping chris out!
        As far as the Magic cards are concerned, research along those
lines has been very disappointing.  We've been to all the Christian web
cites that we can think of, looking for reviews, and no one seems to
suggest outright banning the game.  All that is suggested is parental
supervision.  One Christian parent told me that today's Christians see
these cards the way that regular playing cards were seen two generations
ago.  We've told Chris that if he ever does get the cards back that the
black cards are gone and he is okay with that.  Paul told me that the
game uses a lot of the symbolism of Wickaa, but I haven't seen anything
in writing yet so I can't prove that.  Evidently, the game is based on a
book that came out about ten years ago.  We just keep digging.
        Chris is going to start group therapy at the end of the month
with about five other boys his age with Eric's supervision.  We also have
an appointment with a doctor for next Friday to have a month trial with
something for attention Deficit just to see if it makes any difference in
Chris's ability to concentrate and organize his thoughts.  Chris is just
such a consuming project.  I'm just so grateful for the prayers.  Thanks
for asking!
Chris's court date is March 23.  Yes, we are following through on
pressing charges.
Kathy

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