Time Will Tell

I'm not sure what exactly is going on.  I talked with Sunshine yesterday, and she said Mom has (supposedly) been doing what she was supposed to.  And that she will be going out to the house to make sure it is still acceptable.  She said she anticipates a court date in the next few weeks.  Or that there might not even be a court date - that "they" (I'm not exactly sure who the almighty "they" are) may just be able to all sign off on the order to return the kids home.  And that she would let me know when she knows more so I can start packing Evie's things. 

Talking to Sunshine, you would think Evie is certainly going home in the next few weeks.  Me?  I'm VERY skeptical.  Considering what happened the last time at the last minute before the kids were supposed to go home, I don't know that Mom has it in her to keep it together for long enough to get her kids back.  I also don't think that anyone needs to be making the decision to send them back home without a court date and a judge hearing the situation.  I'm certainly not packing much before a definite decision has been made (both because there's only so much that can be packed before Evie realizes something is going on and starts asking questions - she's very sharp; and because I don't want to waste my time OR get my hopes up that she will actually be reunified).

Do I think the kids should be reunified with Mom?  I can see both sides.  Emotionally, these kids NEED their mom, and I feel that she can meet their emotional needs.  It is very obvious that she loves Evie and J, and she is very attentive to them.  But there are almost certainly some mental health issues, and she has not been able to meet all of their physical needs in the past.  I guess I think Mom should be given another chance to parent her kids, with some VERY close monitoring for the next 6-12 months. 

Foster Care Review Board is this Wednesday, and I'm sure they will recommend termination again like they did six months ago.  And I'm sure Mom won't be there again (OFM said that is what Mom told her).  But I'm very curious what new information I will learn there.  There were so many things that came up last time that I had no clue about. 

And then only time will tell what the end result of this case will be.