Livin La Vida Loca

Upside Inside Out Livin La Vida Loca
That's been our life the last few weeks - and the cause of the blogging drought. So to fill you in:
I am officially a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. I actually made my big inventory purchase last night, so I am really in it for the long haul. If nothing else I need to break even! :)
Then there's Tripp. What to say what to say. Bless his heart. I have never know someone so young carry so much luggage around inside. Long story short - he's rocking the boat out at Eagle Ranch. They were calling us to come and get him to bring him home to cool off and as a "consequence". But coming home didn't have too much bite as a consequence. This last time he was home 3 whole weeks, going back and forth to a theraputic day program in Gainesville. The ranch wouldn't let him back unitl we all got together with a plan. So now when he refuses to comply at the ranch he goes to a temporary DJJ placement. We took him back to the ranch last Sunday night and he lasted until Tuesday night. He's at a group home placement now until Monday, at which point he can go back to the ranch. We're trying to help him realize that coming home to live with us or going to live with his mother are not options for him. Eagle Ranch is BY FAR the most pleasant, clean, helpful, Christ-centered alternative to Tripp living at home. But he doesn't seem to see it that way. Unfortunately, if he doesn't hurry up and see it that way he's going to find himself in juvenile detention. So please keep him in your prayers. At this point, God is the only one that can really heal his wounds.
Jim is continuing to work at the jail. He's grown his baldness out by a few days and I like it much better.
In other news - Wally the girl puppy has been lovingly adopted by Mema and Pepa. A blinding moment of sanity hit me as I was taking her out to pee at 3 a.m. that we had zero business with a new puppy. We tried it out - but when the folks offered we accepted. It is the best of both worlds. The kids still get to see and love her. And I do not have to clean up anymore bodily fluids than I am already in charge of.

Some random pics:This is why I love SpongeBob.
Rocking at the Ranch.

Your guess is as good as mine.




The bathtub crayons we got last Christmas. I just got brave enough to bring them out. They don't really come off the wall that well... but I haven't really had time to scrub.....