Bob & Brittany update

We've been in full lockdown here at the ranch, afraid some goons might show up and try to snatch the baby, and we've learned things about my daughter-in-law that went far beyond anything I could've possibly imagined.

We're about 99% sure that Kayla's Nana and Papa will wind up with full custody of her and that Bob will be granted sole custody of the baby. We were in court for Kayla's custody hearing on Tuesday, but it's been postponed until next week. Brittany's hearing is still a couple of weeks away.

Tuesday was when I found out what's in the mystery box Bob's been toting around. If I hadn't been sitting down, I would've fallen to the floor.

Oh, dear Jesus...

I would tell y'all to call me if you want the gory details, but I don't really want to talk about it right now. Just pray for us, okay?

Happy birthday, Cathy

Love you, Sis!

Hell week

My firstborn's failing marriage finally reached a rather spectacular conclusion over the weekend. It's really for real this time -- he filed for divorce and full custody of Brittany yesterday, and they've moved in with us.

Reactions from the few family members I've spoken to ranged from "Cool!" to "Yay!" to "It's about damn time."

Kayla is with her Nana and Papa, who are once again filing for custody of her.

Anyway, this past week was one of the the rougher ones in recent memory and I'm totally depleted, so I'll have to holler at you guys later.

Dang, we're hot

We haven't looked this good since our own wedding eight years ago.



Mikey looked so yummy in his tux; now I'm wishing he'd buy one to chase me around the house in.

Irises were blooming last week

in Iowa. Ain't that something?

I know Iowa's 500 miles north of here, but it still amazes me that there's such a big difference. My irises finished blooming two months ago.

What a huge place this country is.

Gawd, I feel stupid

You know those black birds living in my purple martin house? The ones that I couldn't figure out what they were?

Um, well...they're purple martins.

How was I supposed to know? The picture in my field book shows a very purple bird, and I only get to see them flying or perched 30 feet up, backlit against the sky, and can't see any purple at all. Plus they live on the far side of the birdhouse, facing my neighbors, and never come down to feed in the yard so I can't study them very closely.

It was the female that finally tipped me off; the only picture I could find that looked like her was of a female purple martin. Didn't think she really was one, though, until I listened to an audio clip of its song. Which I recognized instantly. Felt like such a doof.

A new tattoo?

Bob brought the baby over; now he's off to Edmond to take Kayla to her grandparents.

Sarah still hasn't turned up.

The other day Sarah was putting the kids in the car when I noticed a large tattoo on her lower back. I knew I'd never seen it before, so I asked Bob about it today. He said, yeah, he saw it, too, and it was a new one. But he didn't know where she got it, or how she paid for it.

Good heavens.

Bob just called

to tell me he's throwing Sarah out because she stayed out all night. Again.

He fell asleep waiting for her to come home; Kayla woke him up at 10:00 this morning. He was supposed to be at work at 7:00.

Oh, my Lord.

It'll be a year in August since Bob and Sarah dropped into our laps. Okay, we thought, they're going through a rough patch and we'll do what we can to help them get on their feet. We helped with the apartment and with the baby and with Kayla. And with Sarah's car. They've tapped out our cash reserves. They've used up our patience.

Here we are, almost a year later, and there's not a lot of progress. They still can't pay the bills, hold onto jobs, get along, etc, etc. I'm starting to wonder, "Is it always going to be like this? Will it be the same thing next year? And the next?"

Well, maybe not, if they're not together anymore.

Sarah's still not home yet. Bob started to bring the girls over here so he could deal with his wife, but I pointed out that we don't have a legal right to keep Kayla if Sarah wants her, so he's going to call her parents and see if they want Kayla. If so, he'll take her up there and bring the baby to me.

Flight school

Noticed some birds gathering on the terraced part of my backyard, which was odd, so I grabbed the binoculars and saw that it was a mama house sparrow feeding three little chickies. Then the mama bird flew up on the birdbath and her babies followed, one at a time. She flew up on the fence and again they followed her, one at a time. Then she flew down from the fence and they followed her, one at a time. Then she fed them again. Then they were off again.

Way too cool.

Birding

Saw a house finch for the first time yesterday.

It was the first time I was able to identify any new bird in a while, because the trees leafed out the moment I finally got a pair of binoculars, so it was a pretty exciting moment for me.

Tot wheels

Sissy still won't crawl, so we we went last night and found a walker to help her explore the concept of personal mobility.

I'm eager to see how she likes it, but Sarah's suddenly unemployed again so I dunno what they're doing today.