Life goes on. Neat thing: all the power is on. Notice the "all" part. When they got the power connected last Friday, we discovered we had power to only half the house. So we ran heavy-duty extension cords from the side that worked over to the side that did not so at least have lamps over there. Fortunately, the half with power was the half with the heat pump and the hot water heater, so it was liveable over the weekend. Today they came out and found where the problem was. We now not only have full power everywhere, we have cable modem service--it's as fast at home as it was at work! Joy! I can now accomplish enough work at home that I can be here much more.

The movers are coming Thursday evening, apparently, to take Mom back to Trenton. To say the least, very mixed feelings. At least the house is itself becoming liveable.

With power and the TVs working, got to watch the video from the last ultrasound. The baby is quite active, moving around enough to make it difficult to get an accurate heartbeat. Things seem to be progressing nicely. The proper number of arms and legs are there. The next ultrasound will be in five or six weeks. What an amazing change just since the last one!

Haven't updated for awhile. That's because we are still embroiled in the move through hell (if not the move FROM hell). Put it this way: I've been in a Family Inns motel room with my 80-year-old mother and my pregnant wife for over two weeks now. Not only is the motel expense killing us--the cost of the years of therapy that will result from this will be overwhelming.

To make what could be a very long and sorry story short, the bureaucrats have had trouble getting all the little yellow pieces of paper lined up in the right order, and we have yet to get the power turned on (although we've had water for a week and a half now). Finally, today, they are digging up our yard preparatory to connecting the house to the grid.

Alas, it comes too late in some ways. Mom somehow decided that it is like this in our lives all the time (as opposed to being extraordinary circumstances) and is bailing on us. She is moving back to West Tennessee, specifically to the Harlan-Morris Retirement Home in Trenton, leaving behind broken dreams of finally getting to spend time in relationship building and learning about my family history. I can't think of any other way to say it. I am crushed and exhausted. The upside is that at least we are in a house that is much nicer and much more appropriate for a family our size. The downside is that our financial burden has more than doubled, even with some financial support from Mom because she recognizes we wouldn't have made this move into this size house in the first place except for her.