Sunday's Good News

Various bits of good news to report:

• No news from Ohio. Every day of no news is good news, although I'm sure Geri is eager for news that the recent ordeal is nearing an end.
• I added a counter to the blog (on the right). So any time we feel a little too relaxed, or maybe forget what big event is coming up ("Is it a holiday? No, that's not it . . .") all we have to do is load up the blog and WHAM we're back in reality.
• The lawyers report that if things go according to plan, the judge may be able to sign the papers the same day as the birth, officially declaring Sarah and I the parents and freeing Geri and her husband from any responsibility. With Grace, we were able to get this done in advance but it required that we all appear before an incredulous judge in Charlotte, NC. This time it is after the fact but is all paperwork.
• We know the names. I'll do that in another post because if I don't set them up just right everyone will hate them. Actually, a fair number of people will hate them (the names) anyway. But we like them.
• Jerry and Kathy sold their house! Can you believe it? No foreclosures, no bridge loans, no Free First Born With Purchase -- people actually came and gave them money for the place. That's uncommon nowadays. It is a nice house in a nice neighborhood and they had put a lot of work into it, so that must have helped.
• Jerry and Kathy bought a house in Portage, MI. I won't give away their address on the Internet, but according to Google it is a 1 hour, 53 minute drive from our house (that's not giving too much away, is it?). So that's farther away than Livonia, but in today's Michigan economy we're lucky to keep them in the same time zone, so we'll take it. It's just a straight shot down 94. They're in a golf community, literally a stone's throw from the course. I haven't seen it yet but according to Google Maps the driveway and roof look very nice.
• Jerry is enjoying his new job. That's great news.
• Claire is continuing to improve (poor Claire has been doing so well I've hardly mentioned her here). Emily reports that her (Claire's) blood counts are in the normal or near-normal range and they keep improving. The chemo makes her tired, but she has returned to school on a limited basis and has even done some full days. Emily also says Claire is improving her strength by lifting weights and she is still taking steroids. I expect she'll start speaking with an Austrian accent and running for Governor soon.
• Grace has completely adapted to her new glasses. I reminded her to put them in their case (Grace calls it their "suitcase") the other day before her nap, and she actually started looking around for them, forgetting they were on her face. Bespectacled and absent minded, she has become an Orwig.