I'm back online! What a relief. Got tired of waiting around and called the Tech Support hotline. I knew I depended on email a lot to stay connected with friends & family, but I didn't realize how much until I didn't have it! Felt very isolated.

Got a call yesterday regarding Sean's pay - apparently they set him up for allowances incorrectly when he reported to Japan. The good news is, the error is in our favor. We'll get a nice chunk of money next paycheck, which will help cover all the upcoming expenses.

Ran into the husband of Mary's teacher at the grocery store today. He said his wife is really sad to see Mary (one of her "good students") go. They are working on dinosaurs in math this month, and apparently Mary is very concerned that she's going to miss some of the lessons. I plan to get some work from her teacher to take with us, hopefully it will include some dinosaurs.

Margaret is rapidly perfecting her walking skills. She's still walking with her arms held up for balance, but they're dropping from ear- to about shoulder-level. She's also getting more steady. Amongst all this progress, she's getting very chatty as well. Won't be surprised if we hear her first word soon. I would love for it to happen after Sean returns.