I believe in miracles! We have one right here in Chicago. In September, twin girls who had reached only 26 weeks of the normal 40 week gestation period, were delivered by Caesarian section. The smallest of the two, Rumaisa, weighed 8.6 OUNCES, and is believed to be the smallest baby ever delivered.
The miracle is this: Rumaisa’s doctors may release her from the hospital in the first week in January. Her prognosis is good, and her doctor believes that she will develop normally. At birth she was roughly the size of a pop can, and now she weighs two pounds, ten ounces.
Rumaisa is fortunate to live in an area that has such excellent neonatal care. Loyola University Medical Center doctors and staff have cared for more than 1700 newborns with birth weights of less than two pounds over the past 20 years. They have a survival rate of 90% for 28-week gestation, and that’s among the highest in the country.
For more details, visit here.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, and he asked how much snow we had gotten. I was surprised, because the storm had missed us, and I had totally forgotten one had passed through south of us. What little snow we have doesn’t quite cover the ground, and it came several days ago.
I was astounded to learn that Michigan City, Indiana, the town on the south end of Lake Michigan just before you get to Michigan, had TWENTY SIX INCHES of snow. I’d say they got all our snow, don’t you think?
I recall an incredible snowstorm in 1978, when I was stranded in Chicago for two days. And there was one in 1967, I think. I made it out of the Chicago suburbs on my way back to school in the nick of time. And….some time in the last ten years we had snow so high that I couldn’t walk Defer anywhere but up and down the plowed driveway. His legs were too short to deal with the snow, and so were mine! But we lucked out this week.
Good luck Michigan City! Keep shoveling!

I spent the day making Christmas cookies, and I should have gone to bed long ago. I stayed to read a few blogs. It’s been at least a week since I had the chance to visit with my blog friends, and catch up with your lives.
My daughter-in-law is teaching English in Japan. A few weeks ago she wrote to beg chocolate and cookies for Christmas. Apparently, Midwestern “chocolate” and “cookies” don’t translate well into Japanese and beyond missing favorite foods, she sounded a bit homesick. I rashly promised I would send a care package with her husband. Of course, once he learned that SHE was getting cookies, he asked for them, too.

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