Fall and Santa's Workshop

The other day Chris raked up a lot of the leaves around our house. Turned out to be a perfect photo opportunity... We had to be diligent to keep her from "eating" them.


The neighborhood children had their first opportunity to play and jump in the leaves and their enjoyment was delightful.

Santa's famous workshop at the North Pole has a new satellite workshop in Maryland. Work has commenced and moving full speed ahead. I had to sharpen a few of my skills and practice a few new ones so that I could complete the items for this year's holiday. Very pleased with how it's going so far. No pictures yet since some recipients will be checking in here from time to time. Check back for an update after the big gift opening day!

Prematurity Awareness Day

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. Medical research and health care today has advanced to the point where babies born younger and younger are surviving and are healthy. But still preemies are born and the United States has a very high rate of prematurity for such a developed country. We need to do more to prevent prematurity.

Why, you ask, is this my post today when I have not posted anything for a couple months. Because today I celebrate the life of my granddaughter, McKenzie born 13 weeks premature and weighing just 1 pound and 12 ounces. It amazes me just how tiny she was and how strong was her will to survive.


This is the first picture of her with her mother - yes, that's Susan's hand touching her arm. She was 13 3/4 inches long and just a few hours old. Can you imagine an arm the size of your finger? The second picture gives me a better perspective of just how tiny she was and she was just 12 days old then.

In two weeks, McKenzie will celebrate her fourth birthday. YEAH! Healthy and perfectly normal in every way. Totally awesome!
You can tell she lives in Texas 'cause she's got the big Texas bow...LOL!

If you want to read the whole story in Susan's words, you can find it here .