Hello! I don't have much to update about Ruby tonight, but wanted to say hi. Ruby had a great day today with Mandy and Mandy's roommate, Sara. They came last night and Mandy got up with Ruby while I got ready for work this morning. They enjoyed the gorgeous day by taking a nice walk. I think Mandy really enjoyed her time with Ruby and I know that Ruby enjoyed it as well. It was nice to know that Ruby was being hugged and loved to death all day long while I was working. I know that daycare loves her, but there's just something different about having Mandy taking care of her!

As you can see, I have not had time to update the picture on here. I haven't even had time to take any pictures this week. That always makes me sad. I like to take pictures of everything Ruby does. But somehow life just gets in the way and I forget to grab the digital camera. I took some video of Ruby playing with her bananas, but I can't figure out how to upload the video from my camcorder. I hope to learn soon. I still have a couple of rolls of film from the NICU that I haven't developed! I need to do that ASAP!

I wanted to update you on my friend's daughter. She was found to have an extremely rare and deadly form of bacterial menigitis. She is still in critical condition in the hospital, hooked up to every machine imaginable. She's still on a ventilator and today they discussed putting her on dialysis because her kidneys aren't fuctioning properly. The doctor said that if she had brought her in 15 minutes later, she would have most likely died. She is on medication to prevent heart failure and to keep her vital organs functioning. They are hoping to wean her off more medications and life support machines over the weekend. My heart just breaks for her family right now. Even though Ruby was in the NICU for such a long time, she was almost always stable and I never feared that she would suddenly die. My friend hasn't left the hospital for days for fear that her daughter might take a turn for the worst. Please continue to keep this little girl in your prayers; she is truly not out of the woods yet. Thank you so much.

My prayers have also been focused on the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I have been watching the news over the last few days and I cannot fathom the conditions that these people are living in. I have found myself outright bawling for the pain and suffering that these people are experiencing. One broadcast that especially hit home for me was about preemie babies in the hospitals down here. The lights and power shut off and nurses were scrambling around trying to manually breathe for the babies. I just imagine if that had happened while Ruby was in the hospital. She didn't need a ventilator to breath for her, but she needed the warmth of her isolette and the machine that ran the IV fluids into her as her only nutrition. I just can't imagine what it's like down there and every time I take a sip of clean water or give Ruby a warm bottle, I thank God that we were spared. It's just not fair. I'm sorry that I have completely strayed off topic here, but I just had to share my grief and heartache over this.

I am going to update the picture this weekend. I swear. I'm going to try to develop the pictures and load them on here too! I'll let you know when I do! Have a wonderful Labor day weekend!