Welcome to Mongolia!

My friends. This is what it's like in Mongolia in the winter. For those of you not with us in Minnesota, the high today was -2 (19 below for my fellow Celcius speakers --Josh). I really missed this my first winter back home from Mongolia. We'd wear three or four layers all day. We'd walk to the store and our eyeballs would hurt. It was fun to complain about.

Speaking of Mongolia, my Mongolian roommate is in Minnesota. Moogi. She's translating for a child who is at the Mayo in Rochester and his mother. She hasn't had any free time yet, and of course I have none. But we should be able to get together somehow before she has to go back.

I have a couple other Mongolian friends. They are people that I've never really spoken to in Mongolian, but always in English. I don't remember much Mongolian when I talk to them. I talked to Moogi on the phone recently and lots of my Mongolian was coming back. The brain is funny. It was fun to speak the language again. I love that language. Mash huiting bainn.

Alicia? Oh yeah, baby. She's huge! She looks like a baby. But not mine, certainly. It really looks like I've lost my preemie. I see her for hours every day and still when I walk in and see her I'm amazed. She's big.

She took three feeds today. For the last one tonight, we still gave her half of her feed in her tube, but she really did great today! Tomorrow I'll be in at 8am and maybe I'll have permission to feed her as I wish, meaning that I wouldn't have to follow her feeding schedule, but could feed her whenever I think that she's hungry.

Woo-hoo!

I'm so very tired. Someday she'll come home and, well, I'll be even more tired.
Goodnight.
Michelle