On May 29, 2008, our daughter, Marie and son in-law, Jason were blessed with the birth of a set of twins, Colin and Alex Nichols. They were three months premature and both weighed less then 2 1/2 pounds. Sadly, Alex had more severe respiratory problems and was with them only about 12 hours.
Colin was very frail, his skin almost transparent, but he was very alert and animated.
Around the time of the birth, we received the following story in an email. It gave us chills as well as joyful tears.
"The Smell Of Rain"
A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery. Her husband,, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24 weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could."There's only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one.
Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived. She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5 year old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
As those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.
There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain and ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Five years later, Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replies, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announces, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest." Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children.
Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
Grandpa picked out fabric and Grandma put this quilt together.
Colin enjoys all the different textures.
Grandma's first opportunity to hold him.
Grandpa's first time to hold him.
He's home but still attached to the monitor.
He is growing nicely.
Of course for Halloween, he had to wear a mummy shirt.
"Look how big I'm getting now!"
Grammy Mummey got to cuddle for a while and ended up rocking him to sleep.
It cooled off tonight, so Mommy put these snuggle jammies on me to go home.
I'm sitting up pretty good now - just not for too long.
Here I am with Mommy and Daddy in Grandma
When I came to visit Grandma and Grandpa, Mommy had this really
Grandpa made a scrumptious Red Velvet Cake but 
My special monkey was watching while Grandpa gave me my bottle.
Mommy's knee makes a good foot rest while she is feeding me.
I am getting SO BIG and really look tough
I love to play with Grandpa and Grandpa
Grandma made me a new blanket. The other one was getting too small.
Here's Colin with the shining star monkey that Old Gram got him.
Colin and Mommy opening his Christmas gifts.
Mommy, Colin and Grandma
Colin was loosing interest, so we got
He had on a cute reindeer sweater and corduroy pants.
After presents, Grandpa fed him oatmeal with bananas
After dinner we all enjoyed some time together.
On May 29, 2008, our daughter, Marie and son in-law, Jason were blessed with the birth of a set of twins, Colin and Alex Nichols. They were three months premature and both weighed less then 2 1/2 pounds. Sadly, Alex had more severe respiratory problems and was with them only about 12 hours.
Colin was very frail, his skin almost transparent, but he was very alert and animated.
Grandpa picked out fabric and Grandma put this quilt together.
Grandma's first opportunity to hold him.
Grandpa's first time to hold him.
He is growing nicely.
Of course for Halloween, he had to wear a mummy shirt.
"Look how big I'm getting now!"
Grammy Mummey got to cuddle for a while and ended up rocking him to sleep.
Our neighbors, Karl and Steph.
The sail is unfurled. All the guys had to hoist it. 
