Josiah's second surgery

Phew. I can't believe that we are almost at his cleft palate surgery. When he was born 10 months seemed so far away. But here we are - just a week or so away. It's hard to think about, but it's coming up so soon. Josiah will be having his palate repaired and if Dr. Reinisch thinks his lips aren't too swollen from the procedure he will also repair his nostril and other side of his lip. I've said this to people so many times that it doesn't seem like that big of a deal...but it is.
Oh, God. Please give me strength!

Please pray for...
1. We are asking that God would close up his palate so that he won't need any surgery. We really believe that He can. I read on someone's blog that their daughter's palate had grown closed as she grew. So much so that she didn't need surgery anymore! Plus, we've been watching the videos "Finger of God" and it really helped open my eyes to see that God can use children to heal anyone.

2. Josiah's feeding. He is pretty difficult to feed. He may or may not use a bottle after surgery. Usually they don't want to eat because it hurts too much. I'm afraid that we will have to stay in the hospital for more than one night if he doesn't drink enough. Pray that he will drink well after the surgery so that they will let him go home on time. Please pray that he will drink from a cup before his surgery so that he will transition well from bottle to cup. Maybe we won't even need to use his bottle anymore!

3. Ali and Sammie - since I'm homeschooling them they are both home. I don't drop them off anywhere. Pray that God would pour down His grace on them. They would play well together. They would not need so much attention during this time. They would be kind and helpful towards one another.

4. Josiah's surgery - God would guide Dr. Reinisch's hands and everyone else that helps him. The surgery would be a complete success and that he would be able to fix his nostril and lip in this surgery so that he wouldn't have to have to be put under again. Anesthesia would go well. Pray that there would be no complications. He was cleared for surgery by his pulminologist. Her words were, "He looks too healthy to be in the pulminary lab." YES! There would be no breathing issues or heart issues. Every organ would work together perfectly.

5. Scared. Pray that I will trust God to take care of our son. This is the big one and to be quite honest - I am scared. Pray that I will be able to surrender all of these fears to God. If I think about it these thoughts just eat me up alive. But I must remember that He went ahead of us during his birth, hospital stay, code blues, passing the barium swallow test, coming home, first surgery, DOC band, and now this. How could I doubt His faithfulness? His love endures forever.

Thank you for reading this and praying for us. God has used each one of you as His arms that carried us through all that has happened. And here we go again...Here is a rare picture of Josiah and I. I thought I would post one of us since I'm baring my soul on this post. There is nothing else to hide.