Sophia and Sofie

Over the past week and a half a lot has been happening over here.  Much of it I will be sharing with you over the next few weeks.  But I wanted to take a quick minute to give some praise to God and also to ask for some prayer.

The Praise:
February 5, is a special day to begin with.  It is the birthday of our beautiful little nephew Aiden and it is also the birthday our other "nephew", our best friend's son, Eli.  Now the day also has a new very special birthday added to it.

I remember very specifically last June when my Sister-In-Law, Melissa, told me that they were waiting to hear if her sister was pregnant.  I had already been praying for her sister and brother-in-law as their desire was to have a baby.  Their baby story is not my story to tell, it is filled with ups and downs, but I can tell you that they were blessed with a baby girl named Sophia on February 5th.  This little girl who weighed in at 5.4lbs was born about a month early, but they were planning on an early arrival.  She came home on Sunday and is (last I heard) doing very well.  I am afraid she is going to be one spoiled little girl! It is my desire to be able to meet this very special little girl in July, but until then, I keep bugging her Aunt to keep sending me pictures!

The Prayer:
There is  another very special little girl who at this very moment is still safe inside her mother.  But her story isn't going to end with coming home a few days after she is born.  She is my cousins little girl and her name is Sofie.  It was discovered a few months ago that this little girl has a very special condition.  Well, actually a few very special conditions that work together to cause a very big problem.  This problem is very rare, so rare that although my cousin lives on the East Coast, they flew out last week to California to stay there until Sofie is born.  The doctor who created the surgery to save Sofie's life is there.  My cousin Kevin and his wife Liz are now in California for the next month.  After Sofie's birth she will have to have a heart catheterization on day 1 or 2.  She will be in NICU for at least two weeks.  If she is stable enough she will be allowed to fly home.  But she will have to return to California for heart surgery when she is 3-6mos of age.  We are praying the doctor can fix everything in one surgery, it all depends on how severe her problems are.  Sofie will be required to have heart surgery every 5 years as her body grows.

Obviously, much prayer is needed for a safe delivery and for the skilled hands and mind of the doctor who will be working on Sofie over the next six months.  Prayer is also needed for Kevin and Liz who are having to deal emotionally with the physical issues that plague their daughter.  Please pray that Kevin and (especially) Liz will remain in good health as they await the birth of their daughter.  Pray for them financially, as I am sure you can all understand will get quite costly now and in the years to come.  But where my heart stops to rest is on Sofie's big sisters who are staying with their Aunt back on the East Coast.  Two little girls who's parents are far away from them and no matter how much you try to explain, they just can't fully comprehend all that is happening and why.

So that about sums it up... Two very special blessings from God, that have been and will continue to be wrapped up in prayer.  I will keep you updated on Sofie's journey as best I can over the next few weeks, I know Kevin and Liz covet all the prayer that is being said on behalf of their family.  Their faith is strong, but as you can imagine, it is being tested right now.

OK, hope to be back a little later today with a post for my Ty-Ty!