Prayer for tomorrow

This was a pic I snapped today of Shepherd with his eyes open. He was sooo alert today, we got lot's of cuddle and talking time in.

Tomorrow, they will make the third attempt to take Shepherd off of the ventilator. He has failed two other extabations, the last one being Monday. Not much has changed since Monday, except that they hope that time will have made him stronger. This is a very important hurdle for Shepherd and once he can breath on his own, we hope that the hardest part (for now) will be over. That is the biggest thing keeping him from moving forward. We have some specific prayers that we hope will help aid Shepherd and the doctors in this process. Please pray with us.

-Pray for perfect timing
-Strength for Shep's body and lungs
-Reduced swelling in his airway
-Protection against Pneumonia
-Alertness for Shepherd
-Wisdom with the amount of pain meds that he is getting. They can make him drowsy, therefore hindering his ability to breath well. We don't want Shepherd to be in pain either. But right now, he is on morphine, not for pain but to help wean him off the other pain meds he was on. They are very strong drugs and their little bodies respond strongly so they have to slowly wean them off or their bodies get jittery and agitated like an addicts would. So we pray for wisdom for the team to find a balance of not too much and not too little.
-Prayer for his VSD (hole in his heart) that still remains. We pray that this is not the reason that he is having trouble breathing.
-That we would be hopeful and believe God can accomplish this
-That the Drs would know exactly what needs to happen to help Shep breath
-That the nurses he gets for tomorrows day shift will be experienced in this procedure
-Pray for our emotions. The previous times that he was extabated were the most difficult for us. He was very uncomfortable, couldn't breath, and he cries but no sound comes out because of damage to his airway. Pray for our strength and the ability to care well for him in that time.
-That as God works, the staff will not be able to deny that God has done it
-That we would clearly communicate the gospel every chance we have

Thank you for praying with us for tomorrow and we look forward to sharing with you the ways that God will work for his glory

The Joyners

This is a picture of the boys sitting on 'At McDonalds' lap (that's what Aslan calls Ronald McDonald. It's his version of Old McDonald and McDonalds). This is right outside the Ronald McDonald House where we are staying.