Still praying for Israel

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Only God knows the plans He has for Israel's life and our job is just to trust that He knows what He is doing. Even though Israel was born with the conditions we were told he would have, we will continue to pray for his healing. God can still heal him and we will continue to believe for this until we see it happen. God knows exactly what He is doing with Israel, He didn't "forget" about him or "mess-up". Israel is exactly the way he is supposed to be. Why? I don't know. But I can rest easy knowing God all ready has it all figured out! I believe there is a big calling on his little life and that he is going to touch nations. How? I don't know. But again, I can rest easy knowing God's got it all figured out. What a peace I feel knowing that I don't have to know why or how, but that I can just trust in God to work it all out. I can not imagine how I would feel if I didn't have God to get us through this. Where would I look for hope? For joy? For understanding? I am just so thankful that God is here with us, holding us up when we can't hold ourselves and walking us through each and every step of the way.

Israel continues to do well. He is growing, slowly...but he is growing non the less :-) He weighs 8 lbs 10 oz. He eats great and still naps a ton and is sleeping through the night. He is just starting to outgrow his newborn clothes and beginning to fit into some 0-3 month things. He is very alert and smiles and coos all the time.Many have asked about future doctor appointments, surgeries etc. Here is a little update on all of that.

Israel will continue to see his pediatrician at the normal milestones. His next one will be at 2 months old (Which will be next week all ready!).

We have seen a ENT (Eat, nose, throat) specialist at Dornbechers once all ready for Israel's Micrognathia (small chin/recessed jaw) and will continue to see him once every three months as we watch how his chin/jaw grow. There are no plans for any surgeries regarding this condition at this point as it is not posing any problem for Israel. There may be surgeries in the future, but it all just depends on how well his chin/jaw grow and how it effects his eating/breathing/teeth growth etc.

We will be going to Shriner's Hospital in July for Israel's first evaluation for his arms and legs. We are very excited that we have been accepted into this hospital because most of there services are free of charge...thank you Jesus! After this appointment we will know a lot more about what our future will look like for Israel regarding prosthetics, physical therapy etc.

Thank you all for the TONS of prayers that have been said for our precious little boy, as well as for our family. We ask that you please continue to remember Israel in your prayers as we believe God isn't finished with him yet! I created a new button for you to add to your page if you would like. The link is at the top righthand side of our blog.