Prayers for Friends and a Julianne Update

**Update** Emma Kate's surgery is postponed due to an additional cardiac issue that wasn't found until she was examined in Boston. She will now have a catherization on Friday and surgery sometime in the days following. Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers. :)

One of our local "heart friends", Emma Kate, headed up to Boston yesterday to undergo open heart surgery tomorrow. Emma Kate is about 2 months younger than Julianne. We know how scary it is to hand your baby over to the surgical team and we also know how the peace of God can calm those fears. Please keep sweet Emma Kate, her parents and family in your prayers.

To update y'all on Sofi, she still needs your prayers. She is still on the ventilator, but they are getting some smiles out of her now. In her parents' words, "Sofi isn’t any better, isn’t any worse… i guess thats alright. Her cardiologist was worried yesterday and is slightly more optimistic today, but she still has a very long road to recovery. She is too weak to breathe on her own at all, and is being fully ventilated."' Please continue to keep this little girl in your prayers.

We met with the dietitian last week and it went really well! We are on our way to transitioning to a blended food diet. Working with a dietitian to make meal plans will help ensure that Julianne is getting all of the nutrients she needs even though she's not getting formula. I can't tell you how excited I was to pick out baby foods! It seems silly, I know, but when you've been feeding your baby 99% formula for almost 20 months its quite enjoyable to finally pick out something new. :)

We met all of the new therapists and they seem really great! Julianne played well while they were here and they got to see the "real" (mostly) Julianne. The occupational therapist will come once a week and the physical therapist will come 3 times a quarter. Julianne will not have a special instructor this time. They felt that she is not behind on her cognitive skills and doesn't need a special instructor. That was great to hear! The occupational therapist will begin working with Julianne tomorrow.

Thanks so much for checking in on Julianne and thank you, thank you for your prayers. :)