...Life's song...

...baby life is one-month-old...

a friend of the larsen family got together with other members of LakePointe Church and the MERGE community (the young adults' group that matt leads) to create a beautiful song as a gift (and fundraiser) for the larsens.

it is fittingly called "life's song."

"life's song" can be downloaded and/or heard

by clicking here.

this website is also set-up to accept donations to help ease the burden of the medical costs that the larsen family has accumulated since lauren & life's first hospitalization back in may. with the pre-term labor stay, life's birth, the transport to children's hospital, and then her stay in the NICU, the bills have stacked up... anything you can give would help. their friends are asking for $1 per download. the proceeds go directly to the larsen family.

i highly recommend that you listen to this sweet song.

get your tissues ready...i cried like a baby listening to it. it's a beautiful song, and it chronicles perfectly the journey that God has taken us on, alongside the larsens, as we lifted up their baby girl to our Savior.

i hope it blesses you as much as it did me!

www.lifes-song.com

go check out some amazing pictures

as a tribute to Life's first month at:

aroyalallegiance.blogspot.com

...Life at home...

"my God is mighty to save!"

and save, He has... Life Lucia Larsen, that is.

after so many scares, so many tears, so many sleepless, worry-filled nights for the larsen family, they got to go home today.

they got to go home.

as a family.

together.

life is spending her 28th night out in this world, at home, with her mommy and daddy. praise the Lord!

the nursery was ready. mommy and daddy were ready. God just had to get life ready. and boy, did He get her ready... she's such a perfect little miracle.

thank you for your continued prayers for this sweet family as they enter a new journey together, outside of the safety of their medical team and the machines and the hospital rooms.

i have had such an attachment to this story, to this family, to what God is doing for this baby girl. i feel that i am forever changed.

forever changed by a baby girl, who God used to bring life and light to those who have heard her story and have lifted their voices and shed tears to God on her behalf; to bring life and light to those who saw His perfect glory and power as He continuously restored her tiny body.

life and light... Life Lucia... how fitting.

a perfect name for a perfect little girl.

...sweet baby Life...

our Heavenly Father is moving in miraculous ways.

this story has touched me so deeply, and i am changed by seeing the Lord move in such an intimate, powerful way.

life is doing SO well!

she was "extubated" yesterday, which means her breathing tube was taken out. she has been weaned off of Flolan and Nitric Oxide... most of her medicines, i know, but maybe not all of them.

she is not sedated anymore, and has gotten to share special moments with her Momma & Daddy, including staring into their eyes and being held! that's right, lauren & matt finally got to hold their baby girl yesterday, on her 2 week birthday, for the first time! what a sweet praise!

the main thing we are still praying for, besides God's continued healing, is that Life's brain bleed disappear. the last i heard, it was still at a grade 3, which can cause significant brain damage... or it might not. right now, they are just waiting and hoping expectantly that Life will have no lasting effects from this battle. we are praying for a healed and healthy brain!

here are some sweet pictures from this week.

they are a beautiful family.

thank you for your prayers.

...daddy's loving gaze...

...the larsen girls....

...tickle toes...

...beautiful baby girl...

...daddy's hand...

you can check out lauren's amazing photography

at Lauren Larsen Photography. she is a true artist.

(www.laurenlarsen.com)

...Life in pictures...

today, when she opened her eyes for the first time

...hi mommy...

...hi daddy...

...i love you...

...i'm realizing how beautiful and precious these

sweet, simple moments

can be when they are not guaranteed...

...and how we so easily take them for granted,

because when are they ever truly guaranteed?...

...thank you, Lord Jesus, for such a beautiful day

for baby Life and her mommy & daddy...

...beautiful...

baby Life opened her eyes today for the first time!

so... for the first time, her mommy & daddy looked into the eyes of their precious daughter. they got to see their color, their shape, the "life" behind them...

...and for the first time, Life got to put a face to the voices she has heard over the last 9 months or so... singing to her, talking to her, encouraging her, praying over her, telling her how deeply she is loved...

...for the first time, Life got to see her mommy & daddy.

...and mommy & daddy got to share in this moment together.

beautiful.

...abundant Life...

"I have come that they may have Life,

and have [her] abundantly

(more full & better than they've ever dreamed of)."

- John 10:10 -

Praise our Father that Life had a good night!

They were able to lower some of her medications and switch her from the oscillator to a high frequency ventilator and then to a lower frequency ventilator.

Around 7 am this morning, she began shunting slightly, again.

- Continue to pray for complete healing for baby Life.

- Pray for her shunting to cease and her Pulmonary Hypertension to be healed.

- The doctors are beginning to worry that she could have a congenital and possibly more permanent condition, since there has been no improvement with the Pulmonary Hypertension. Pray that this is not the case. Pray for healing in either situation.

What a long and wild week this tiny, baby girl has had... Praise the Lord that she has come through this far... fighting the whole way!

I have really been ministered to, this week, as I've had an intimate view of something amazing God is doing. I am still praying for God to do more than asked or imagined... to completely heal Life and restore her tiny body... to glorify His great name in this situation!

Have a blessed weekend!

...life lucia larsen...

This is an update on Lauren & Matt Larsen's little girl, Life Lucia, as of Thursday afternoon.

Brain Bleeding

(With Grades 1 & 2 bleeding, there is usually no brain damage... with Grade 4 there is substantial brain damage... Grade 3 can go any way. Life has had a Grade 3 Brain Bleed.)

Even though doctors were concerned that because Life progressed to a Grade 3 brain bleed in only 24 hours, she would eventually progress to a Grade 4, her scans came back today still at a Grade 3. This is a praise, because she has not gotten worse. The bleeding is in her ventricles and not in her tissue.

However, there is a new hurdle to clear... our brains secrete Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF), which is then absorbed into the brain and spine. Because of the blood in Life's ventricles, the CSF is not being absorbed, which is dilating her ventricles. The risk is that they could get big enough to crush the brain tissue and therefore cause significant damage.

Pulmonary Hypertension

The doctor shared with Lauren & Matt last night that because her Pulmonary artery has not shown signs of improvement, he is beginning to be concerned that Life has something other than Pulmonary Hypertension. There are a few different problems that Life could have that could look like Pulmonary Hypertension. These problems are congenital and might never get any better.

What To Pray For:

1. Praise our Father that she did not have ANY bleeding in her brain tissue, as of this morning.

2. Pray that the bleeding would ultimately clot and diminish, and that it would not progress anymore to a Grade 4 brain bleed.

3. Petition our Father that Life's body will absorb her Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) from her brain ventricles into her body.

4. Pray for wisdom for the doctors in discovering what the issue is with Life's Pulmonary artery. Pray that it is nothing worse or more long term than Pulmonary Hypertension, and that ultimately, she would be healed completely from either.

5. Continue to pray for peace, strength and endurance for Lauren & Matt. And pray for rest. They are not getting any sleep because they wake up all night to call Life's room and check on her.

Thank you for warring in prayer with the Larsens!

...prayer for life lucia larsen...

After many changes :-), Lauren & Matt have officially

named their baby girl Life Lucia Larsen.

Her name was inspired from John 1:4...

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of men."

(Lucia means "light.")

keep praying for their family, urgent prayers, as life has developed a level 3 brain bleed (4 being the highest), and they are having to slowly ween her from the ECMO that is sustaining her, as the machine can cause more brain damage with the bleed. this is such a scary time for lauren & matt. pray for protection and healing for baby life, and for peace and comfort for lauren & matt. pray with expectation and with hope.

lauren, matt & baby gracen life larsen

lauren is a friend of mine from high school. she and her husband, matt, were blessed with their first child, a little girl, at almost midnight on thursday, july 31st. after several complications during pregnancy (including pre-term labor at 24 weeks), lauren and matt were so relieved to meet their baby girl, gracen life.

they quickly learned, though, that "life," as they are calling her, was not as healthy as they could have prayed... she was diagnosed with not only one, but three life-threatening conditions: a horrible infection (which lauren is also suffering from), pulmonary hypertension and rds (respiratory distress sydrome). the doctors gave gracen life a 50% chance of survival. lauren and matt were devastated and terrified.

but still, they had hope.

as their sweet baby girl was rushed to the NICU at children's hospital, lauren & matt waited and prayed. there were many risks during the transport, including cardiac arrest. baby life made it to children's with only a scare, and then endured a very critical surgery to implant a device called an ECMO (basically being her heart, lungs and kidneys while she is still fighting). lauren was still fighting her infection, but was discharged to be with her husband and baby at children's. the doctors said that if baby life could fight off her infection, that she would have a chance at recovery and survival... but they also said she was "not out of the woods, yet." lauren and matt were fearful.

but still, they had hope.

baby life is now 3 days old, and while her tiny body is being supported by this huge machine, she is fighting strong. her oxygen levels have stabilized at 98 (which is very good). so far, there have been no strokes, no brain bleeds, no cardiac arrests, no brain damage... all which are very common in pre-term babies and babies who have the conditions which gracen life is suffering from. lauren and matt are weary and desperately want to hold their baby and bring her home...

...and still, they have hope.

please join with me in praying for this sweet couple and their baby girl. i can't imagine what they must be going through, and i can only hope that my faith and joy in the Lord would not be crushed if i knew there was a chance i could lose my sweet emma kate. lauren and matt have been a beautiful picture of faith and joy in the midst of turmoil. their trust in God's sovereignty is incredible and so encouraging.

this is lauren's plea:

"pray for Life. pray for healing from her infection, for the ECMO to work and for complete restoration. God has been so gracious to us. we covet your prayers."

click here to read more about lauren, matt and baby larsen and the journey that God has taken them on over the last few months. be ready to shed some tears and be inspired.