Tender Mercies from the Lord and our sweet BrynnLe

This has been a crazy few months! Our family has been changed for good. We will never be the same. I have contemplated how to share our new adventure with others, not because I am ashamed, but because it has been a very sacred time for us. It has also been a time of sorrow and adjustment for Eric and I. As most of you know we have 4 boys! I love my boys. I love being a mom of crazy busy and loud boys. I never really saw me having a girl after all of these boys. I love football, wrestling, baseball and all the "boy" things. I love watching them play sports and learn and grow. After our 4th son we knew our family was not complete yet! WHAT???? It took some time but we finally gave into the feelings. It took some time, over 4 years to get our next one coming, but what a surprise it was when we found out SHE was coming to our family. friends and family all celebrated with us for the next 6 months. Our life was being invaded by pink and bows and more pink! What a great 6 months we had planning for our princess to come. All the plans of dance lessons, mom and daughter outings and all the fun things I did with my mom and sisters. I would get to buy her dresses, prom dresses and help plan a wedding! I was so excited, but deep down I kept it all to myself. I didnt' want to jinx it and have her really be a boy! It was hard for me to really grasp the concept of a girl. I think this was one way the Lord was preparing me for what was to come. I always had a strange feeling that things would be different, I just didn't know how different they really would be. I am thankful for the tender mercies the Lord has given me and my family. I am thankful for the joy BrynnLe has brought us all. I love her so much...my life is forever changed. Not as I had planned, but that is ok. On April 29, 2013 at 8:45pm BrynnLe Larsen made her entrance into this world...three weeks before planned. Here is her story: Her kidneys had been enlarged on an off and we had been monitoring them with an ultra sound each week. At 36 & 1/2 weeks the dr. noticed that the umbilical cord had herniated and that her left kidney was twice the size of the right. They felt it would be best to induce at 37 weeks, to make sure she stayed healthy. We had a family fast on Sunday and both Eric and I received blessings. We both felt comforted, but I had a strange feeling that BrynnLe was not mine. The Lord poured his Spirit out on me that day. I knew that I BrynnLe was a daughter of God and that she was merely on loan to me an our family. I know that all our children are His, but the feeling I had was overwhelming. I had this feeling several time throughout my pregnancy, but didn’t really pay much attention to it. I said it was hormones! :) A little after her birth, Eric and I sat alone in the hospital room marveling over our beautiful little baby girl. Oh how we felt her strong spirit and a deep love for her. We were talking about who she looked like...she has Eric's eyes, my mouth and round head. She looked a lot like Abraham! She is perfect! And she has beautiful light brown hair. The Dr. came in to check on us and let us know he had a few concerns about BrynnLe. He told us she had some soft signs of Down Syndrome. She has a simian crease in her hands, slanted eyes, small and low placed ears. He wanted to do a chromosomal test and we agreed. Eric and i were then left alone once again....shock, anger and sadness came over us both. We just cried! We were mourning the life we thought we had lost because of her having Down Syndrome, the things we were going to miss out on. Then we realized this was not about us! To us, she was perfect, she is our baby girl, she was going to be fine and have a great life! The next morning I phoned my parents and told them what the Dr. had informed us the night before. My dad assisted Eric in giving BrynnLe a blessing. She was then taken to get her blood drawn for the test. Eric and I prayed and prayed. We received a confirmation from the Spirit that she did have down syndrome. We still waited and maybe even hoped for the results to come back negative. She had an ultrasound on her kidneys and they were back to normal size and working well. What a blessing. Thursday Eric went to work and mom came out to be with me and BrynnLe. Dr. Evans came to the house around 1:30pm. My heart sank as I knew what he was going to say. The test came back positive. He wanted to tell us in person and I was so thankful for his kindness. I texted Eric and asked him to come home. I wanted to tell him in persone. Dad came out and assisted Eric in giving me a blessing...it was beautiful and very comforting. Over 50% of Down Syndrome babies have a heart defect. So her Dr ordered an echocardiogram. Once again we were fasting and praying that her little heart would be whole. This would increases her lifespan and would influence her overall heath. On top of this she was jaundice so we were testing that everyday! On Wednesday May 8th we found out that she has a strong and normal heart. We are so thankful for her health. We count her a one of our choicest blessings. She is beautiful. She is our princess. Her spirit if felt by those who hold her. We could not be more happy with our new addition. BrynnLe is a daughter of God! It is our privilege to be her parents and family here on earth. What a great journey it will be to watch her grow!

Life is so great with our little one. We still have unanswered questions about what life will hold for her and our family. We are so very blest to have great family and friends who offer love and support! We are so thankful for all the amazing people in our lives. We blessed BrynnLe this past week and it was such a great day. We felt the spirit so strong as we entered into the chapel. Eric sat down and turned to me during the opening song and said, "this is not good", he was already in tears. I tried chocking back the tears but couldn't. We were both on a spiritual high. He gave BrynnLe a blessing that was so unique, just like her. I could tell he struggled as to what to say as he was sorting out what he wanted for her and what the Lord had in mind for her. I don't think there were many dry eyes in the congregation that day. It was so wonderful to have most of my family there to share in such a sacred and special day for our family. What a blessing! Then we all ventured to Matt and Lisa Cardons home. What a great time we had there. It was nice to be together and enjoy each others company.