Historic!

Today is historic. We paid off my student loan! {Insert shouts of joy.}

I love living simply...

Cheers to the simple life! And no more college debt!

::: Little Smacker :::

Life's cute little 13 month old voice

::: oh :::

And I will try to get more recent pics of her up on here. I've been such a slacker lately! :)

I guess that's what being busy will do to you! It will take you straight to slackerville!

::: one year ago today :::

We brought Life home from the Children's Medical one year ago today. What a difference a year makes. When we brought her home, she was a 5 or 6 pound tiny girl (we never got her weight before she left the hospital) hooked up to 1/8th oxygen. She didn't wean from the oxygen until my birthday (9/11) and I thought that was the longest time for her to be on oxygen. In the grand scheme of things, we were only at Children's for 4 weeks and she was only on oxygen for 2 weeks at home, but it felt like an eternity. And in reality, all that happened to her should have taken much longer for her to recover from. (Mercy, truly!)

There's not a day that goes by when I don't thank God for what He has done for her. A Severe Mercy was given to my soul with the entrance of our little girl. It was nothing like I would have planned it to be, but it glorified our God and it changed me forever. And for that, I am forever grateful.


Thank you, Jesus, for one year ago today the gift of bringing our little girl home. Thank you for what a difference a year makes.

---

Some new developments with Life:
- She is highly allergic to eggs.
- She is going to have to go into Childrens' for an overnight (or two) study (a sleep study EEG) to determine if she is having seizures. Last week, she had her fourth episode of turning bluish/gray and floating in a semi-unconscious-state in the middle of the night. Her pediatrician thinks that they might be night terrors, but this also could be a sign that she is having seizures. It comforted me to hear that she is allergic to eggs though because one of the times when she had one of these episodes was right after I gave her scrambled eggs. Apparently, she is extremely allergic to eggs. (Relief!)

I'll keep you guys posted on her studies and how you can best be praying for her. For right now, please pray for normal brain activity. Pray that these reactions that she is having are not seizures but just an allergic reaction to eggs. We can handle an egg allergy easily.

May God be glorified through the healing of our little girl. He has done great things in her and will continue to do so...

I love you all.
~Lauren

:::Your Formal Invitation:::

We realize that it might seem a strange idea to open our daughter’s first birthday party up to the public. But her entry into this world had many hanging in the gallows with us as we walked through the darkest moments of our lives. We were introduced to parenthood with a violent wake-up call to the fragility of life. We felt such immense pain and incredible joys and many of you walked through it with us. Many of you lived those feelings with us. Many of you held our hands, prayed throughout the nighttime, and many rooted for her (and us) silently on the sidelines only to have us feel your presence with us in the darkness. To all of you, we thank you. If you are our close friends, family or a silent cheerer on the sideline, you have marked our hearts forever. Thank you for rooting for Life. Thank you for lifting us up. Thank you for being a source of strength for us when we were weary. Thank you for praying for us when we felt too much pain to voice a prayer. And, now, thank you for celebrating with us.

We would love nothing more than to have you be a part of the milestone of Miss Life’s first birthday. There are moments when you celebrate with every part of your being, and this is one of them for us. Please join us in thanking God for Life.





Visit The Pearl Cup on the web at: http://www.thepearlcup.com/

:::Little Miss Sunshine is Turning ONE!:::

To celebrate the gift of Life on her 1st birthday, come join us at:

The Pearl Cup Espresso Bar
1900 N. Henderson Ave, Dallas, TX 75206

When: Saturday, August 1st

Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm

Come and hear live music, eat some amazing cake with Miss Life, and support The Pearl Cup by trying out their amazing signature drink, the Pearl Latte (or any other beverage of your choice). Everyone's invited to celebrate with us. God has done amazing things. Let us give thanks.

Hope to see you there.






The Pearl Cup's main focus is providing the best espresso and customer service in an environment that is welcoming and comfortable. They use a La Marzocco espresso machine and have trained their baristas to create truly hand crafted beverages – even down to the latte art. Visit them on the web at www.thepearlcup.com.