Glimmer of Hope and Joy Through the Darkness

Gunnar's 1st Birthday! August 1,2009

This cute little boy is one of my nephews. He holds a special place in the hearts of each person in the Larsen Family. This little boy was born on a very special day... a day that the families heart was broken, but he brought a glimmer of hope and joy.

Here is his story...

July 25 th 2008 Kamber had drown in our pool. Hearts were broken, testimonies were tested, and tons and tons of tears were shed for our sweet Kamber girl. My brother-in-law Spencer was in Colorado for his first day of training camp for the Denver Broncos when the devastating news of Kamber was relayed by his wife Annie who was still in Arizona waiting for the birth of her baby. Annie had about a month before Gunnar was to be born. Spencer was able to come down for a day to be with the family during this trying time. All the family rallied together and helped me out a ton. Annie came over every day with her little boy Tyton to help make sure things were getting done at my home. I know this was not easy for her being the last month of her pregnancy, but there she was day after day supporting us. Spencer had to head back to Colorado to finish training camp, but little did we know we would be seeing him sooner than we all expected.

The whole week of the 25th were spent planning Kamber's funeral and of course extremely emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausting. The night of Kambers viewing Annie had said that she was having some contractions but I had no clue how strong they really were. Annie did a good job hiding it from me, which she says she wanted this time to be all about Kamber. The next day, Friday August 1st was Kamber's funeral. I have to say that I was so busy worrying about this day and being so emotional that I hardly even remember the people that spoke to me or even attended the funeral, it was such a blur. But I do remember that the chapel to our church was packed. All in support of our family and sweet Kamber. Little to my knowledge Annie was in the lobby listening to the funeral while having intense contractions. As we all went to the cemetery Annie was headed to the hospital. Later I found out that Annie was admitted to the hospital and that little Gunnar was going to be born soon. Ethan and I went home exhausted and fell asleep. That day I had a sweet experience and knew when Gunnar was born before we even got the phone call minutes after his birth. We were again heading to a hospital sooner than I had ever hoped that I would have to, but there was peace. Through our darkest moment, joy was found in this new baby boy. It turned into a beautiful day, a day of peace and a glimmer of hope and joy. Spencer came down to be with his family and he and Annie decided to name their new little boy after Kamber. They named him Gunnar Kamb Larsen. One sweet innocent child had left this earth and another had entered. Just one of the tender mercies given to our family during the hardest time in our lives.