It Takes A Village

They say it takes a village. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to keep a child safe. It takes a village to nourish and support her. It takes a village period. We all understand this philosophy it makes sense. But does it take a village to nourish and support a little girl who is not yet born and will likely never see her one-day old birthday?

Livie Isla's parents think so. And they're asking the world to be their village - not only for their unborn little girl, but also for their emotional journey. A journey that will end in sadness and grief - that is a guarantee. However, with a village supporting them with compassion and love, that grief may not sting quite as much - 'may' being the operative word.

Livie Isla is developing and living within her mother's womb. The baby personality shows in her movements and cycles, and a mother takes great comfort feeling all those little kicks, knowing her baby is thriving. By eight months, most parents are eager for their little baby to be born and counting the days until they can finally see her and cuddle her. But for Livie Isla's parents they know that on the day she is born they will only have a few minutes with their baby girl until she goes back to sleep forever.

Livie Isla's parents have launched a project - not for money and not even for awareness of the fatal birth defect that will take their daughter.

This project is for Livie to live vicariously through the village members that will embrace her spirit and show her things and places she may otherwise never see. They have embraced courage and made the decision to stay positive and celebrate her life now.

Yes, it takes a village. And yes, we are all of the same village.

God bless Livie Isla and her family and the village that supports this family's journey.

The Livie Project can be found here: http://thelivieproject.blogspot.ca/

And this is what her family is asking for:

When you find yourself somewhere beautiful, like the ocean, or a lake, or the mountains, or a park, or anywhere that you believe someone else should also see, we ask that you "write" her name, Livie Isla, in the sand, or with rocks, or leaves, or flowers, or anything you can think of. We would love for you to take a picture and send it to us so that we may use it in The Livie Project. It is also our wish that Livie get to "experience" all of the things that we all enjoy, but that she will never have the chance to experience. Maybe you hike, or kayak, or travel, or ski, or run, or whatever it is that you love to do, if you could find a way to "include" Livie in that experience, by holding a sign with her name or whatever you can think of, we would be forever grateful! The love, support, and connecting of people is how we want to celebrate and memorialize Livie's life.

You may email me Livie's pictures or add me on Facebook and upload them there.

Email: megLbraswell@gmail.com