Tuesday, May 7, 2013

18 Days of Grace: Downtown Delafield

One of the most wonderful opportunities Paul and I were blessed with while carrying Grace was the opportunity to have maternity photos taken. I didn't think they would provide as much joy as they do. In fact, we really weren't considering getting them done at all.  We wanted to be smart with our finances and didn't know what Grace's cremation and services for the funeral home were going to cost us.  Plus, Paul really does not like getting his pictures taken (who does) and so he didn't seem to keen on the idea anyway.  

I remember contacting Kelly from Illustrations Photography shortly after my sister-in-law, Jamie, informed me of the non-profit organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. You see, Jamie has been a RN for roughly 11 years in the NICU.  She has definitely seen her fair share of families suffering over the loss of their precious babies.  I give these nurses so much credit for the strength it takes to care for this children and the sensitivity they possess.  God surely has blessed each of these women with such a special gift. I was so thankful she mentioned this to me because I would have never of known about this organization.  Through various conversations on trying to understand how her services work, she felt it in her heart to offer Paul and I the opportunity to take maternity photos out of the kindness of her heart.  

Kelly met us in the beautiful downtown Delafield area on an absolutely beautiful day.  I particularly loved the fact that Kelly asked me what I liked about different pictures that I have seen in the past.  I noted in an e-mail that I loved different textures (stone, brick etc) in the backgrounds.  When we pulled into the area, I was in awe to see how receptive she was to my suggestion.  Not only that, but she came with her different lenses strapped around her body and a bag filled with the little blocks that spelled Grace's name.  

Paul and I had never met Kelly before.  Besides e-mailing and talking on the telephone a couple of times in between her daughter's nap time, I had no idea what she even looked like.  I was so nervous to meet her.  I didn't want the interaction to be weird for her because of Grace's condition.  I also feared that Paul would be a total pill and huff and puff about the different poses and what not.  Thankfully, God heard our prayers because I have never felt so at ease with someone taking my photos.  She was extremely outgoing, tender, and complementary.  I've never felt comfortable in front of a camera before, but boy, did she change that for me.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the two of them.  And to think, our sweet Grace was there the entire time we giggled and smiled.  It was such a blessing to have her be apart of that.   

After having a couple of friends taking classes on editing, I have a pretty decent understanding to the amount of time it takes to edit pictures. When I went to the mail a couple days later, Kelly had sent the CD with tons of perfectly edited pictures. I was in awe to see how devoted she was to finishing this session with us and so that we could enjoy the pictures as soon as possible.  

As part of my 18 Days of Grace series, Paul and I went back to visit the spot Kelly so graciously took us to.   I am a very sentimental person and so I thought this would be a perfect way to remember her.  As we pulled into the area, I began to get emotional remembering the last time we were there, it was just wasn't with Paul...Grace was there too.  When we stepped foot out of our car we saw this beautiful rainbow above our heads.  I couldn't help but turn my frown into a smile.  I remembered that a rainbow is a promise from God that he will never flood the earth again.  God's promise.  He never breaks His promises.  I found great hope in the fact that God promises eternal life to anyone who believes that He sent His Son to save us from our sins. That made me think of Grace surrounding the throne, praising Him.  I can't wait to join her!




We walked the same path and sat on the same tree branches we did when Grace was with us. We laughed and made funny faces because we know that she would want us to happy and to enjoy the life we've been blessed with. And even though we wished that she were with us more than anything, we are just thankful we get to be her mama and daddy.  

Here are some pictures from our day remembering our sweet pea.  You will see that I've included Kelly's pictures of our maternity session as well.  






We ended our walk listening to another Cardinal singing away and capturing this beautiful picture with a  rainbow reflection from the sun.  



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