Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

"Now I lay me down to sleep" is the prayer that my family used before bed when we were little. If I remember correctly we said something like "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. God bless Mom, Dad, Scott, Kirsten, Todd, Shi-Shi, Jesus, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Amen." It was certainly a start to a lifetime of asking God to bless those significant to us... yes, even the Easter Bunny and Santa. What kid wouldn't want God to bless them? (Shi-Shi, by the way, was the dog.)

This prayer has new meaning to me now, after meeting the next person we want you to know- an angel named Kim. Kim is a photographer who volunteers time with an international non-profit organization called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" (NILMDTS, for short). Grace, who I introduced you to in "Grace and the Courtney Cares Boxes", contacted Kim to see if she would be willing to set aside some of her plans the day before Thanksgiving to take photos of our little peanut. Kim produced absolutely beautiful pictures of Courtney, some by herself and some with us. We are so thankful for her work! We have some other tangible memories of Courtney, but the pictures best help us tell the story of Courtney. Here are a couple of my favorites:

I love the prayer on this picture, and the detail it shows of the little peanut- the "family" nose from my mother's side, the curly hair, and ears that are thankfully my husband's, not my father's! (Couldn't resist, Dad!)

The prayer:

Now I lay you down to sleep,
I pray the Lord your soul to keep;
Within his arms he'll hold you tight,
My Heavenly Angel, My Guiding Light

This is my favorite picture of Courtney. The peace on her little face, and the lamb in her hands constantly remind me that while we feel the pain of grief and loss, she is at peace in Jesus' hands.








The feet on the background of this blog is also from one of Kim's pictures.

Not only were we given beautiful pictures, Kim also put together a slide show, set to beautiful music, of the pictures and some quotes. We are so blessed that NILMDTS and Kim were able to be a part of Courtney's time with us, and because of Kim's work we are able to share the beauty of our daughter with you. To learn more about NILMDTS, visit their website: www.nowilaymedowntosleep.com.