Wall of Remembance

After 40 years of wandering in the desert the Lord brought the Israelites into the Promised Land.  The Lord stopped the flow of the Jordan River that His children might walk across dry ground into the Land He would give them.  Once they reached the other side He instructed Joshua to a have a man from each tribe take a stone from the midst of the Jordan and place it where they would camp.

"When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these 

stones mean?'then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over 

this Jordan on dry ground.' For the LORD your God dried up the waters 

of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God 

did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,

 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the 

LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."  

-Joshua 4: 21b-24  ESV

I know I've written quite a bit about our time in the NICU and this will be just one more to add to that collection.  While our 58 days in the NICU was not anywhere near 40 years wandering in the desert (thank heavens!), the Lord definitely led us through it.  Now that we have reached the other side, I really felt we needed our own Stones of Remembrance.  It truly was no small thing what God brought us through.

Many of you may know that we had a professional photo shoot while we were in the NICU.  The Tiny Footprints Project is a group of photographers in the United States and Canada that provide their professional services to NICU families free of charge.  It took just a private message on Facebook to be connected with a Tiny Footprints Project photographer out of Redding, CA named Lorraine Paoli, (If you click her name it will take you to her blog where she tells her story of being a NICU mom herself and her desire to be part of this amazing group of photographers. She even used our photos as part of her compilation).  She was once a NICU mom like me...and we were going to be her first clients, not as a photographer, but her first TFP clients.  I think she would argue she was more excited than we were.  She came all the way to Sacramento, about a 3 1/2 hour drive, in her Excursion no less, to photograph our precious boy and two other NICU families.  She was fabulous!

I wanted to make sure that the moments captured that day were not something that sat forever digitized on my computer and forgotten.  Life in the NICU was not something we will ever forget.  Life in the NICU is how Riley survived the first 8 weeks of life.  Even though some of the memories are hard and painful, they should be remembered.  The Lord's faithfulness is something we will always credit when reflecting on the time we spent at Sutter Memorial.  Now, thanks to Lorraine and The Tiny Footprints Project, we now have our own "Stones of Remembrance."  

 Of the 59 pictures Lorraine gave us that day, these are just 20 of my most favorite.

Riley means Courageous.  When I thought how I would display these precious moments, I knew immediately I wanted the photos to be centered around this promise.

By FAR one of my most favorite pictures of our son that day. 

 A long time friend had this blanket made for Riley.  His name and birth date embroidered across the bottom was such a special personalized gift for our precious miracle.

"You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13."  

My sister Kim made this for Riley's isolette.  We made sure it was displayed proudly on each of the cribs he was in during his time in the NICU.  I hope it caught the eye of parents, nurses, doctors, and visitors and served as a reminder to all who saw it that these babies were created with thought and purpose.

Another one of my favs.  He is just staring up at Danny.  I love that she caught this moment.

So much of our time near the end of our stay revolved around feedings.  The reason we stayed as long as we did was so Riley could get the whole eating thing down without his heart rate dropping (which was a BIG deal!).  By the end, we were there for 6 of the 8 feeds each day to ensure consistency and that his specific needs were being met each time.  I love this "post meal" pic--father and son...melt my heart!  I also didn't want to over look the elements that made up the NICU.  I included pictures like the one to the right of his crib.  There's also one of his monitor proudly displayed on the wall.

 

 I remember posing for this picture.  I was given the most awkward instructions as I tried to do just what Lorraine was instructing.  I thought for sure I had to have looked as uncomfortable as I felt, but as it turns out, this is in the top 10 BEST pictures I've ever taken and I love that it is with my little man.  I will treasure this one forever!!

I love that a generously gifted photo session, some yard sale picture frames, a couple coats of paint, and a few strategically placed nails, has perfectly completed our Riley's nursery.