2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway ~ Day 3

**Yesterday's Day 2 winner will be announced at the end of this post!**

Today's post is extra special. That's because in February of this past year, I had the honor of meeting and capturing sweet Emma's much too short visit here on Earth. Many of you know that I work with an organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. For those that aren't aware of what NILMDTS is, this is taken from the website:

"Pregnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.
But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.
This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives. The NILMDTS mission statement is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with the gift of professional portraiture. We believe these images serve as an important step in the family's healing process by honoring their child's legacy.
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of more than 7,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and 25 countries. At a family's request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby."

So, as you can see, this organization is not one that's easy to be a part of by any means, but just knowing that the gift we provide to these families that find themselves in this horrible situation may somehow make things just a little easier, is more than enough reason for me personally to keep doing what I do.

Back to Emma. This beautiful girl's time was short, but through her pictures and her families memories, her legacy lives on. Her Mommmy is all about sharing Emma's life with anyone who will listen, and I thought that March's entry should be dedicated to her (with her Mommy's blessing of course)

Emma and the other sweet angels I've met on this journey of being an area co-ordinator for NILMDTS have changed me in ways I can't explain and for that, I'm humbled and thankful.

Back to the contest, today's prize is a little bit different and I hope you'll all understand why. Comment on this post for your chance at today's prize,
a 25.00 donation to NILMDTS in your name, in honor of Emma and the other sweet babies who's time here on earth was far too short.

To have a chance at winning, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog each day, under that day's post, if you'd like to be have a chance at winning. Your comment can be anything, simply your name, a comment about that day's photo etc... The next day, I will have random.org choose a winner and will post that winner, along with the next day's blog entry. It's advisable to comment as soon as possible after the day's entry is made as I'm not going to give out set times as to when I'll be posting and when winners will be chosen. It will be whenever I have time in the day to do so.
I will post a reminder in my status on facebook as to when the blog post(s) will be visible. Comments MUST be made here on the blog, not on facebook, in order to be considered.

And now onto the Day 2 winner of the $50.00 gift certificate...



Congratulations jke7698 (I'll assume that's not your real name). Please email me at shayward1@cogeco.ca by Jan. 2, 2011 to claim your prize! Any prizes claimed after this date will be forfeited.