"It was bittersweet," her mother said. "I was excited to hold her, but it was very hard."

Riley lived for only 23 minutes, 23 minutes her parents will cherish forever.

"I'll never forget it," her father said, "just touching her face and holding her hand."

Riley's parents were told by doctors she probably wouldn't survive, so they called a national group called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Photographers with the group volunteer to take pictures of these angels during their final moments on Earth.

Fran Weimer Adkins was in the hospital capturing Riley's beauty when her tiny heart stopped beating.

"It's too overwhelming to think about when I'm doing it, so I just have to photograph knowing I can give this to them and they will have it," she said.

Fran and her husband Gary have been a part of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep for two years.

"It's easy to say they didn't exist, but they did and they're a part of you," Gary Adkins said. "Photographs and pictures are the only thing that we have to remember that individual with."

The photographers capture beautiful and precious snapshots of a lasting love that will never die.

"We have a picture of her by our bed," Riley's father said, "and every night we give her a kiss before we go to bed."

For more information on Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, or to volunteer with the group, visit their Web site at nowilaymedowntosleep.org.

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