What a fun session! 

We played inside…we played outside…

These were so hard to narrow down to just a few to share with you.    

Can I Borrow $25?
A  man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his  5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON:  ‘Daddy, may I ask you a question?’
DAD: ‘Yeah sure, what  it is?’ replied the man.
SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you  make an hour?’
DAD: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do  you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.
SON: ‘I  just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make  an hour?’
DAD: ‘If you must know, I make $50 an  hour.’
SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: ‘Daddy, may I please borrow  $25?’
The father was furious, ‘If the only reason  you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself  straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolities.’ The little boy quietly went to his  room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started  to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?  After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed  to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for  money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. ‘Are you asleep, son?’  He asked. ‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy. ‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the  man ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on  you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.’
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ He  yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some  crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had  money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly  counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. ‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father  grumbled.  Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the  little boy replied. ‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy  an
hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I  would like to have dinner with you.’
The father  was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and  he begged for his forgiveness. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours.  But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

From my house to yours:
‘The light of God surrounds us.
The  love of God enfolds us.
The power of God protects us.
The presence of God watches over us.
Wherever we are God is and all is well.’
From my  home to yours - enjoy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

My Thoughts…The world as we knew it has changed dramatically in the past three weeks but aren’t we so blessed to know that the love that we share with our kids is constant.  They love us just the same if we are a CEO or a cashier…the president or a waitress.  In these changing times let’s all hold on to the things that matter most and make the most of the things that matter.  Thank you for letting me witness daily just how much you all love your kids!  You guys are great role models for me!

  This is the week of school Edie Grace LIVES for.  It is the week of Wee Cheer camp where EVERY girl in school gets to be a BIG cheerleader for a week.  Every day after school they have worked on their routine and last night was the big night.  They all got to cheer at half time of the Pinewood Christian Academy football game.  Edie Grace and all her friends had a blast!  Every afternoon Edie Grace was a car student and got to ride back to the boro with her friend Anna’s parents.  This was almost as much fun for the camp.  (Thanks Michael and Stacey!) The real cheerleaders and their coaches do an amazing job with this. 

The weather is so great we have opened up a few additional beach dates.  We only have four dates available and  they will go fast.  This has been a great year of beach portraits.  Tybee has never looked better.  So take this opportunity to get those incredible beach portraits you have always dreamed of!

Call us at 912-764-7274 to book your beach session.

   It is FINALLY over.  So now maybe I will have DeWayne back full time again.  The play was a tremendous success and did a masterful job of telling the incredible story of Erk Russell and about how our community resurrected football at Georgia Southern.  The cast will meet up one last time at Snooky’s restaurant at 9 AM next Saturday, September 13th at 9 AM.  This will be your opportunity to see them as a group and share your memories of Erk and the play.  Here are some pictures taken over the run.  Enjoy!

Last year the Boys and Girls club of Statesboro commissioned me to create a portrait for their use in an abstinence campaign.  One of the images is featured on the banner behind development director Mike Backus.   You have seen the ads on TV, billboards, magazines, brochures, posters and newspapers.  The campaign recently won a very distinguished award for being one of the best abstinence campaigns in the country. 

The 21st Annual MAC AWARDS were presented at the Boys and Girls Clubs National Convention in SAN Franciso, Cal. the boys and girls clubs of Bulloch county won the gold award in marketing for our entry; PRESS PAUSE-ABSTIENCE TIL MARRIAGE.

Mike also wanted us to share with you the information on their annual fund raiser for the club.  The 3rd Annual Steak and Burger Dinner will be held September 18th, 6:00pm at the First Baptist Church; our speaker will be KELLY WRIGHT- FOX NEWS ANCHOR and former host of the 700 CLUB, Kelly will deliver a message of hope, redemption and salvation for all to hear.  Corporate tables with six seats are $750 and single seats are $100. All contributions are tax deductible. For more information call Mike Backus at 912-515-4051.

Do you remember when we were part of a prize package for a radio contest in Savannah?  The grand-prize winner won tons of cool stuff for a baby.  In this case, the baby wasn’t even here yet.  So we patiently awaited the birth. 

As you see below…this beautiful baby was WELL worth the wait!  You can see that yet another "Lucky Dog" has been born!

Congrats!!!

  for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.  Twenty years ago on September 3, 1988 - DeWayne and I repeated these vows before God, our family and friends.  There is no way we understood the magnitude of these vows or how hard it would be to honor them - for LIFE!  The two best pieces of advice we received during our engagement was from my grandmother Edith and DeWayne’s father Herschel.  His dad told us that getting a great education, making a living, raising a child would be easy - the most difficult thing we would have to face in our life was being successful in our marriage.  He said the secret is working hard at it every day.  Never stop talking and never go to bed mad.  Even though that will mean a few sleepless nights.  And the most important thing - the husband should always have the last word - no matter what - and those words should always be "YES DEAR!"  Pretty good advice.  It worked for him for 57 years - until death he did part.  My grandmother Edith (Edie Grace’s namesake) advice was to hide several pair of clean underwear for DeWayne.  As long as he has clean underwear - everything else will be fine.  I can not tell you how many times I have opened a fresh pack of underwear and placed in his drawer.

We were married in a beautiful double ring ceremony at First Baptist Church in Statesboro.  It was my dream wedding and the next day we stepped onto an airplane (my first commercial plane ride) and DeWayne whisked me away for a honeymoon more fabulous than I could have ever dreamed.  We spent two weeks in Europe.  The first in London, the second in Paris.  What an unbelievable way to begin our life together.  I have included pictures here from the wedding and the trip.  The round bed was in our suite at the Royal Westminster in London.  We enjoyed staying in the royal suite for the week.  The bathroom was bigger than our house at the time.  It was the first hotel I had ever stayed in that had original artwork in the room. (and it was not nailed to the walls)  In Paris, we stayed at the Hotel Louvre Concorde across the street from the Royal Opera.  Of course, I had to do a little shopping at the famous Harrods department store.  One of our clients worked for Harrods as a personal shopper for the royal family.  We need to get him to write a blog entry about that experience.  We did get to see Princess Diana on the trip.  Of course, I was so star struck that I did not think to take a picture.

I was only 19, a college student and working full time in my photography business.  DeWayne was 22 and was starting his first business along with my dad.  We had the world before us.  What an exciting, challenging and blessed 20 years it has been.

Five years ago, we returned to Paris with Edie Grace.  It was so much fun traveling back there and sharing this beautiful city with her.  We will be officially celebrating our 20th in October as we take a Mediterranean cruise from Spain through Italy.     

  Tonight, DeWayne and I began the first in a 13 week life group series sponsored by our church - Believers Church.  Dr. and Mrs. Guido hosted us in their home tonight for our first meeting.  We will be meeting every Tuesday night at 6:30 at my studio and each week we will dissect the biblical principles that Dr. Michael Guido used to build an internationally recognized evangelistic ministry headquartered in Metter, Georgia.  If you do not know their story, this is a great opportunity to learn first hand how unshakable faith can pay great dividends regardless of your definition of success.  This is not an exclusive group.  Anyone reading this blog is welcome - no matter what religious affiliation you are attached to.  We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday night at 6:30 at our studio in Downtown Statesboro.

The ten lessons are derived from directly from Dr. Guido’s ten pillars of success that his foundation is placed upon and they are:

1) A call, 2) Ability 3) Surrender to the Lord 4) A passion for prayer 5) A passion for souls 6) A love for the Bible 7) A willingness to Sacrifice obedience to the Lord 9) A love for Others 10) Faith