This is our first trip back to NYC since September 11th and it was even more powerful than I imagined.  Edie Grace was 4 months old when the attacks occurred.   I purchased a book with photo’s of the attack and went through it with Edie Grace.  You simply can not understand the magnitude of it all – until you stand there.  From there we took the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty and back.  Lunch at Pier 17 and then we walked the entire Brooklyn Bridge.  After dinner we took in the M&M and Hershey stores on Times Square and people watched for a while. This city really doesn’t sleep!

  I think Edie Grace is a natural for Broadway!  The lights and the energy in a city that never sleeps is pretty amazing.  We visited the NBC studios in Rockefeller Plaza, Broadway, Fifth Avenue, Times Square and of course – Toy’s R US.  They have an operating Ferris wheel inside the store.  That should give you and idea of how big the store is.  The weather is perfect and the crowds…WOW – where did all these people come from?

Of course we are in New York so we have to do a little (LOT) of shopping!  Since part of this trip is a reward for a great year in school and a celebration of Edie Grace’s 8th birthday – she was allowed to pick the first place to go.  She has been saving for months for us to take her American Girl Place “Emily” to the store.  Of course the store is located on the renown 5th Avenue adjacent to Saks Fifth Avenue.  Three stores of incredible – breathtaking – marketing genius!  They have everything you can imagine for American Girl dolls, including a hair salon, photo studio, restaurant, gift shop, bakery, etc..etc.  We were lucky to get Emily in with one of the TOP American Doll hair designers at the salon.  After a nearly TWO HOUR wait it was her turn.  She got a fabulous do and she also was brave enough to get her ears pierced. 

We spent nearly THREE hours in the store.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us – even DeWayne enjoyed it and did not complain (well maybe a little) about being in one store for three hours.

One of the burdens and opportunities of surviving cancer, or any other horrible disease or accident, is the ability to use this gift to help others.  Earlier in the year I was contacted by the PKIDS organization and interviewed by them to be considered for a series of public service announcements and radio and TV interviews to be used to promote the importance of vaccines.  I was thrilled to be selected and traveled to New York today to share my story of survivorship.  The producers and staff at the production facility were wonderfully talented and passionate about the PKIDS mission.  This is the first national TV interview that Edie Grace has been able to tag along with me.  I assumed she would be impressed with the studio and control room – but her favorite was the green room – and the ping pong table. 

For those of you who have never been in a large TV production facility – I am including some “behind the scenes” pictures for you to enjoy this experience with me.

I will keep all of you, my faithful blog readers, posted on how and when the commercials are used.  Thank YOU, PKIDS, for this wonderful opportunity.

  Today we flew into New York.  I am here doing advocacy work for the HPV Vaccine, photographing clients and enjoying a few days with Edie Grace and DeWayne in the Big Apple.  This trip is part of Edie Grace’s 8th birthday celebration.  After an adventurous day of travel we finally arrived.  We were delayed in Charlotte and then again in the air because of bad weather which caused them to shut down the Newark airport.  The weather is great and tomorrow morning I will be interviewed for a series of PSA’s promoting the importance of the HPV vaccine.  I am here at the invitation of PKIDS (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) a wonderful organization founded by a wonderful mom.  We had dinner tonight with other parents who will also be featured in this series.  Their stories were heart warming and very powerful.  I knew tonight that this is a fight I must continue with renewed spirit.

If this vaccine will prevent only one child from experiencing cancer – my fight, time and effort is well served.

This week Edie Grace completed 2nd grade.  We had a phenomenal year end party and ended the year at honor’s day at Pinewood.  Edie Grace received her first trophy for being an honor “graduate”.  This means she was on the honor roll for the entire year.  She (and mom and dad) were SO excited about her achievement and of course her trophy.  Thanks to Mrs. Faye Royal and Mrs. Jennifer Bradley for an incredible year!  Special thanks to Mrs. Miriam Usry for a great year of piano lessons.

All Cowboy and Cowgirls were transported by stage coach (AKA Pinewood bus) to Double T Farms, an authentic Western City, owned by friends of Pinewood Bulloch County Commissioner, Roy and Deborah Thompson.  They were all dressed in their finest Cowboy and Cowgirl outfits complete with bandannas and hats. A scrumptious, hearty meal was provided for everyone (including parents) prepared by the campfire and served in the Ogeechee Diner (AKA Cantina) with care by the Chuck Wagon Cooks.

The Wild, Wild West shoot out was coordinated by the notorious Deal family (grandparents of Fast Finger Leah Deal). The shoot out helped identify the fastest gunslinger in the west. Prizes were awarded to only the best and most authentic gunslingers.

Not for the weak hearted, only the most competitive Cowboy and Cowgirls who have LOT’S of energy – enjoyed the Party Harbor Gang;s Adrenaline Rush obstacle course. The 360 degree obstacle course includes 80’ of challenges per lane including tunnels, log jams, crawl troughs’, up and over’s, rock climbs, slides and MORE!

Thanks to the High Sherriff’s (AKA Mr. Welch and Mr. Dominey) and the Cow Bosses (AKA Mrs. Driggers, Mr. Perkins and Mrs. Royal) for enthusiastically supporting this trip to the Wild, Wild, West to celebrate the incredible year of success achieved by the greatest group of Cowboys and Cowgirls ever to darken to door of Pinewood.

Special thanks to Roy and Deborah Thompson, Brian Reiss at Party Harbor, Sheriff Lynn Anderson and Katie Stringer.  We also could not have pulled this off without the help of Edgar and Shirlee Deal, Bob and LaJuan DeWitt, Rick Hutchison, Gil Riggs, Brad and Nancy McCooey, Heather Godwin, John Beasley that helped coordinate this incredible event.  Thanks to ALL the parents who contributed time and money to help make this a truly unforgettable event!

For YEARS we have been hearing about the incredible streetscape project in Downtown Statesboro – now it is OFFICIAL!  Sunday’s Statesboro Herald featured my studio in the rendering to show off the new STREET!  Most people have to move to get a new street or new view – not us!

There will be some construction challenges during the next few months – but we will have their schedule and can let you know the best way to access our studio.  During the construction period we will be operating on an appointment only basis on most days.  So before you head into the studio (even to pick up your portraits) please call first 912-764-7274 to find out when we will be in the studio and how the best way to reach us is.

I think we have one of the prettiest little downtowns in America already.  But when this is finished – you will ALL want to work, live and play in our Downtown!

Watch for updates on the blog as we progress!

We would like to start sharing with you letters we receive from clients of ours that are currently living abroad.  Some are teaching – some are missionaries – some are traveling for business interests. 

Daily we all have the opportunity to share or witness to others about God’s incredible love and the amazing power of having Him in our life.  I encourage you to use this blog as inspiration to reach out to your family, friends, coworkers and even your competitors to share with them the word of God.  I have learned that it is often the little things that make the biggest impact. 

Today’s letter is from China.  It is not filled with typos…instead it is typed so that it can make it through the government sensors and be allowed to be sent.  Because of the dangerous nature of their work we are not allowed to share their name or contact information directly.  This family is currently serving in China as missionaries.  Please consider joining with us to lift up these prayer requests and also pray for their safety. 

I read this in my devotional book this week:

“God doesn’t select those who are ready; He makes ready those He selects.  Ordinary people can – and do – change the world each day.”

Here is their letter:

Partners,

I’m hoping that this email will give you more of an idea of what’s going on in our relationships in our neighborhood.  So, first, let me tell you about a few of the women I know…

Faith:  I enjoy being around Faith more than any other local.  She has a very sweet personality, and she’s very patient with me as I struggle to speak and understand the language.  Right now, she’s raising her three children (2 boys and a girl) by herself.  Her husband traveled to Saudi Arabia in order to find a job.  (Sadly, this is a very common thing here in our country due to lack of employment.)  Right now he has no job and is unable to provide for his family.  They’re basically living off the donations of his relatives.  I visit her regularly, usually with another worker.  We have talked with her about Je$u$.  On our last visit, we asked if we could pry for her about employment for her husband, but she declined.  But we told her that we would be prying for her about this issue in the name of Je$u$.  Please pry that G0d would provide work for him and that he would use this provision to draw this family to himself.   

Sandra:  Sandra met some other workers here in our city about five years ago.  They shared the truth of the g0spel with her several times, and at one point she was reading the N.ew Te$t@ment.  But almost every time I see her, she’s been quick to start a discussion (the spirit of it isn’t strong enough to call it an argument) with me about the differences in our religions.  When I was with her last time, I asked myself why she kept bringing this up since she knows where I stand and what I’m going to say.  I feel as though the Spirit spoke to me that she’s looking for reassurance that what she believes is right and true and correct.  I felt as though she wants me to be wrong not because she’s prideful but because she wants security.  I ended this visit with her by saying, “I see your heart.  You want to please God.  You want to know the truth.  Jesus said, ‘I am the truth.’”  Immediately she resorted to the typical Mu$lim reply that our $cr1pture$ have been corrupted.  I talked about this for a minute more before I left.  Please pry that G0d would guide me in my interactions with her.  Pry also that he would reveal to her that security comes through Chr1st alone.

All of you know through previous emails also about how Ju$t1n has now given $cr1pture to three separate men in our neighborhood.  Men, unlike women, typically don’t spend one-on-one time together.  Because of this, Ju$t1n has had a very difficult time connecting with each of them to talk about what they’ve read, what their thoughts are, etc.  Please pry for guidance for Ju$t1n in this.  Ask for divine appointments between him and these men.

I want to also ask for your pryrs for us about decision-making in a few areas.  The first is that our te@am is seeking to send people from our current te@m to another city that is very unreached and has very few workers living in it right now.  Ju$tin and I are prying about this as an option for our family.  Please pry for clear guidance and direction for us about where G0d wants us to live in this country.  The second is that before we came here, Ju$t1n’s plans were to work in the area of community health education.  Now after being here for almost a year, he’s rethinking things and doesn’t know for sure what he wants to do after we complete language school.  Please pry for clarity for us as we put this before G0d and ask him what he wants us to do to serve the people in this country.

Keep prying,

With the Tooth Fairy lurking in the shadows, we were able to capture these images just in the nick of time.  What an amazing morning!  The Mom’s Aunt hosted us at her home on a Savannah Square…I literally could’ve created portraits there ALL day without using a spot twice. 

How fitting…to create a piece that will become a part of this little girl’s history surrounded by a Historic home, on a Historic square, in a Historic city!