It is so hard to believe that Edie Grace is entering the 4th Grade!  Last Friday was her first day of school at Pinewood Christian Academy – so of course, we continued with tradition and I took lots of photographs. (DeWayne and Edie Grace make me use my blog camera so I won’t embarrass them)  Our traditional photograph with her and Dad at the bus, on the first day, revealed to us how much she has grown from last year to this year (5 to 6 inches). 

You may have noticed that Edie Grace has a new addition this year, glasses.  Like her mom – she is entering into the world of glasses early.  Dr. Horace Deal was wonderful with her and encouraged us to allow her to pick whatever she wanted for her first glasses.  We did and she chose PINK.  Imagine that?

The most exciting part for Edie Grace (other than getting to see her friends) this is year is that she gets to change classes.  She has three wonderful teachers, Mrs. Dutton is her homeroom teacher, Mr. Perkins and Mrs. Bell.

For fun, here are the links to her first day of school blogs so you can see how fast she is growing:

Third Grade

Second Grade

First Grade

We hope you all have a great year this school year!

Edie Grace wants your kids to join her at camp!

There are just a few slots open each week so don’t procrastinate!  Mrs. Ann is our neighbor, our friend and just plain out one of our favorite people in the whole world!  She has put together four weeks of fun for our kids 6-7 and up.

Here is the 411:

Campers enjoy completing a variety of different art projects.  The curriculum includes techniques that are challenging and fun.  A snack will be provided.

Sessions are Monday – Friday, 9:30am – 12:30pm

• Session One:  June 14 – 18
• Session Two:  June 21 – 25
• Session Three:  July 12 – 16
• Session Four:  July 19 – 23

The cost is $135 per week for each child.  There is a 10% sibling discount.  Registrations are required with a $50 non-refundable deposit.  Balance will be due on the first day of camp.  Space is limited.

Edie Grace and Madison (Mrs. Ann’s grand-daughter) have been busy this week testing out some of the activities and they don’t think you should miss out on the fun!

If you have further questions, just call Free Spirit Pottery @ 912.489.3232

Oh, and by the way…Father’s day is just right around the corner!  So go this week and create something Dad will love!  Today, I saw some of you in there creating cool stuff with your children’s handprints and footprints.  How priceless will that be someday???  Of course, we could create some portraits to go with those he would love too!

This one image sums up just how I feel every time I get to go to the beach!  (for work or for fun)

This was Edie Grace’s “birthday eve” last week.  She built sandcastles while DeWayne and I worked.  It was a PERFECT evening with an amazing sunset.  (can’t wait to show you the client’s images soon!)  I grabbed a few images of Edie Grace while my subject was changing clothes.   

I hope you will schedule a Beach session this summer.  They truly are magical sessions!  I wouldn’t trade any of my beach portraits of Edie Grace.  The light, the sand, the water…ok…I know you hear it from me all the time…

Now that Miley has put Tybee on the map…it really is time for you to put Tybee on your wall.

Please join us this Friday night as we celebrate Edie Grace’s 9th birthday.  There will be cake, popcorn, lemonade and fun Party Harbor bounces for your kids!

Seriously, though, no gifts.  Your company to celebrate what she means to us is truly the best gift we can receive.  If you feel compelled, we will be accepting small (very small) gifts for a charity.  Edie Grace has it narrowed down to two charities…she will let you know Friday night which one she decided on.

Friday, May 7th

5:30pm – 7:30pm

in the alley behind the studio

(F1RST Friday will also be going on so there will be tons of fun things to do in downtown!)

Friday, May 7th, Edie Grace will turn nine.  Honestly, I have been overwhelmed by this.  She will graduate from High School just days after she turns 18 so literally HALF of the life that she will spend with us is over!  Some of my friends say I am being negative when I say this, but I believe what this verse says:

Psalm 90:12 (New International Version)

¹² Teach us to number our days aright,
       that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

The wisdom I seek is to make each day with Edie Grace count!  Some days I do better than others…but I try harder each and everyday.  (Yes, Edie Grace received “Gracen” a baby girl goat a little early for her birthday from her Grandmother…so watch out O.C….LOL!)

To make it easier for you to capture memories of your family, I am doing a HUGE…probably once in a lifetime… SALE!!!  This one has a ton of fine print…but what do you expect with a sale this unbelievable???

$9 Sale!!!!

• The first three people that respond can purchase a studio session fee for $9 (regularly $100) and will not be required to make a minimum purchase
• The second three people that respond can purchase a studio session fee for $9 (regularly $100).  Their minimum purchase will be 50% less than normal.  (Normal studio minimum  order is $300…these folks minimum order will only be $150) This is not 1/2 price…just 1/2 as much required.
• The third three people that respond can purchase a studio session fee for $9 (regularly $100)  Regular $300 minimum order will be required.

Here is the fine print…and this offer may be subject to more restrictions…

• You must pay in full the amount you owe…($9, $159 or $309) when you call with a credit card…you can not mail us a check, drop a check by,  bring cash, ect.  Delta doesn’t let you…so please don’t ask for an exception on this special.
• Your session will ONLY be in the studio…on-location sessions DO NOT qualify for this unbelievable deal.
• Your session must occur on a weekday, BETWEEN (not before…not after) the hours of 10am – 5pm, Monday, May 10th- Friday, May 28th, 2010.  These are use or lose.  They can not be extended unless you have a doctor’s excuse.
•  Families with more than seven members will incur an additional charge.
• Your order will have to be finalized during your place order appointment.  You will need to bring all decision makers to the appointment with you.  You are welcome to add to your order for 48 hours after your viewing.
• The time/date stamp on the emails to info@lorigrice.com will determine where you will be ranked in the offer.  
• Children three and under can only be photographed for this offer before lunch. (no afternoon sessions)

Lots of rules, I know, but for a deal this good there just have to be some boundaries. 

So…why are you still reading?  You should be emailing! 

See you in front of my lens SOON!

For a long time I have been asking and asking my dad to let me blog on their website.So today they are letting me do my own blog!I am so excited  to be able to do a blog.  Most of you know that Miley Cyrus’s movie “the last song” {that we  were extras in} is coming out this! Wednesday! I am very excited  about   the movie because I have heard  that the book is very good .A little while  back we went on a cruise it was  a Disney cruise line cruise .

It was very , very ,very  neat .On the cruise my favorite things where eating and going to the kids  clubs . Liked eating there because they would  put you at a table with a family you have never met.But, the best thing about that is you become friends with them and that is how I met Emily Key .And in the kids clubs you can play wii and  watch movies and much much more.    Edie Grace

Santa and Mrs. Claus made their early trek down to Statesboro today.  For over 20 years they have taken a break from their incredibly busy schedule to visit with us and spend some time with a few VERY special boys and girls.   Again tomorrow, the very best girls and boys will get this early opportunity to give Santa a little advanced notice of their Christmas list.  Edie Grace and her cousin Olivia were the first to greet the Clauses on their arrival.  Edie Grace told me after Santa and Mrs. Claus had left for the day that they were both “magical”! 

I can not think of one word that describes this annual visit any more perfect than that.  Everything about Christmas is MAGICAL and having the opportunity to host this very special meeting with Santa is definitely extraordinarily MAGICAL for me – as it is for every child, parent and grandparent that experiences this with me.  There are few things in life that you will never forget – tomorrow for a few very exceptional children – I will create and document artistically one of these rare moments. 

Tonight was the ninth visit with Santa for Edie Grace and nine years later – it was just as magical as the first.  She has an annual tradition of exchanging books with the Clauses and giving them her list – this year in her own hand writing.  She also purchased the book for the Clauses this year with her own money that she earned working at the studio. 

As crazy and difficult as life is for all of us right now – this is the one experience that grounds us and allows us to step back and remember just how precious childhood really is.  We also can celebrate the incredible gift of parenting. 

Attached is the photographic journey down memory lane of the past nine years of Edie Grace’s Santa experiences!

We hope this year Santa brings you much health and happiness and a few of the most needed things on your Christmas list!

Please take a second and comment on your Lori Grice Santa Experiences….so other’s that may never have the opportunity to experience this firsthand can get a feeling of how magical it really is!  Many of our friends and neighbors do not and will never have the opportunity to have children of their own.  They share with me often how wonderful it is to get a peek into the world of parenting though this blog and through your stories.  Thanks for sharing these with them and me!

Summers seem to get shorter and shorter…and Edie Grace is growing up WAY to fast!  Many of you have told me to savor every moment of Edie Grace’s childhood – because it will be gone before you know it!  First days of school have become a tradition of daddy/daughter photographs.  In just five years of “formal” school I can not believe how much she has changed.  Enjoy these photos as we walk back through photographs of a her First Day’s.  DeWayne does have more than one shirt.  It seems that he is wearing the same color shirt – but obviously it is not the same size each year.  He jokes that it seems Edie Grace is not the only one growing.

She will miss Mrs. Royal and Mrs. Bradley  – but is so excited about moving forward this year with Mrs. McCall.  Her cousin, Brooke had Mrs. McCall last year and she LOVED her.  I know Edie Grace will also.

Last year we began an amazing project at Believer’s Church in Statesboro.  The Backpack Project is a project where we gave backpacks filled with school supplies to under-resourced kids in our community.  We learned that one of the reasons that lots of kids are hesitant to go back to school was because their parents did not have the money to purchase their school supplies.  In a few short weeks, last year, we raised enough money to purchase and fill 500 backpacks.    The cost of a filled backpack is $10.

This was a HUGE success.  The kids & youth of our church helped “pack” the backpacks and as part of this they wrote a personal note to the recipient of the backpack and placed it inside.  I can not begin to tell you how incredible this project was.  Click here to see pictures and read my blog about this from last year.

Due to the challenging economy – our church as decided to stretch our goal this year to 750 backpacks.  Edie Grace has set our “family” goal to purchase 50.  Last week we hosted a garage sale and we have sold Lemonade and popcorn at events downtown.  So far she (we) have raised over $300.  We need your help to meet our “family” and church wide goal.

There are two ways you can help.  Email us at info@lorigrice.com with a pledge of a contribution of $10 for every backpack you want to sponsor.  Please have your children write notes to the recipient for each backpack you sponsor and we will include it in “your” backpacks – if you wish.

The second way – is to book a full session with me.  The next FIVE sessions booked – I will donate HALF of your sitting fee directly to the project in your honor.

Mark your calendar and bring your family out on Saturday, August 1st as we meet these families and remind them of God’s love for them with this gift.

Our world has really changed quickly lately.  Kids need our help…not just in Africa and other parts of the world…but in our own towns too!  Jesus said, . . . I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40, NIV).

Edie Grace completed week Four of Summer camps.  Camp Snipesville was the first – which took them on a fictional journey through the Victorian Era.  The following week, she spent outdoors and in the Wild – at the GSU Raptor Center.  The next week was Circus Gymnastic camp and this week was all things Arts at the Averitt Center.  Today Edie Grace and her class mates had their “exit” show.  She had a blast and made some incredible pieces of Art.  We want to thank the Averitt Center and all of our family and friends that came out to support Edie Grace today.