The State Fair of Texas

Grey was out of school today for Columbus day, so Billy and I decided to take the day off and go to the state fair. We had a blast walking around and eating tons of fried foods. Yum!! The kids enjoyed watching the shows and playing games and riding rides. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful fun filled day!

Big Tex:


Ella square dancing:



Grey found a green motorcycle:



Ella was sooo tired! I think the swing almost put her to sleep!


~ Amber

baby blues?

Not likely for me!  I’ve been up to my eyeballs in the sweetest, cuddliest babes!  I’m doing newborn photography and LOVING it!!  Check out some of my favorites!  These are from different photo shoots, but I just love all of them!

 

2nd grade

I can’t believe he is in the 2nd grade.  I can’t believe he is in the 2nd grade.  I CAN’T BELIEVE HE IS IN THE 2ND GRADE!!!  I kept saying this in my head all night last night, and all morning.  Grey is just growing up too fast.  It is the most bitter sweet feeling.  On one hand I love watching him grow.  Learning to read, gaining independence.  But on the other hand, I miss my baby boy.  I miss his sweet little baby face, and his sleepy hugs and snuggles.  Now, he is just growing up too fast!  Thankfully, he still hugs me in public, still says the sweetest things, still thinks I’m a super cool mom, and still thinks I’m a great cook (poor kid…so misguided!).  So, I’ll enjoy each and every day of this bitter sweet feeling and hang on to every memory we make!

meet the teacher

I can’t believe Grey is starting the 2nd grade!!!  Where does the time go?  I swear it feels like not that long ago he was just a baby!  Thru the past several years, he has had a group of boys that have been in the same class – Kinder and 1st, and this year the school separated them.  So Grey doesn’t have any of his best buds in class with him.  I think his teacher will be grateful!  :)

camp meeting, 2011

This year, Camp Meeting was a little different for us.  Billy was unable to go most of the week, but we still enjoyed a lot of quality family time.  I was able to take Grey up thru bat cave this year.  Glad I did it, but if I don’t go again for a while, I’ll be ok with that!  LOL!  I also spent some hours doing photography for a family that was affected during the fire this summer.  They were such a pleasure to meet and get to know.  I was truly so blessed to get to spend some time with them!  And of course, its always fun to catch up with old friends.  I wish I had some pictures to share, but I just didn’t take many this year.  I guess I lived more in the moment than in the lens, and that is a good thing!  :)

A Plea for Help

Every summer, for the past 60 years, my family has gone to a church camp in the mountains of west Texas, near a tiny, picturesque town of Fort Davis. This spring, on April 9th a spark from an abandoned shed started a fire that burned over 300,000 acres and actively burned for almost 2 months. To put the acres into perspective, this is 641 square miles. I live in Dallas, which is 385 square miles, so almost twice the size of one of the largest metroplexes in the nation. This has been called the largest wildfire in the state of Texas. 23 homes were burned to the ground. The fire moved over 60,000 acres in less than 2 days, so many families did not have the luxury of getting their belongings. Thankfully, no lives were lost. We’ve all had the thought of what would we grab in case of a fire, and for most people it is pictures. These families were not able to do this. I wanted to help and had been unable to find a way. It’s a 10 hour drive and even if I could make it out there, I could not physically fight a fire. I could send money but I just wanted to do more. So, I decided what I could do is help with pictures. I can not replace precious memories that are now in ash. But I can help create new ones to represent a new beginning. So, the first week of August I am going to Fort Davis and have offered to take family portraits for the victims. I hope, if I can raise enough, to give each family a disk of all the pictures, some prints, and would love to be able to even frame some pictures. If you would like to help, it would be greatly appreciated. I have set up a pay pal account on my photography website, www.golightlyimages.com and would appreciate any donations. Thank you so much for your time and generosity.





~ Amber

grey and ella

My big boy turned 7  and poor kid, his birthday is in the heart of wildflower season so he is always going to have his pictures in the bluebonnets.  At least until he is big enough to start putting his foot down! 

CAMP GREY

This year, for Grey’s 7th birthday party we had his party out at the lake and did a Camp theme.  The kids shot sling shots, did archery, made S’mores and had an all around good time in the great outdoors.

 

 

Greys 7th Birthday

Our boy turns 7 today!! Where did these past 7 years go? Grey is turning into such an amazing little boy and we could not be more proud of him. We started his day off with waffles for his fun birthday breakfast.



Then I had to be in training today but Billy was able to bring Grey his requested lunch...McDonalds of course!








Grey requested a cookie cake for school so Billy brought that but the school just had him leave it in the office and he didn't get to see Grey share it with his friends. For Greys birthday dinner he requested Pigs in a Blanket and Macaronni and Cheese. Hum. But anything for the birthday boy!! And after dinner, finally, Grey got to open presents!! This year is all about Beyblades!!











In honor of Greys 7th birthday, here are seven of my favorite things about this amazing boy!

1) Grey has a sweet sweet heart. He is very caring and concerned about his friends and loved ones.

2) Grey is still a great big brother to Ella. They play so well together and I rarely hear them arguing. Sure, there are days when they do but those are actually few and far between.

3) Grey is very fair. He likes to make sure all his friends are treated fairly and doesn't like anyone to be left out.

4) He is reading like a champ!! This kid reads everything! And I do mean everything. Signs going down the highway, commercials on TV, anything with letters!

5) He is really funny! This kid loves to make people laugh and is often making up his own jokes.

6) Grey is very active. He is doing great in gymnastics and now we've added tennis. He is very agile and such a monkey!

7) Last but not least, Grey is doing really well in school. It's not his favorite thing. In fact, classes kinda get in the way of his recess! But, he amazes me with how quickly he catches on to the topics and how good his memory is. Kid never forgets anything!

Grey has been such an amazing blessing to us and we are the luckiest parents in the world!

~ Amber

easter weekend

We had a really fun, busy Easter weekend.  Billys sister and her family came in town for the weekend, so the kids were thrilled to see their Aunt Anna, Uncle Craig and cousins Shaelin and Alaina.  Unfortunately, since we were sooooo busy I did not get any decent pictures!!!  Here are a few I took on my phone.

Take me out to the ballgame

This weekend we went down to Houston for a fun weekend.  Mom and Stace got great seats for an Astros game!  We had such a blast hanging out in the pool and just relaxing and enjoying some great family time! 

Saturday morning, Stace wasn’t feeling well, so Mom and Ella decided to make us all some French Toast!  This was by far the best French Toast I’ve EVER had!!

Thankfully, by Saturday evening Stace was feeling 100% and we all got to go to the game.  We had a BLAST!!!!

A guy a few rows ahead of us caught a ball and was nice enough to give it to Grey!!

 

 

 

And this is where we spent most of Sunday…Wonderful!!!  We cooked out on the fire pit, played in the pool and just relaxed!  It was a perfect weekend!