candyland birthday...

alayna was so excited to turn 5 and also for her party. she had a blast! it was alot of work, but we managed to get everything together for the "CANDYLAND" party. we had big colored squares that lead from the front yard to the back, which the kids then entered under a sign that read CANDYLAND. they played throw the plum into the plum tree, musical squares...where they had to stop when the music stopped and if they landed on the licorice they were out - they loved that game! we then gathered all the kids together for a photo opp and then crowned alayna as princess of candyland and gave her a ribbon that read "today is my birthday". we had lunch and then on to the big candyland birthday cake, which i made myself..thank you, thank you, lol! she opened her presents...which i believe the octopus sprinkler was one of her favorites because she carried it everywhere with her that evening. we went thru wendy's drive up and she even held it up to the lady at the window as we drove off...to funny! we also had everyone sign her little book which i made up with her pictures. the kids took home treat bags filled with candy, candyland coloring sheet, candyland tattoo, candyland sticker and ice cream cone bubbles. it was a hit...and we were wore out!! but it was worth it!

elisa marie

jordan & sarah

these two, believe it or not, are my niece and nephew. they came up from kentucky for this shoot. i thought a nice little urban session would be great for these two, and i was right! here's a little sneek peek for my brother and sister-in-law.

elisa marie

my baby is 5 today!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

elisa marie

the next american idol...

i'm so excited about american idol's finale tonight and tomorrow! all i can say is, "go david......cook!!!!!!!!!"

elisa marie

preschool graduation...

i've been meaning to post this, but just now got around to doing it. alayna's last day of preschool was thursday and she was so excited. really she will be going back to preschool again this fall, we wanted to give her one more year to make sure she's ready for kindergarten. anyways here's a few pics of the grand event!

elisa marie

losing my father...

monday, may 5th at about 11:30 p.m. we were awaken by pounding on our front door. it was one of my older brothers.......i felt like i was in a nightmare as he told me that dad had a heart attack and had died. i felt numb like i couldn't believe it. then i immediately thought of my other brother and sister who were much closer to him than i was. you see, things weren't always great growing up and my mom and dad divorced when i was young. i never had a strong father and daughter connection with my father, but my dad was my dad and i loved him very much. he loved to travel and also loved the mountains. he would come back and forth from virginia and we would get together every once in awhile. we could see lately how things were changing in dad, as he would say he just wanted to get closer to God and it just seemed like he was making an attempt to change things for the better, mending broken relationships and telling us he loved us and was proud of us. we have a great peace knowing that God prepared my dad for his last days on earth, even though none of us knew it at the time. we can now look back and see why there were things that happened and what God was doing. God is so merciful and i love and thank Him for that. we honored dad with live music at his funeral, my dad played the dobro and was very good at it. it was his life and he loved the gospel bluegrass music, in fact he made a few albums with a group back in the day. this type of music was what the group played at his funeral and i have to say when i heard that dubro player begin to play, i lost it, i think we all did. i also had two pictures of my dad blown up on both sides of his casket of when he was younger holding his dobro, one was with the mountains behind him. i really have to thank my wonderful lab - H&H - for getting those back to me as fast as they did, it meant the world to me. i really have to say through all of this that i could see the bond, love, strength, and support me and my three brothers and sister really share together. thank you for all your love and prayers.

elisa marie

happy mothers day...

here are a few pics we snapped yesterday, just in time for mother's day! i just love my girls! happy mother's day to all you mom's out there!

alayna's dance recital....

tonight was alayna's dance recital. all the girls did great! i was so excited to see her dance on stage, this was her second year. her hair turned out so cute after i curled it, i had to snap a few in the studio right before we left...i just couldn't resist! so here are a mixture of the evening. there are a few of them waiting backstage till their act was up and the last one was right before we left. this one was kind of special because a little boy from her preschool class, almost the only one she ever talks about, saw her during intermission and gave her this flower....ahhh! so sweet! they acted so shy in front of each other, it was so adorable! oh, the little monkey was from daddy as a suprise present after the show. hmmm, daddy may be competing with another boy....how young it starts, lol!! oh, and if any of the parents want copies of any of these just let me know.

elisa marie