Favorite Photo Friday {family fun in SC}

I'm trying to catch up on the backlog of photos I have from this summer.  

These were taken from our family trip to SC in July to visit my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary.  

The beaches in SC are perfect for Spencer's love for skim boarding.
He was in his element body surfing and loving the big waves.  

Lily on the other hand was content playing in the sand and building sandcastles.  

She loved spending time with her Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim as well as her cousins Marlee and Kelly.  

Lily adores the beach.  Even tonight as I was tucking her into bed she asked me when we were going back to the beach :))

One night we headed out to Murrells Inlet to take some family photos at sunset.
This is one of my all time favorites of them...I love the way they are walking hand in hand looking at each other.  

In true Spencer fashion he asked if he could jump over Lily.  She was a great sport as you can see her giving him big smiles and a round of applause for clearing his jump :))

The bond they share has been close from the day they met.
 Spencer is only with us every other week and tonight Lily spent about 30 minutes making him a card and asked if she could mail it to him.  Michael helped Lily address it and they walked it out to the mailbox tonight...now it's just waiting to be picked up tomorrow :))

They are the light and joy of our family and we look forward to seeing another little one running around in the photos with them in the days ahead.
{Some of you have asked about our paper chase...we are waiting to receive our approval from immigration and hoping that we are nearing the end of our 60-90 day wait.  Once we receive the approval all dossier paperwork will be authenticated and then translated by our agency to be sent to China...yay!!!}

When I look at Spencer it is hard for me to believe that he was Lily's age when I first met him.
How quickly time passes and how proud we are of the young man he is becoming.  

I love the innocence and wonder of these photos...wish I could freeze these moments in time.    

Together as family...not something I'm always able to capture behind the camera but thankful for this as a reminder of our time together.  

My sweet Mom and Dad on the night we celebrated their 50th anniversary.  

What a blessing it is to have parents who show love and commitment through the joys and valleys of life.  

So grateful for the gift of family and the blessing to all be together to celebrate my parent's milestone.
Even my grandmother surprised us by making the trip to be with us which was an added gift we will always remember.
These are a few i-phone candid photos from the week that capture more of the fun we had.
Thank you Mom and Dad for setting a great example for our family and leaving us a strong legacy of faith, hope and love.  We love you!

Grapevine tea party for two

There is an old backstop that has a grapevine growing around it that I pass every time we go to church. I've been waiting for the right time to take some photos here and decided that my grandmother's birthday was the perfect day.

The chandelier was my original inspiration for these photos...my Mom made the fun rosettes to give it a vintage feel. She is like my Mimi...so gifted and always willing to share her talents with others.

I also took a tea set my grandmother gave me and the china plates she hand painted that just happened to have grapes on them...perfect for our setting!

Mimi would often write little notes on the bottom of things that she knew we loved. Lily is holding up the tea pot here with my grandmother's note..."for Amy...she loves it!"

My Mom was serving "tea" when Lily noticed the little note on the bottom of the tea pot. It makes me happy that three generations are represented in these photos. Even though my grandmother isn't here...her legacy of love for our family still remains. Oh how she would have loved Lily!

Lily loves my Mom and soaks up every minute of their play time together. Mom was a real sport going out on a hot muggy day to help me take these photos... even my Dad came along with us.
Little did we know some chiggers joined in on the fun that day.  

Lily had fun playing "telephone" and drinking "tea" with her Gaga.

The love they share together makes my heart full.  

Favorite Photo Friday {Reading with Daddy's Flashlight}

Last week Lily began asking me if I would read to her "in Daddy and Mommy's bed".

One night as we were getting ready to read, she grabbed the small flashlight Michael keeps beside our bed and started to explore.

So I grabbed my camera thinking it was a perfect opportunity to see what I could do with just her flashlight illuminating the dark room.

She had fun re-telling the story of The Very Hungry Catepillar.

I had fun watching her through the lens and trying to capture the little details.

This is my favorite from the series...I love how her little feet are crossed as she is exploring the cause and effect of the light on the ceiling.

Even in the darkness, her eyes still sparkle.

You can tell by this look that our night-time reading with a flashlight is not over yet :)

"Even darkness is not dark to you and the night is as bright as the day.
 Darkness and light are alike to you." Psalm 139:12

Linking up with my friend Lisa's Favorite Photo Friday.  

Be sure and stop by to see her amazing photography.  

Happy Friday!