Branleigh Ray…

It’s funny, this is the very first shot I took…ha!  I snapped a few more and we were done.  Seriously 3 minutes…yes, that is the sound of my own horn tooting!

What can I say she loves me!!

Here’s sweet Laikyn!  As you remember, she was born premature and only weighed 1.5 pounds.  She was born at 23 weeks.  I believe because she was hand picked for Kurt and Kayla she didn’t suffer any major medical problems.  She is just perfect!  She has come a long way  and now weighs over 7 pounds and will be 5 months tomorrow!!! It’s crazy seeing her and Branleigh together!  I love them so much!

just for grins…

isn’t she a doll!

]]> http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/10/20/im-one-proud-aunt/feed/ 1 http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/07/24/miracle-laikyn/ http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/07/24/miracle-laikyn/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:16:33 +0000 Amanda http://www.amandamcneely.com/?p=3003 I am soo soo excited to introduce you all to my sweet niece Laikyn!! Isn’t she just a doll!! I got to meet her for the first time this weekend!  I got to hold her, rock her and get lots of snuggles.  I am absolutely in love with her.  She was 9 weeks old Friday (She is actually 33 weeks gestational age)!  She is doing just wonderful!  She weighed 1.5 pounds when she was born and is now truckin’ along at 3 pounds 2 ounces.  I am so proud for Kurt and Kayla!  They are wonderful parents.  They usually go 2-3 times a day to see her and make sure they are always there for her baths…I cannot wait for sweet Laikyn to get to come home!!

Meet my sweet neice!!!

I absolutely ADORE the image where she has both hands in the air looking at Kayla! Precious!

Hopefully I can get a few of Kurt next time…it was just Kayla and I this day.

I love this last image too!  Every time Kayla would talk Laikyn would open those big brown eyes and look right at her!

For the past 5 or so years they have longed to have a baby.  She has loved and spoiled my kids like crazy and to say they love her is a HUGE understatement!  After tons of money spent and doctors seen it didn’t seem like they would be able to have a baby anytime soon.  They were told the only way they stood a chance was through invitro, which we all know costs lots of $$$$.  Kayla told me she has been praying about this a lot lately and that she asked God to do something big to confirm which direction they should take.  Long story short the very next week Kurt’s mother came across a woman who knew of a baby girl that had just been born premature and needed a home.  Without giving lots of details, God really worked and stepped into the situation.  Just as things would turn and look like they may not work out He paved the way and made everything work out just as He had planned.  They worked with a wonderful attorney who was actually recommended by one of my sweet clients from Lubbock ( Thank you Jennifer!! Because of you we were able to quickly get in touch with the right people at the perfect time…seriously perfect time!)  She was so great and worked so fast to get everything together.   She was wonderful and I now have a new precious niece that I get to meet for the first time tomorrow!! My heart is bursting to meet her !!  Her name is Laikyn Renae Sparks!! She is still in the NICU as she was preterm.  She weighs just under 2 pounds.  She is doing wonderful and will hopefully be breathing on her own soon.  We are praying that her lungs will continue to mature quickly so she can come home  before too long.  I will have lots of pictures to post of her after this weekend, but until then you can see a few shots of her on Kayla’s blog.

There is a large cost involved with adoption, so I want to help them all I can.  I will be in Lubbock this weekend doing Imagination Explosion, but I will also be doing mini sessions to benefit Laikyn’s adoption.  All of the money from the mini sessions will go to Kurt and Kayla to help with the costs.

Here is what is included:

15 minute session with 5-6 images in an online gallery

$100 print credit

3 images on CD

The cost is $200

To book one of these mini sessions please email me at info@amandamcneely.com

Also if you would like to donate to help with Laikyn’s adoption, you can do so below.  Thank you so much!  Kurt and Kayla did not ask me to do any of this.  I committed to use my talent for God’s glory when I started doing photography.  He has blessed my business so much over the past few years and I know they need and appreciate the help!

]]> http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/06/09/sweet-laikyn/feed/ 1 http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/05/26/the-best-10-years-of-my-life/ http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/05/26/the-best-10-years-of-my-life/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 19:38:44 +0000 Amanda http://www.amandamcneely.com/?p=2865 Ten years ago today, Chad and I started a journey together and it has truly been the best 10 years of my life! I know some of you don’t like reading personal sappy stuff on here, so here is your chance to hit the back button or just scroll down for the silly pictures…

Chad, I am soo in love with you today, even more so than when I married you! When I read the letter you wrote me this morning I was overwhelmed…everything you said was so true! I wouldn’t want to spend a day of my life with anyone else but you! I am so glad that the promises we made 10 years ago to each other are still what we stand on. There have been more “for better” days that “for worse” for sure, but we have stood by each other in both kinds of days! I am thankful for a faithful man of God! You make me want to be a better person, wife, mother, and friend….you bring out the best in me, and I am so proud to call you mine! We never could have dreamed up this life 10-15 years ago when we were walking down the Levelland High School halls together, thank goodness for praying parents who had asked God to lead us to one another so long ago. I just want you to know that I love you more than I often times stop and tell you and I cannot wait for what the future holds!

Ten of my favorite memories/things about you for 10 YEARS!!

1. When we were in high school and you didn’t have your license yet…..I made you ride in the back seat to lunch while my friends rode up front.
2. I remember our first official date to Discovery Zone for Kayla’s 5th grade birthday party…I picked you up in my papa Lasley’s Lincoln Town Car!!
3. We used to drive by the mobile home place on hwy 114 and talk about how we wished we could get married and buy one of those mobile homes to live in, we had huge plans of putting it back behind your parents house and playing life…ha!! We were so silly, we had no money….no jobs…and hadn’t even finished college!!
4. The first few years we were soooo pooor! I have soo many fun memories from these times! I remember the day you came home for lunch and I was at home eating lunch and I was seriously eating a can of corn straight out of the can. You walked over and hugged me and said, “It doesn’t cost anymore to heat it up babe.” I remember my nana coming over with bags of groceries for us and we would be sooooo excited!!! Some of my favorite nights were the ones we spent with Sarah and Sheldon playing games in our living rooms!!
5. I remember our “white trash dates” as we called them…ha! We would save all our money for a few weeks and then go eat out at ihop (usually with Justin Thompson) and then go to walmart and pick out all the things we would buy if we had any money…lol!
6. I remember my pregnancy with Gage and how badly we wanted a baby! After all the heartache we faced before we actually had a baby in our arms…we couldn’t wait for him to arrive! I remember that you bought a new shirt to wear to the hospital for his birth, and then he took 40 hours to get here so it was kind of a few days dirty when he actually got here…ha!!
7. I love your smile! I always have.
8. I remember the time we lived in Lubbock and I was always scared (ok, so I am still a chicken) and one night we heard something and I thought there was someone on our roof!! I sent you outside in December to look….and you did, but you told me not to call the cops! You were up in the tree in your shorts in the middle of December when the cops pulled up in our grass thinking they caught a robber….haaa! You were sooo mad at me!
9. I love that you know literally everything about me and you still love me. The best feeling in the world is knowing that someone truly loves you just for being you…flaws an all.
10. You are the best dad in the world! I love how you dance with mac and lay with Gage at night. I love watching you all 3 jam out in the car to goofy old country songs! I love that MacKenna comes to your side of the bed at night when she needs something. I love to listen to Gage when a cool car or truck drives by….he is your son no doubt!

Thanks for 10 wonderful years! Forgive me for taking you for granted so often, I love you more than I could ever express!! I cannot wait to spend 8 days with you in NYC!!!

And after all…what’s a good blog post without a few pictures! These are funny! We are young, skinny, and actually kind of weird…I mean, seriously…I am wearing a Tiger shirt, pullover, and waterbottle in one of the pictures…WOW! I am glad you even liked me…ha!

I love you!!

enjoy!!

]]> http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/05/18/sail-away/feed/ 1 http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/04/16/greenwood-prom/ http://www.amandamcneely.com/2011/04/16/greenwood-prom/#comments Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:17:17 +0000 Amanda http://www.amandamcneely.com/?p=2646 Tonight was Tara’s prom at Greenwood!  She looked beautiful and I was sooo proud!! She is still out dancing the night away and I hope she has fun!  We snagged a few shots of the group she went with before they left for dinner….enjoy!

I have soooo many images to go through, but I will start out with a post of just the girls! These are the ladies who attended and Michele herself (top right image)…..Most of the time we had camera’s in our face…ha! Look for more posts coming soon!