THANK YOU!
To everyone who called, visited, and posted messages. We are very thankful to have such awesome friends. Things are going well. Payne, Jackson, and Sylvie are all adjusting. Michelle and I are too. Here's a recent photo I wanted to share.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYLVIE!!!!!
Sissy turns 5 today!

The big brother and sister finally get to meet Payne. I think they approve! 

Here's one more! 

Here he is! 

WE HAVE A BABY!!!

Finally here! 8lbs 8oz 201/2 inches long

Please welcome into the world:

Payne Walker Gray

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

HERE WE GO!!!
Dilated to 10, fully effaced....pushing!

Dilated to 8!
Not much longer now!

AHHH!
The epidural is in! It's all good now...can't feel a thing.

OKAY...
Dilated to 2.5 now...only 1.5 more until the almighty epidural!

CONTRACTIONS...
Two minutes apart...off the chart! Only dilated to 1.5 though.
STAY TUNED!

OK
We're finally in a room after about 3 hours in triage. It took us a while to convince them that Michelle's water had actually broken...as if she didn't know. No real news yet...a few contractions. They have started the I.V. with the stuff that helps things along.
STAY TUNED!

BABY TIME!!!
Well today just might be the day. We're leaving for the hospital right now...if I can ever get off of this blog.
STAY TUNED!!!

MY MOM'S BOOK
I meant to post this last week, but never got the chance. My mom, Sondra Gray, will be at the Boaz public library today from 3-5 signing copies of her book "According to Punkin." You can find more information about the book here, but in short, if you are a cat lover or if you have kids who like cats, this book is for you.

Click here for a quick slideshow of an album I created from Colby and Steven's wedding. They were so much fun to work with. Sometimes I almost feel guilty for getting paid to do this...almost.

BUSY WEEK!!!
My son Jackson has had the busiest week ever it looks like. Birthday, hernia, and now...LOST TEETH!!! After 8 years he's finally lost some teeth. Two in the same day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!
Well today is Jackson's 8th birthday. It's just hard to believe. Everybody always told me how fast kids grow up, but they were wrong. They grow up faster! It seems like yesterday that we brought the little guy home without the slightest clue what to do with him...now we don't know what we would do without him.

CHECK THIS GUY OUT...
This is Braxton, and he's one cool little dude. He totally kicked his family out of the studio for his photo session, so he and I just talked about power rangers, Dora the Explorer, and some other of his favorite shows. As it turns out, he might be in my little Sylvie's class next year. I get the feeling their teacher Mrs. Led will have her hands full!

HEY EVERYBODY...
I'd like for you all to remember my little guy Jackson. We just found out that he has a hernia which will require surgery. Evidently this is not uncommon in kids but I didn't realize that. Of course he's milking it because the doctor told him to take it easy....now he gets to lay around and watch TV. He says that Michelle and I are now his servants...too funny.

A FEW FAVORITES...
These are some of my favorite images from this past week.

BACK TO THE REAL WORLD!
Well we're finally back after what seems like an eternity at the beach. We had such a great time and made some incredible portraits (photos to come later). We stayed at the AMAZING Village of South Walton which is in the nice community of Seacrest Beach.

A funny thing happened on the last day. We loaded up the kids and headed out to Shell Island to snorkel. The waves were so big they knocked me down several times, but I finally got into the groove. Just as I was starting to haul in some serious shells, I heard someone yell at me "HEY!"
I looked up and it was a Florida State Park policeman on his 4-wheeler. He called me in and I actually got a citation for "Snorkeling without a flag." Appearantly Florida state law requires that any snorkeler or diver must be within 50 feet of a diver down flag. He told me that I could remove the snorkel and leave the mask on and I would be legal...but since I didn't really want to drown....that put an end to my snorkeling. Next time I guess I'll know.

Stay tuned for more photos!
Adios!

AS PROMISED....
More Beach Portraits!
Too much fun...

WE'RE BACK!
But very exhausted.
It's great to be home, but we're turning around and going back to the beach on Wednesday July 5! Yes...we're crazy because the baby's due July 27th! Just wanted to post a quick photo....more to come.