We had a great time putting together a few moments from Michael’s proposal to Megan. We love seeing their love in-motion and hope that you will enjoy it too;-)

I can’t even express the incredible time we had photographing Mark and Leyna in Vegas. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s to come.

Wishing I could have just one of these delightful desserts right now. yummmm….

Their intermission from their proposal was a 15 minute drive to one of Michael’s favorite restaurants, Italian Bistro. For part II of his “perfect date” he had arranged for both of their close family members to surprise Megan and congratulate the newly engaged couple. So sweet! Everyone did such a great job with keeping the secret. Their were tears of joy, excited laughter, and family getting to know family.

I think we know who won this game! Well played sir!

I hope you’ll enjoy these photographs of their shared LOVE, and Congratulate!  

It was great to see these two families come together to celebrate Megan and Michael’s engagement, especially since we already have a special place in our hearts for the Gibbon’s. You can find Michael in his brother, Joshua’s, wedding party photograph. It was wonderful to catch up with Jamie and Josh, as well as Josh’s family.

Megan’s gorgeous ring… on the chapstick that kept it securely in his pocket.

aren’t these the sweetest! makes me anxious to see their wedding details!

I caught Michael and Megan sharing this moment at the end of the night, again everything faded away around them and the world only consisted of their love.

Michael contacted me several months ago to invite me to photograph his proposal to Megan. He was spending alot time and thought on planning evening and of course I wanted to be there. I couldn’t wait to capture all of his plans unfold for what I knew would be the perfect proposal for Megan.

The evening of, unsuspecting Megan enjoyed a glass of red wine with Michael at the quaint D’Vine wine bar located in Grapevine’s town square. This was their second game-date. The objective of the game was to see who could plan and execute the “Perfect Date”. (I love games where both competitors are also the winners.) After their glass of wine they enjoyed a short stroll along Main Street until they entered the gazebo. Feeling a little anxious, Michael promptly kneeled, lifted the “perfect” ring off the chapstick lid that he kept safely, deep in his pocket. He proceeded to ask Megan if she would become his wife. She stood their shocked, amazed and in awe while trying to speak the word, YES! What a great response to part one of his “perfect” date! They continued their stroll through Grapevine as we photographed their excitement evolve. After reality started to sink in we said our goodbyes and Michael informed Megan that they needed to proceed onto part II of their “perfect date”.

This is one of my favorite leg/feet shots of a couple. There was so much excitement going on that I wanted to focus the stillness, not to mention her awesome shoes… and legs.

Megan still very much excited and in shock.

There is no question that Michael and Megan enjoy life together…

no doubt that they enjoy sweet moments together…

and everything stops or fades away when they want it to!

*love*

really I can’t take anymore.

they are made for each other

more to come tomorrow…

An evening filled with entertainment was then followed up with a sobering morning. The vibe was of reverence that resonated from the group of such a diverse grouping of people. The young, old, healthy, sick, happy and sad all came together to share a common experience. During the ceremony at the Texas Motor Speedway, before the DFW CureSearch Walk, a flood of extreme emotion fell upon the crowd and just few words and actions transformed those uncontrolled tears into hope and a silent determination. Having lost a nephew to cancer at a young age, along with several family members, we could relate and understand this real and present need to cure this disease. This event was a life-changing experience and an eye-opening realization that there are so many people that are making a difference and searching for the cure. To find out how you can make a difference and to give from your heart visit CureSearch Support.

Thank you CureSearch for an amazing experience and the work that you do for us all!

“Cancer is the #1 cause of death from disease in children. Every day, 35 children or nearly 2 classrooms are diagnosed with cancer, 7 of these children will not survive. 3 out of 5 children who survive cancer suffer devastating long-term side effects.” ~ CureSearch (Children’s Cancer Facts)

On a lighter note, it was fun to see the Star Wars crew come out for some unique family entertainment. We wished we would have brought Nate along, he would have gained from and LOVED the experience.

The walk began and ended with passion and determination. There was a total of $80,640.00 in donations.

We were so blessed to be asked to photograph the 2010 DFW CureSearch Walk Events. We had no idea the emotion that would be involved in such an occasion. The events were intended to celebrate and honor children who have been affected by children’s cancer, while raising funds for lifesaving research for the Children’s Oncology Group.

The first night, we drove into the Texas Motor Speedway (awesome!, I might add) and walked inside a garage/hanger of parked race cars, buffets, bars, items for raffles, and casino style entertainment. It was a great experience and we were honored to be involved.

Here are just a few of the many items that were donated in effort to raise funds that evening.

The men, Jim and Mo, in the above right image were the guys that brought CureSearch to the DFW area. The amount of time and effort that they put into these events were inspiring and successful!

You can’t have a Casino night in Texas without Texas Hold’em.

You gotta love a surprise that leaves a woman speechless and in awe. Her fiance, Michael, did a fantastic job planning the perfect night. More to come…

The Garbe Family is a typical family living life to the fullest as they enjoy their day to day occurrences. Two beautiful girls and two loving parents. All with real dreams that will be best suited together. Their dreams were on course to Italy, instead their visiting Holland.

Lisa is often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability — to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. She says it’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans… the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, Gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland!” “Holland?” you say. “What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I’m supposed to… be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It’s just a different place. So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.” And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you might never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Trip To Holland
By Emily Perl Kingsley