I love photography!

So, it has once again, been a while since I updated my blog!  Life with two little ones, a youth pastor for a husband, and a growing photography business keeps me super busy.  In fact, I do most of my "work" at night after the little ones are asleep.  I'm usually hitting the pillow as little Jaxon man wakes for his first nighttime feeding.  :)

God has been very good to our family.  The youth group is thriving and growing, and I meet new people from Savannah all the time who want photos taken.  My goal is to get so busy in Savannah, that when I come to Monroe I won't "have" to work but can if I want to.  I have so many friends in NC that are so good to use me for their photography needs!  It keeps me busy when I come visit, and most importantly, pays for my gas to bring my babies to see their JoMa and Poppy! :)  Jonas loves to come visit.  :)  Jaxon does too, he just doesn't know it yet.  We had a great night last night all snuggled up in bed together.  We sure missed daddy though!

So, the house here in NC is just a little weird without Philip here.  I can see why mom is sad about her "empty nest".  It's weird.  :(  Even if he was always shut up in his room, you still saw him, said hello, and liked knowing he was around (and you were well protected...ha ha ha!)  I am so happy for him though.  He has a cute little house and he's working hard to make it a home.  Hopefully soon I can take applications for a sister in law.  (just kidding...no really, I'm kidding! :))

Please check my facebook album for my current September specials, they are themed around my husbands birthday.  Speaking of birthdays, my great husband surprised me with a great birthday lunch at Vito's Pizzaria in Savannah.  Our friends Janet, Mady, Kaylee, Patrick, Kathryn, Luke, Emma, and Melissa were in on the surprise and they all came to celebrate with me. Then Mrs. Pat babysat while Jon, MoMo and I went to movie and an unhealthy snack at Applebees afterwards.  It was a great birthday! :)  Now this month we have Jon and Dad to celebrate!  Jon turns 28, and dad the big 5-0!  What a milestone!  Thankful for both of these dad's in my life and their birthdays are pretty special days for me!

Upcoming blog posts I have planned:
My first attempt at making yeast rolls
Cling & Erin's Wedding
My "Very Hungry" Caterpillar Jaxon (though the pictures are already on my facebook page!)
The Cookie Jar Photo Story
Attempting to sew for my guest room/office

and more!  So check back... :)

God Bless!

August Specials

Kash Is One!

I sure do love being a photographer!! :)

The Pittman Family

Just a few favorites from the Pittman's family photoshoot! :)

Introducing Liam

Liam August Wargin

Some favorites from Liam's photoshoot! :)  What a sweetheart!

Black Oak Photography - July Specials

July Specials 

(good starting now, for the remainder of June too...) -

1. New sessions booked in July - 10 percent off the cost of your sitting fee ($90 after discount for regular sessions)

2. Print Special - Get one 8x10, one 5x7, two 4x6, and 4 wallets for $20! (all of the same pose!)
 

3. BIG SALE: Order $100 in prints, get $20 more free! (Excludes press printed items)

He's Here!

Jaxon Quinn Black 

April 28, 2011

12:14 PM 

7 pounds 14 ounces

20 inches

God blessed our little family with a healthy baby boy!  He has been such a precious addition to our family!  He has brought us more joy in his short weeks with us than we ever thought possible.  Jaxon was a bit of a "surprise" baby, but I am so thankful that God knows so much better than we do, what we need, and desire, even before we do!  I love this little "brudder" to Jonas so much!

Well, time has flown, and this blog has once again been neglected!!  Needless to say, newborns take a great deal of time and energy but I intend on keeping up with this blog much better now that things have settled down!   Sometimes I feel like life is so busy that it is passing me by...so this blog is a small way at slowing time down a little for all to see what is going on!

This Saturday my mom turns 50!  I am so thankful for her, she means more to me than she even knows!  When Jaxon was born, she was a lifesaver to me!  Even though I know half the time she doesn't feel like it, she is always there for me, helping me out, and loving my kids!  She is the greatest Jo-Ma ever! :)  Jonas loves her so much and I know Jaxon will too.  I pray God gives mom better health in the coming year and that we are blessed with many more milestones with our Jo-Ma!!!  Happy 50th Birthday mom!! I love you!  As a birthday gift to her (ha ha!!), we are letting her (ha ha again!) keep Jonas for a whole week (how will I cope without my funny little guy?!??!) while we take our teens to the Wilds!  Praying she has a great week, and that Jonas isn't too spoiled when I get back! :)

So I skipped February...

Life has been a little crazy around the Black Homestead lately. 

To catch up a bit, here's what we've been up to...

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!   God has been so good, and in His timing, He led us to the cutest little house in a perfect little neighborhood.  We closed at the beginning of the month, and started right away with replacing carpet, painting, changing light fixtures, unpacking, raking, adding gutters, putting in a microwave, etc.  It has been quite an undertaking...especially for someone in their third trimester.  I will do a post later with pictures of our new home.  It isn't fully decorated or anything yet, but at least you'd get the idea.  We are loving having our own privacy and space after living at church for almost a year!  Jonas loves his backyard, and since his birthday he's had some fun new outdoor toys to play with.  

I FAILED MY GLUCOSE TEST!!! :(  While everyone was busy making renovations (three days after we closed), I got to take the dreaded glucose test, and failed.  And I was so good about what I ate the day before despite the yummy SuperBowl Party treats that were tempting me.  I have to say I was devastated.  Mostly because a 3 hour test didn't fit nicely into my schedule, nor is it any fun! :(  Thankfully, when I took it a week later, I only failed one of the hours out of 4 so they said I did well enough to not have gestational diabetes.  Another answer to prayer.  I've tried to cut out a lot from my diet since then just to be sure, but I'm glad sweets aren't restricted for sure!  :)

VALENTINE'S BANQUET - Amidst wanting to be organizing and decorating at my house, I had to take a time out that first week of moving to buy food and decorations for our church's valentine's banquet.  Thankfully my mother in law was here to help and did the majority of the cooking for me.  Lots of folks helped me do the actual decorating on Thursday, and the teens did a fabulous job serving the adults on Friday night.  I don't have an exact total, but I am pretty sure the teens raised over $500 for camp.  It was a blessing all the positive feedback we got from everyone.  The food was delicious and everyone kept going on and on about the decorations.  I'm glad it was a success!  It sure was a lot of work! :)

28 Weeks - we took the pictures in our new backyard, but I never uploaded them...

So there you have it...my big ole belly at 28 weeks!  I'm getting pretty excited to meet little Jaxon Quinn on April 28th (they scheduled my c-section for that day).  

Another big celebration (other than closing on our house) was our Jonas turned TWO!  I can't believe how big he is getting!  Granted, he looks like a four year old.  Especially after the hack-job buzz cut I gave him on my own last night...yikes.  He is such a cutie!  He had his two year old checkup, and he weighed right at 40 pounds and was 37 3/4 inches tall.  Well over the 95th percentile, like always.  They measured his big ole head twice because the first measurement wasn't even on Dr. Wilkes' chart.  It was in fact smaller than originally measured, but still on the big side.  :)  I love my big-headed boy.   He got a Hep-A shot and blood drawn for a lead test.  Didn't even whimper for the finger prick.  The shot, a different story.  He loves the stickers they give him though, and hates having band-aids on his finger.  He kept trying to leave the room at the doctors office, I guess he thinks mommy needs more exercise.  The cutest things is when he sees a tongue depressor (or nail file for that matter), he opens wide and says, "ahhhhh."  He learns so much, and I hear new words/sentences almost daily. I'm amazed at how smart he is.  He loves to skype with his grandparents and play with matchbox cars.  His favorite movies are the Toy Story series movies.  We moved him into a toddler bed and moved his crib into Jaxon's room.  He's doing okay with that, and seems proud of his big boy bed.  Hopefully when he gets over this cold he'll sleep all night in it!  :)  He loves to chew (and swallow) gum and eat "kers" (aka, Suckers) for treats.  We had a birthday party for him in our backyard on Saturday.  It was interesting to say the least.  He lost interest in opening presents (what's wrong with him?!?! LOL!) and just took off around the house at one point! ;)  Mom had pizza and cupcakes for him one night last week when I was in NC for photoshoots and had some family come over to celebrate.  Here are a few pictures....

 Playing on his new toy from Poppy and Jo-Ma....

 Opening presents (while he was still interested)

 New clothes!! He got lots of cute new clothes! :)

 From Aunt LuLu and Uncle Clifton....

 Blowing out his candle in NC! :)

 He wanted to do it again and again and again....

 sitting on the potty! :) 

Giving Kash kisses! :)

JUST A PLUG FOR CONNEC+EEN STUDENTS:

24 Weeks

We're over the hump!  The halfway hump that is!  Maybe I should rephrase that because truthfully, I HAVE THE HUMP!!! :)  What am I talking about?  Well, this pregnancy!  Jaxon is over half way done "baking".  I feel truly blessed to have this great treasure of a boy growing inside me.  In some ways I dread the day he is born, because there is just something so special about him growing inside my belly.  I love feeling him...it's like, "I'm never alone!"  :)  I do look forward to seeing his sweet face and discovering who he looks like.  I look forward to putting some of Jonas's hand-me-down favorites on him, and starting over again with the sweet baby stage.  I can't wait to see Jonas and his baby brother together. 

We took these pictures this past week.  I am now almost 26 weeks pregnant (Wednesday) and took the time to ponder Sunday the value of the baby that is inside me.  As a Christian, I know that each baby is a blessing from the Lord, and "the fruit of the womb is his reward".  I truly feel sentimental (though I am not sure that is the word for it) about this pregnancy more so than my last.  While my first was utterly exciting and special, it occurred after we had "tried" to get pregnant.  Jaxon was a complete surprise.  So in some ways, it makes me feel sentimental, that God thought fit to give us an unexpected reward, or gift.  Sunday was "Sanctity of Life Sunday" and I took time to think about how special pregnancy really is.  God is forming Jaxon in my womb, and is making something that is "fearfully and wonderfully made."  He intimately knows Jaxon even now, before his birth.  He knows him better than I ever will.  I think of my pregnancy, and I think about the women out there that have a low regard for their babies, and choose to abort them.  It truly saddens me.  I saw a figure today that said over 52 million abortions have occurred since Roe vs. Wade.  I am sure that is not accurate, as there are probably many more babies who's lives were cut short.  I read an article of a couple who had three boys, and became pregnant with twin boys.  Because they really wanted a girl, they aborted the twin boys.  It was appalling.  It literally brings tears to my eyes to think of these precious babies, that would be wanted by so many loving families via adoption, having their lives cut short by a horrific procedure.  I pray that the crisis pregnancy agencies that are striving to give mothers other options besides abortion will flourish and have huge impact on the world.  I also pray that God will use me, somehow, someway to help the cause of saving the unborn.

Sometimes it feels like...

we have a new antibiotic a week!  I know that is not really true, but sometimes it feels like the doctor's office is our most frequent destination.  Today as we were in the waiting room my mind drifted to thoughts of some friends from college and the struggles they face with their children and illness.  It made me truly grateful for for my occasionally sick child, and caused me to lift them up in prayer!  I can't imagine having a child or more than one child with a life threatening illness, but I have friends who can relate.  So join me in lifting them up in prayer too!  It is "sanctity of life" week, so lets value the lives of these precious children, and lift up pregnant mothers who are considering abortion.

New Year...New House?

So the exciting news for our family is that we are under contract on a house!  After months of looking at many different forclosures, we found one we love and pray to live in really soon!  Before Jaxon gets here preferably!  The way things go now, we won't have any security in knowing that we'll have the house for sure until the bank does their appraisal and whatever repairs they want done are finished and reinspected.  So we are still in limbo, but a few steps closer to our dream home!  Pray with us that God's will be done.  Much has to work out!  If it does, we are set to close no later than February 15th!  And I for one, can not wait to have my own place again...living in "God's house" (lol) is starting to wear on us...plus there is this tiny fourth family member on his way that needs a place for a crib! :)