beyond Black Oak...

I love photography!

2011-09-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-01T23:29:00.000-04:00

Kash Is One!

2011-07-14T01:07:00.000-04:00

I sure do love being a photographer!! :)

The Pittman Family

2011-06-28T15:52:00.000-04:00

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

Introducing Liam

2011-06-23T17:47:00.000-04:00

Liam August Wargin

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

Black Oak Photography - July Specials

2011-06-23T00:23:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-06-22T01:19:00.000-04:00

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...

2011-03-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

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:

2011-01-27T14:47:00.000-05:00

24 Weeks

2011-01-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-01-24T19:26:00.001-05:00

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?

2011-01-08T10:47:00.002-05:00

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! :)

It's a...

2010-12-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

Looks like we won't need any PINK cloth diapers this time around. We found out Tuesday that baby number two is another sweet BOY! :) We're super excited and can't wait to see our little Jaxon Quinn in Jonas's hand-me-downs! :) We wouldn't have cared either way, whatever God gives us is perfectly fine with us. I was somewhat dreaming of ruffle butt diaper covers and hairbows, but I still get to buy those sometimes as photo props, so it's all good! We are most thankful that Jaxon appears at this point to be perfectly healthy. We found out that Jonas had a "problem" with is kidneys at his ultrasound, so the fact that the sonographer/doctor found nothing wrong, was a huge gift from God! :) So, as we anxiously await the April arrival of little Jaxon, (and hopefully find a house in the mean time), mommy will dream of newborn boy photoprops and monogrammed things and paci holders....etc! :)

Until later,
Content mommy of 2 boys
:)

I'm so thankful...

2010-11-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

Our family is celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year. Once was yesterday, and then we'll celebrate with my family next Thursday on the "real" Thanksgiving. Twice the turkey, twice the family. No complaints from me. Just wanted to take a few minutes and list some of the things I'm most thankful for...

My salvation
Jesus Christ
My wonderful husband
My sweet son Jonas
The new baby growing in my belly
My family
My friends
My church
Our youth group
Our "home"
The prospect of a new home
God's provision
Food
Vehicles
Our health
Safety while traveling
Medical insurance
Jonathan's ministry/job
Life
Godly parents
Godly in-laws
Good memories

There are so many other things, but I've gotta get ready for a rehearsal dinner for my friends Addie and Brad's big day! So until later... Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Fitted Diaper Giveaway...

2010-09-12T22:30:00.001-04:00

My friend Liz is hosting her first giveaway on her blog! The giveaway? A fitted diaper (which means you need a cover) made by her! :) To enter, check out her blog, "Pretty How Town" and follow the rules!

Pretty How Town

Here's the prize:

Best of luck! :)

Cottonbabies....Great Diaper Giveaway Finale...

2010-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't won all week, but today there is a chance to win one of 15 sets of BumGenius 4.0! **Drooling!** So, if you want to enter, check out their site, Cottonbabies Site or go to the blog,
Cottonbabies Blog. Lots of exciting things are happening there! I'm entering their contest and you should too! Show your love for cloth diapers today too! :)

Some cool things...ERGO & HotPrints.com

2010-09-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

I got an email today for free photo books from hotprints.com. The difference to normal offers is that this is an ongoing thing for FOUR free photo books per month. Wow! All you pay is $2.99 shipping per book. I'm uploading pics now to try this out. It is, for the record, taking me forever to upload them. :(

This is what the email looked like, so go to hotprints.com and sign up. Let me know if you have good luck with this too! :) I plan on making one book and getting it printed for both sets of grandparents. Cool deal! Look forward to seeing how these come out!

Today, www.babysteals.com had the ERGO I've been coveting, (Okay, not the exact one, but for 45% off, I settled for a cool black one with embroidery!) for almost half price. :) I was so excited! I remembered that dad has been putting aside some $ for Jonas that I've been saving up, and now I'm spending it on Jonas! :) So yay! We have a slick new carrier for up to 90 pounds! :) He gets pretty heavy, so I hope this works out great!

You can check out ergobabycarriers.com to see the product line. They are featured on babysteals.com several times a year, but it is hit or miss to whether you'll get one before they're gone. I've heard they are worth it, and they are very highly rated! I got the black with embroidery pictured above. There are some new performance ones that I like the colors better, but hey, for $50 cheaper, the black is for me! :)

Attention Cloth Diaper Users...COTTONBABIES has CLEARANCE SECONDS!

2010-09-01T09:33:00.002-04:00

Cottonbabies.com is having their clearance sale! :) Now these aren't the new 4.0's pictured above (thought I thought I'd show them some love) but they are awesome diapers!!! You'll have to be super fast, but they have many colors of the 3.0's for only $12, Elementals for $17 (these are organic), Flip Covers (no inserts) for $9.95, Sized all in ones (though you can choose gender, you can't choose a color) for $10, and Econobum covers for only $4.95! These are seconds, and you have to agree to their terms, but I've ordered seconds before and couldn't tell the difference at all!!! These will not last long!

Click the title above to link to cottonbabies and fill up your shopping cart!

BumGenius diapers are great and this is a great way to add to your stash! You can even get free shipping if you aren't in a hurry to get them!

Good luck scoring some awesome fluff!!

Downtown Savannah

2010-08-24T13:42:00.001-04:00

My friend Naomi came to visit me for my birthday this past week. It was really nice to have her here with me. We had a blast and even got to scrapbook together. :) Hopefully she enjoyed that too. Anyways, she is an aspiring pro-photographer as well, and while she was here I took advantage of her skills and had her shoot some family pics for us for my birthday! :)

This is Naomi:

We went to Forsyth Park here in Savannah. You can check out her other work at http://naomiabbottphotography.com/ or click the title of this post to link to it automatically. If you live in the Waxhaw, NC area, or somewhere around Charlotte, you can book her for a shoot...at least for a while! She's about to move to Houston, TX for a year. So, maybe if you're in Houston, you'll be able to hook up with her!

Enough babbling! Pictures speak louder than words, so here are some of the shots she got. Some of the solo Jonas ones I took myself, but all the group shots she took. It is soooo complicated trying to use a timer to shoot a family with an 18 month old! So, I'm thankful she could help us out. Our last decent family picture was when Jonas was like two months old for Easter. Yikes!

Kookabums/Kookabear Kids

2010-08-19T10:06:00.001-04:00

Wow. So even after months of saying nothing about this brand of diaper, I am still getting [annonymous] comments and feedback about the inner workings of this company.

Let me preface this review by stating that I love supporting stay-at-home mom/mom based businesses. I really would love to give a good review in this case, but just keep reading and you'll see why I cannot in this case. I don't want to lead others astray, and then cause them to hate their cloth purchase. For future reference, if you have a high quality cloth diaper and great customer service, I'll be happy to review your diaper for you. This is the ONLY diaper that I have been this dissatisfied with.

A little history:
I found a link on diaperswappers.com to the Kookabear Kids website. Diaperswapper members had the opportunity to purchase diapers for $10 each. A great deal. Melinda (the owner) was most likely flooded with orders, as this price is well below her retail price. I ordered three. There was no note on the site about estimated delivery date. I assumed incorrectly that she had built up stock and would simply ship items out. Wrong! Not that this was a terrible crime or anything, as I've waited for other SAHM diapers too, but I knew ahead of time that I would be waiting. My invoice receipt said that my diapers would ship in 4 weeks. Sheesh! FOUR WEEKS?!!?!

Please note, any communication between Melinda and myself (where she emailed me) went to my spam box for some reason. She finally contacted me after 5 or 6 weeks through a friend that also ordered a $10 diaper. So I searched my inbox and found an email that she'd sent, one week earlier stating that she was out of one of the fabrics I ordered. MY FAVORITE ONE. Bummer.

I got over it, picked a different pattern and kept waiting. Older blog posts show my frustration with waiting. She mailed them to my old address. I sent her emails, and checked with her, and was assured she'd send them to Savannah, but low and behold, she shipped them to Evans. Thankfully I am good friends with my former neighbor. He intercepted the package, and I met up with him to get it. (I just had to wait until I made a trip to the Augusta area to get it.)

So I meet up with Brad, all excited to get my new diapers after all this time. I rip open the package in the car, and, ***what a letdown*** they look horrible! The stitching was crooked, the leg gussets/elastic looked like she slopped them together, and the snaps didn't coordinate that well with the fabric. On top of that, the argyle print was cut out the wrong direction. There were blue pen markings on the PUL on the inside. (These were AI2's with snap in liners). The liners were snapped into the covers crooked. Overall, they were terribly constructed. I complained to Melinda, and tried them out. LEAKED almost EVERY TIME. These diapers were no good.

She emailed back saying that she was having problems with the materials used on the soaker pads, and that she was going to start using some new more natural product (bamboo I think). She said she was changing her diaper from an AI2 to and AIO and that she'd refund my $ or send me new diapers. I chose the new diapers like a doofus. After being surprised by the workmanship, I confronted her, and this is what she said,

"Honestly, I didn't realize that they were so shoddily made and I am somewhat suprised myself because I have had such good feedback too... ;( I have been going through so much personal stuff lately that I have to admit I have been a little distracted. That is why I practically quit selling things until I listed some tester items yesterday.

I can happily refund through paypal.

I can also simply remake your order and see if it is better for you. You are more than welcome to keep the ones you have as compensation for all the crap you have been through with me.

I finally got a serger so I am serging my inserts now and I am hoping that will really help. I am also going to quit using microfiber and exclusively use the bamboo hemp combination because it is easier to work with and I find customers really like the natural fibers for baby.....

Just let me know what you would like to do.... I have to say I am very sorry.... "

I felt bad for complaining, but had her remake them, as $40 was too pay to not expect something, so I gave her another shot...it was my "compassionate" way of helping her since she was obviously going through something.

Fast forward a few weeks:
I get my new AIO's. They are much better than before. One of the four was backwards (how it closed) than the other three. I thought that was weird. The stitching isn't perfect, but it was improved and acceptable. She added tags, which was a nice touch. They looked really cute off of Jonas. However, my son is chunky, and they were made smaller. So they were too tight to really let him wear. I put them on him a few times, but they leak. Not sure if it was product malfunction this time or that they don't fit him well (30 lbs at the time), but in either case, I was tired of dealing with it, and didn't want to sound like a mooch. Melinda also offered a freebie for blog reader, that I was going to do when I reviewed the diaper. So needless to say, due to the dislike of the diapers, I decided to NOT host the giveaway (not to mention her customer service diminished after she sent the 2nd batch) because I was worried the prize would never show up. I tried emailing her about the sizing of those 2nd diapers because I just wanted her to know that she should upsize them a little now that they were AIO's, but I've never seen any more contact from her.

I was told that I would get some extra inserts with my second order because of all the cr@p she put me through. I got the worst looking scraps of fabric. They were all different, they were different shapes, some were serged on the top, some were really long pieces. All were crooked and stupid. What a waste of time.

So I can't recommend Kookabear Kids/Kookabum diapers to you at this time. Others are having issues with her too, and from what I can tell, she's avoiding those who have issues with her. It is sad because the prints and the idea of her store, to have modern diapers was very good, it was just poorly executed. :(

Stick with some other brand for cloth diapering your baby....

(I thought I had better pics with the diapers but this is all I could find...you can barely see his punk diaper. Oh well, he hates it too.)

What I did this weekend... :)

2010-08-16T13:02:00.001-04:00

I took pictures at Jonathan's cousin Chad's wedding. He married Kristi, who is a wonderful person inside and out. The wedding was beautiful, and I have much editing to do! But here's a quick look at a few favorites from the pre-wedding photoshoot! :)

Enjoy!

Kissing the mid-twenties goodbye!

2010-08-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

Twenty-six is almost behind me. As "birthday week" continues, I'd like to set forth some goals for myself in the coming year. I think that by publishing these publicly I will feel more obligated to complete them and keep them! :)

This summer has gone by in a whirlwind of traveling and activities...all of which have gotten me off track in many ways.

1. All that packing and unpacking has "unorganized" me and my "home" quite a bit. I hope to do some "fall cleaning" out, as it cannot possibly wait for Spring Cleaning! It truly has been a lot of fun going on vacation, visiting family, camps, weddings and all the things that caused us to hit the road, but I look forward to slowing down a bit soon. :)

2. Dieting - I'm a horrible dieter. I am obsessively compulsively addicted to chocolate. It is rare that I eat a candy that I don't like. My palate is not as picky as it should be I suppose, as I don't mind fast food. At all. I have friends and there are teens in our youth group that say frequently, "I don't like that restaurant" or "I hate ____". I like fast food. I might even love it. And my hips are the evidence. Not only am I a terrible dieter, I am a die hard exercise hater. :( I wish I liked it. But along with re-organizing my drawers and closets, I want to diet and exercise and lose some weight!

3. Financially - all that eating out and traveling has been terrible financially. Not only have we spent tons of $$ on gas, on fast food on the way, and increased shopping at our destinations (why is that?), I have fallen behind on the coupon wagon. I chalk it up to "busy-ness", not having time to clip and shop around since I've been jumping in and out of town all summer. So, my goal is to jump back in to that full force. I signed up for newspaper delivery for those much needed coupons. :)

4. Crafting - I've crafted a little this summer, but only in a hurry and only for other people. So for my birthday I requested some uninterrupted craft time to do some scrapping and such. I'm farther behind than just the summer, but I've depleted much of my card stash and not replaced it. I've even used some cards that I'd held onto for a year or more that I was just too attached to to give away. It's gone! :) It did bring joy, so it was worth it, but I like having them saved up.

5. Christian Life - I really am trying to be the best Christian I can be. I started taking more notes for personal reflection and have been searching for a couples Bible Study to start with Jonathan. When we first got married we had devo's every night together and after we finished that book, we never picked up another. So my short term goal for this year is to start a new couples devo, and my long term goal is to start family devotions with Jonas too. I'd like to become a habit for us.

So, this week, I have three more days until I'm 27. I am not exactly where I'd like to be in life, but I'm embracing the journey God has us on. I have several things that frustrate me about our circumstances and I could complain about, but I am going to make a valiant effort to NOT complain about it. I'm going to pro-actively push myself and my family to be the best we can be in the place God has led us.

I love my family, and I hope that laying out these goals for the fall will help me to be a better person. I want to do my best as a homemaker, and be the best wife/mom I can be. I want to be a better Christian too. My list isn't very demanding is it? LOL! :) What are your expectations for yourself? How have they changed for you since you got married/had children/got older?

Trouble Chewing...Adventures in Vinyl Lettering

2010-08-11T23:57:00.001-04:00

You know the old saying, "I think I bit off more than I can chew"? Well, I don't necessarily think I bit off more than I could chew, (though Jon's help was essential to the truth in that statement as he was a huge help!) but I think I bit off more than was FUN to chew yesterday! LOL! What I mean is, I did a big job. I knew I could apply vinyl in small scale. And then I got asked if I could do vinyl on a 12 foot trailer. The adventurous side of me couldn't say no, plus I love my Pastor (the owner of the business/trailer) so the work began! It was HUGE!! (Did I say that yet??!?!) Well, that sucker looked MUCH bigger up close than I counted on (I had only seen it from a distance, and in the pictures Jon took). But, Jonathan and I tackled that big boy one vinyl strip at a time, and little by little, letter by letter, we did it. We actually pulled it off. And it actually turned out great. Now I 'm not saying it was my last trailer job, but I am saying it is much harder than it looks, and I am not chomping at the bits to do it again any time soon! I have played with my Cricut and vinyl for about a year and a half now, and have gotten pretty proficient at it. But this was by far, the biggest job I've ever done.

For the record, I did not cut all that vinyl out on my Cricut. That would have been horrific to do on this scale (not to mention, doing it 3 times for all the sides of the trailer!) but also been impossible to line up straight. Special thanks to Johnson Signs of Pageland, SC (my friends hubby) for cutting out the vinyl for us on his plotter, for a VERY reasonable price! :) And also thanks for talking me through it and putting up with all my questions! It wouldn't have been so smooth without your help Josh!

It was super hot yesterday, and we worked very hard. We sweated like crazy. But we had fun, and we did it together. We have such a sense of accomplishment, and personally, I think it looks fantastic!

Take a peek at Custom Gutters LLC's newly vinyl lettered trailer! It goes out on its first job in the morning! :)

In total there were three sides. We did the back first because it was the smallest and easiest. So that was yesterday. I had all but sworn off vinyl and thought about taking a sabbatical from vinyl entirely when I suggested to Jon that we give the Connec+een kids (our youth group) a gift for back to school. We bought some super cheap notebooks and I once again used vinyl. They are simple, but the logo on the front looked great and gave a really personalized touch. The teenagers loved them. :)

Hair today, What tomorrow?

2010-08-10T00:59:00.002-04:00

Today (the today I am referring to was actually yesterday since it is after midnight as I type this update!) was an unusual day in history. Today was August 9, 2010. More popularly written, today was 8/9/10. That won't happen again for another century! Of course next year there will be a 9/10/11, but that sequence will only last until 12/13/14 as there is no 13th month! :) What great wedding dates these will make!

So what great thing was done today on 8/9/10? Well nothing major for me, but today was fun. Jonas slept reeeeeaaaalllly late. He slept until 10:30. I got lots of laundry done, and then we both got hair cuts. He was so cute roaming the salon while I got mine colored and cut. I probably won't do that again, as I had little control over what he was getting into, but he was cute bringing me different colored rollers and hair products, and business cards, etc. I am really surprised by now he doesn't do better at getting his hair cut. He's had more than a dozen in his lifetime, but he still squirms. A dum dum sucker saved the day and distracted him. I knew I better hurry out the door when my child decided to lay down on the floor (not in defiance, just like he was going to take a nap) right under another (very sweet, Jonas friendly) hairstylist named Dale. She was so kind to not be annoyed with him. She must be a momma. :)

After I got home I think I did 8 or 9 or 10 loads of laundry on 8/9/10...lol! :) It really did seem like that many! It was more than one mountain to tackle. I kind of let it slip on me, as I am trying to share my washer time with our missionary friends who are camped out back. :) We love having them here, it is constant company and entertainment, but I am getting behind. Must do work tomorrow...lettering a HUGE trailer and going to an appointment. Yipppeeee....well, not really that exciting.

Jonas was outside with everyone before dinner and saw the Eden's dog. It was so cute how clearly he said "Coda". :) Their nickname for their dog, Dakota.

Tonight for supper, we had 8 or 9 or 10 guests for dinner...lol! Really it was 10 guests. The Edens ate with us, the Jeffcoats, and Pastor and Mrs. Brenda. I fixed some of those hamburger steak packets (with potato, onion, and carrots in them) for dinner, along with corn (frozen from the garden last summer), peas, mac and cheese, and rice krispie treats...I couldn't find anything else to make for dessert. I completely forgot to cook the bread. The mac and cheese was borderline too cheesy. I overcooked the potatoes in the packets, and I somewhat burned the corn. To top it off, I did make a small peach cobbler, and after taking out all the pans of hamburger steak, put it in the oven to bake. But I turned off the oven, and forgot to turn it on. So needless to say, dinner wasn't up to my high standard I set for myself, but my lovely, kind, and maybe lying guests didn't have any complaints and were gracious enough to say that everything was delicious. I hope there was some fraction of truth to it! :) Hey, it was free food they didn't have to cook. And I have sub-par equipment to work with. :)

Enough excuses....

Jon was a big help tonight with Jonas. And then he even agreed that I could go out for a girls night. We went late so kiddos would be in bed. I really enjoyed the girl time. I haven't done that kid-free in a really long time. I think it is important and hope to do it more often. I love my son, and I love solo dates with Jonathan, but we should make more time like this for friendship. We got to go to a late showing of Eclipse, which I've already seen, but still loved the second time. Its like you pick up more details the second time. (Or unfortunately hear more cuss words...oopsy!) I really love that series and enjoyed time out with my friend! What a great way to end the epic day, 8/9/10.

So there you have it folks, nothing major happened today, but it was fun, and if I had to do it over again, I hope that it turned out much the same. Great haircut, great food, great friends. Life is good...and I'm counting down to birthday week...27 here I come!

What will tomorrow hold? Not sure, but if it is like today, I'm sure there will be lots of surprises. I know for sure that folks will start arriving at church at 6 am to vote. Hope to not be up that early. :) Good night everyone!

Dreaming in Black & White

2010-08-08T16:27:00.001-04:00

It is well suited that my last name is Black..because I <3 black and white prints! I really have been daydreaming of a home, that hopefully we will be in soon! :) I keep thinking of what rooms I could use my love for black and white decor in... I'm not in a huge hurry, and I'm trying not to get impatient, so for now, I"ll just keep dreaming in black and white!

Thoughts for the office of my dreams: I've thougth for a while that I'd like my office space (if I ever get one...lol) to have different aspects of black and white, and probably a pretty turquoise or a bright Cricut green for a wall color! :) Ideally I'd have white bead board going 1/2 way up, then the color on the top half. I'm falling more in love with gray walls though! Those colors tend to inspire me. I have an AWESOME yard sale find, vintage desk. Heavy, sturdy wood desk, that must be refinished in my future office. The drawers aren't great, but it is high on style and appeal. I'm thinking of sanding it, painting it the same color I paint the walls in my office, and then painting it black over that. Then distressing the edges/corners so that the color shows through. That way, the desk doesn't always have to look crisp and perfect (great for a messy scrapbooker/crafter and for kids running around) but it is still stylish and purposely not-perfect. :) Like me...not perfect! I'd LOVE to get a glass top to go over it so that I can decorate underneath with papers and photographs and ideas that inspire...even verses I'm trying to put to memory. But I'm not sure how much that would co$t!

As for the walls, I'd love to paint a mural (use a projector and trace) a large oak tree onto the back focal wall. It would be a play on our business name "Black Oak Photography." I'd paint it black, and if the mood strikes me just right, I might even make it polka dotted...who knows! :) Here's sorta what I was thinking (I want it more "grand" with sweeping branches, not so lollipop looking):

I have this set of birds, they are black metal (or plastic) that I bought for "Jonathan" for Christmas, and he didn't love them, so I will use them. Some will be on the branches of the tree, and the rest will "fly" around the top of the room. As for art, Jonas will probably grace the walls in huge scale... but one idea I had was to take square pieces of cork, covering them with four different black and white prints and hanging them on a wall in a square, with wall showing about 2 inches between each. I think it would be totally awesome to have each one framed, or at least using molding on the wall to frame around the whole wall hanging. That'd be pretty artsy I think, just not as changeable. Here's kind of the idea, but I'd put them spread out, bolder patterns, and the frame would be around the whole, with wall showing between.

For Curtains, I'd LOVE ceiling height heavy drapes that were very full. I'd want the material thin enough to be able to "scrunch" it up out of the way, but thick enough maybe that light would be blocked (or I could have a separate light blocking curtain?). One side would be white and the other black...on the inside and outside edges, I'd trim them in some sort of pattern. The curtains on this bed are similar to what I was thinking, obviously they'd be on the window, not on the bed, and I'd use a different pattern. This picture simply shows the "trimming."

The reasoning for this is for photos. If I had a photoshoot, I could just slide the huge black curtain over to use for a backdrop...it would cover the whole wall. If I needed white, no problem. Just slide the curtain over. It would save setting up and taking down so much equipment! I'd love to have a small scale couch in there too, that opens up into a bed, that way my office would have seating for clients or whoever wanted to keep me company, for Jonas to "rest", or for company to sleep when they come visit. I have one in mind, of course, from IKEA.

So that's the couch, I'm not set on it, but accent pillows would liven it up, and I could use it for photos easily as black is a good neutral. That bird throw could tie the bird theme in. :) I'd also be happy with a gray, or white. :) I have the desk, but storage space is also going to be necessary. I'll need cabinetry of some sort and surface workspace. I'd like to keep my desk clear (except a new IMac would be lovely!) for working and designing, so I'd love a counter for my Cricut, Cuttlebug, Laminator, Printer, etc. Haven't found one I love, but I haven't looked much either. One thing I thought of getting was this Expedit from IKEA and using it on it's side. The holes are 13x13 so my large scrapbooks fit, as well as huge pads of 12x12 paper.

Turned on it's side, it is desk height, and it isn't very expensive. :) I think above this, those bulletin boards would be nice. It might have to go on the "tree" wall though. Or if there aren't enough walls, there might not be a tree wall! :) LOL!

A more expensive way to go, would be to have pieces of furniture hold my supplies, like this "to die for" chest:

An accent chair to go with that lovely black couch might be like this one, that would look great in any part of my future home! :) LOL!

Black and white decor has been in my blood for a while...my plates are so lovely, they are damask and were wedding gifts. I love using them, and coordinating table decor to match them...

Perfect, huh? :) I am starting to notice chips and such in them after four years, so I'm thinking of ordering a set for "backup". :) Or maybe not.

I'd love to "brand" my business with these nice envelopes eventually for delivering pictures (when they are not drop shipped straight to the customer.) They are pricey, but nice, and would protect from bent corners. They'd only hold up to 8x10's though.

Even been dreaming of "what if" one day we have a girl (no I'm not pregnant or trying to become that way...just dreaming!) and found this delicious bedding:

http://www.babybedding.com/black-and-white-damask-crib-bedding

There are a few things I'd change, but really this is what I had in my head to do...maybe with a few more prints and a bigger polka dot...I think it needs some zebra or houndstooth! :) I might even get funky for a baby girl and mix it up with hot pink instead of baby pink. Precious deliciousness! :) Ooooh to have an unlimited budget and a room to decorate! :) A girl can dream, right?

I don't want to overdo the black and white thing, but if my kitchen had accents, my office was completely super cool with patterns and style, and a little Black girl one day had a hip nursery, well, that would be a black & white dream come true! :) These are things I have quickly found online and thought I'd share. They are by no means anything that I'd really pay full price for...or may ever have. Just "liking" it out loud! Hope you like it too! :)