it's the everyday

Hello!
It's been a while.
I realize I cannot keep up with blogging over here as much as I used to.
Ha! Well I realized this a while ago- around the time I was pregnant with our second son maybe. Or it may have been once he was born.
Having two babies sure does make a lady busy.
But I am loving it. I love the busyness of motherhood and family.
AND on top of our everyday happenings, we (my husband and I) have officially launched our rebrand for our photography business.
This has been a long time coming in our photography journey. It's take a few years to get this point where we know what style we want to focus (no pun intended) on.
Storytelling.
This is something we are passionate about. This kind of picture taking comes naturally to us, and it took time to get here, but once we did we embraced it and thanked God for leading us to this very point. You learn a lot in the journey and for that we are grateful. We are still learning a lot.
Running your own business is not EASY. In fact I think it's the hardest thing you can do. It's tough to be the one to think of marketing, sales, customer service, budgeting, pricing and of course the creative side of it. Which kind of gets pretty small when it's stacked up against everything else that needs to be done. And along with those things there is always learning going on. Learning more about our equipment, our skills, our technical knowledge. It won't end. And that's great that it won't end. I hope to always be learning and growing in photography.
So our business.
The name?
.itstheeveryday.com
We are thrilled to launch, excited about where it will go, how it will grow and also what stories we will tell through the lens. In the Atlanta area? We'd love to be able to tell your story. Outside of ATL? Traveling is also an option, send us an email and we'll chat.
You can follow us on facebook and twitter, and keep up with our latest posts on our blog over at our site.
Go ahead, and take a gander ;)

Summer days

Summer is almost over! Well, maybe not in terms of weather and heat, but in school terms, yes it's almost reaching the end. School will start back up here in the next couple weeks. This means Jonah will be back to work next week. Sigh! It's been wonderful having him here with Oliver and I. We have so enjoyed the days together. But I also look forward to fall days...cooler weather, yes, that will be nice!Oliver is getting close to 14 months already, and I can hardly believe it. This past Friday he took his first solo steps. From my arms to Jonah's. It was exciting to see him venture out. But he hasn't done it again since. Which is okay with me...I know once he's walking there will be no turning back and no slowing down from that point on! He is such a ham these days, talking more in his baby girgle and laughing at us and with us, and sometimes at nothing in particular. Such a happy, and joyful little boy. We are blessed to have a child with such a laid back personality.
We also launched our photo/design business and it's been an exciting start. We are looking forward to growing and marketing it. Our first 'official' clients were a couple of shoots for 3 month olds. I loved doing them. I love shooting with Jonah- he is an amazing photographer with such a creative eye, and he teaches me so much. I'm thankful that he shares this passion with me, I know it's not always the case in a marriage.
I have also been entertaining some other ideas to bring in some income into our home. Not quite ready to share those since I'm not sure they will pan out. I've been praying over them and trying to really plan them out, and I'm not sure yet if I'll continue to pursue them or not.
Meanwhile, we are trusting in the Lord for His provision, and I know He will. Next month will be the true 'stretch' as we step out into a full month without my income. This month we still had some of my last paycheck from my job. But I'm excited to see how God provides. I'm excited to write about it next month! And the month after and the month after....
I love being home with Oliver. One of my friends asked how it feels to be home now, and I said wonderful. Having my hearts desire? What a joy!
I have also delved into the art of sewing. I had a friend over to show me how to use my sewing machine and she was a wonderful help. But once she left I realized how difficult it is to learn a new skill. I have been doing all my sewing by hand, so using a machine is an entirely different skill. Straight lines are nearly impossible to master on that thing! I know it takes practice and I'm learning...it will be a while though before I can trust my projects on it to come out. It took me an hour and a half the other day to make a stretchy headband. Yeah, it probably would have taken 15 minutes by hand. So I'm learning, and I have a long way to go!
My latest project I posted at my shop is a little pig ball. I love how this came out, so soft and cute. This was all by hand, so maybe one day I can make it on my machine (thinking of the hours I will shave off!).
Heres the finished product:

Oliver seems to really love it as he's really into balls right now. He can pick this one up pretty easily since it's stuffed.
I am also working on editing our latest work at The Black Sheep Studio, with some of our last shoots coming soon. I'll have them up at the end of this week.
These have been keeping us pretty busy here at home. Along with spending time with friends, getting ready for school (Jonah), and keeping up the home (me), life is full.
And to leave with a few shots of our big boy...

For now I better run to get started on those photos. They are sitting and waiting to be finished!
Happy Tuesday!

365

I decided to jump on the 365 bandwagon. If you are interested you can follow my photo blog here:
http://photojournalofcarrie.blogspot.com/

I'm excited about doing it, and it's been fun so far!