I’m thankful we were able to head over to Reynolda Gardens and squeeze in some quick family pictures during my busy season (they say October/November is to photographers what April is to accountants!). We met up with Zack and Erin and Ezra and I took pictures of them and Erin kindly took all of the pictures which include me in them! Here’s a few of my favorites:
Last week we took pictures with my extremely talented friend Lauren of Lauren Jolly Photography and I am so extremely grateful! Lauren did an absolutely amazing job and I know I will always treasure these pictures so much! If you are looking for a newborn or birth photographer in the Triad area— she’s your girl!
Receiving these pictures reminded me how important I think it is to take family pictures. The years really do fly by (I can’t believe Dom is only a few weeks away from turning 2!) and it’s so precious to have tangible memories. Here’s a few of my favorites from our session:
Me at 27 weeks (this is the first bump picture I’ve taken… #secondpregnancy)
It’s hard to believe I’m already at the point in my pregnancy where I’m announcing my maternity leave! This week I hit the 28 week mark and am officially in my third trimester. Here are the details about my leave:
I will not be photographing sessions or weddings from March 1-June 14. If you are a 2019 bride and your wedding does not fall within those dates, then I would love to talk with you!! If it does fall in those dates, please still feel free to contact me and I would be happy to refer you to some other awesome photographers. If you want a family, engagement, newborn, or some other type of session, be sure to book soon if you want it done before March 1! Get in touch here or at diprimaphotography@gmail.com. During my maternity leave, I will be available at select times to future 2019 brides but otherwise largely unavailable so that I can enjoy family time and newborn snuggles. So please be sure to contact me ASAP if you need anything.
To answer a few other frequently asked questions:
How have you been feeling? Overall, I've been feeling great! My second trimester has been a breeze and other than some heartburn here and there, I haven’t had many issues. Last time around I had a lot of back pain during my last trimester so I’m hoping for the best but preparing myself for that!
Do you have a name picked out yet? We have a few strong contenders. Alex and I both had several girl names we really liked before we knew we were having a girl so we’ve got some good options! I have a feeling we won’t narrow it down until the baby comes like with Dom but we’ll see!
What things have you been loving this pregnancy? Last time I was pregnant it was during the summer and so most of my maternity clothes were for warmer weather. However, I learned a lot my last pregnancy and realized this time around I could make it without hardly buying any maternity clothes. It also helps that during the winter tunics, big sweaters, and leggings are in style! So far I have only bought these maternity leggings, these black maternity jeans (it’s SO hard to find good maternity jeans and I LOVE these), and this maternity support tank (which I have been LOVING, it really helps with back pain…I got it 50% off so keep an eye out for sales). I have been eyeing these leggings as well because I’ve heard amazing things. Otherwise I’ve just been wearing tunics, sweaters, and dresses (i’ve linked several options below). I have also been LOVING this body butter (the scent is amazzzzzing).
What are some things on your list for baby #2? Thanks to the generosity of so many family and friends, we have most of what we need! There are some things that I wished I had with Dom that I’m hoping to be able to get this time around (like a wildbird sling and fawn diaper bag) and other items listed below. If you’re interested, you can view my baby registry here. If you’re a first time mom, you can view all of the things I recommend putting on your registry here. I’m also super excited about baby girl clothes and have already visited a few consignment shops and gotten some adorable dresses. ;)
Thank you for following along on this journey with me and taking an interest in my family! If you are a former, current, or future client, I am especially thankful for YOU! Your support of my business and family means the world to me and you are the largest part of the reason why I continue to enjoy running this little business!
I’m so excited to share our family pictures with you! My sister-in-law Erin was kind enough to take some pictures for us with my camera and I could not be happier with how they turned out! We went to Old Salem a few days after our big snow and got some pictures at the bridge with Moravian stars and on the main street. Here’s some of my favorites:
“Fiction is the human attempt to discover, understand, and apply truth through stories.” -Karen Prior (see a helpful video about why Christians should read fiction here)
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved reading. In college, I studied English literature at Clemson and was constantly reading multiple novels and then I went on to get my MDiv and was constantly reading theology books. Unfortunately, I have found in the years since completing school, my reading has steeply declined. I still love reading but I find myself wanting to to a "mental rest" and just watch Netflix or a I get distracted by my phone or a million other things. It makes me sad to think about the time I have wasted and the books I have missed out on and I really want to purpose to be a better ready.
Some months ago, I discovered Modern Mrs. Darcy's blog and podcast. She has inspired me to be purposeful about my reading and to make goals. Without goals, it is so easy to get sidetracked by everything else that is going on or to becoming lazy. She has a one year reading challenge that is supposed to start at the beginning of the year but I'm going to start it now and go by "school year" so this challenge will take me from August 2018-August 2019. Here's the challenge:
My hope is that by sharing my choices with you, it will give me accountability to actually complete this challenge! I would also love to start a dialogue and perhaps even inspire some of you to read a little more this year.
Without further ado, here are my choices:
A Classic You've Been Meaning to Read: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
A Book Recommended by Someone with Great Taste: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A Book in Translation: A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
A Book Nominated for an Award: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
A Book of Poetry or Play: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (*technically an allegory but I felt it was close enough!)
A Book You Can Read in a Day: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
A Book that's More than 500 Pages: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (*Actually 464 pages but close enough!)
A Book by a Favorite Author: Persuasion by Jane Austen
A Book Recommended by a Librarian: Great Expectations by Charles Dickins
A Banned Book: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
A Memoir or Biography: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas (*on Audible) and Spurgeon by Arnold Dallimore
A Book by an Author of a Different Race, Ethnicity, or Religion than Your Own: Night by Elie Wiesel
Other Non-Fiction Christian Books I Plan to Read this Year:
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
Keeping the Heart by John Flavel
John Newton by Jonathan Aitken (*on Audible)
Newton on the Christian Life by Tony Reinke
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson
Other Books I Considered by Didn't Make the Cut for This Year:
Non-Christian:
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
The Count of Monte Cristo (*I've listened to about half of this on Audible and gave it because it's so long but it's one of my favorite stories and I want to get back to it at some point!)
Beloved by Toni Morrison
I was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhorn
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
Guernsey and the Potato Peel Society by Shaeffer and Burrows
The Time Quintet by L'Engle
When Life Gives You Lulumons by Lauren Weisberger
The Clockmakers Daughter by Kate Morton
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
Louise Penny novels
Christian:
A Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbs
The Heart of Christ by Goodwin
Communion with God by John Owen
A Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Baiton
I would love to hear what books you're hoping to read this year or if you've read any of the books listed above in the comments below!
