Puppies, puppies, and more puppies

Back in April my husband, Ben, informed me that he had a great dane in the dog pen where they put strays.  I told him I wanted to go look at it right then.  So, being the great husband he is, he took me right then.  I saw her and I think was love at first sight.  We've been wanting a great dane for a long while, but I didn't think we were gonna be able to bring this one home.  We already have two dogs and great dane's eat a LOT of food.   But if we didn't take her she was going to be put down and I couldn't have that.  I could tell that she had been mistreated and that she hadn't eaten is such a long time.  That poor baby's hip bones were showing and it broke my heart.  It breaks my heart as I'm sitting here writing this.  So it took Ben and I about 5 minutes after we got back home to decide that somehow we were gonna bring her to our new house. 

She has been the best dog!  She is amazing with the kids and other than eating and walking around, we never know she's here.  We named her Georgia because that's exactly what she looked like. Not the state of course.  She is so quiet too.  As time went by she started looking normal and filling out again and looking healthy.  But people kept asking me if she had puppies because she looked like she was nursing some.  I kept telling them that no she didn't have any, but I'm sure she did in the past.  And I thought that until 4 days ago.

Usually Georgia sleeps just fine all night.  But Sunday night and Monday she paced and paced.  She'd lay down for thirty minutes to an hour at a time and then get up and pace.  Tuesday morning about six I got up to put her out to go to the bathroom.  I followed her to see if she was gonna do anything and she went under our house and started digging a hole.  It still didn't hit me what she was doing.  So I brought her back in and got back in bed.  Ben was up by this time getting ready for work, so she got in my bed on his side.  We both slept til 9.  Then I noticed she was panting so hard she was shaking the whole bed.  So I put my hand on her belly because the thought finally crossed my mind that maybe she really was pregnant and in labor.  Sure enough I felt puppies moving and then about 30 seconds later I saw her push.  About 15 minutes after she started pushing the first puppy was born.  I was astonished!  Ten minutes later she had her second puppy.  The first was a boy and the second, a girl.  An hour went by and I was sure she was born.  So I started going about my normal day.  I went in to check on her and the two babies and she pushed again!  The 2 more were born.  They were 2 boys.   Well, to say the least I was so surprised.  It didn't seem real for the longest time.

But the puppies are doing great and I can already tell they are growing, even though they are only 4 days old.  And they all look exactly alike! 

I will keep everyone updated on how they are doing.  Until we find new homes for them anyway. :)


Live Greatly, Love Softly

Allison Spraggins: Trash the Dress

About a year ago, I was approached by Allison to do a "Trash the Dress" session.  At first I had no idea what that was.  I had to ask around.  Then I "googled" it and finally figured it out.  So that was our goal.  In my mind we were gonna have so much fun "trashing" her dress.  I didn't know how, but we were gonna be creative.  The day arrived and the first thing Allison said was, "It's just so pretty.  I don't know if I can mess it up."  I just laughed.  Of course I was fine with her decision.  It was her dress.  So it kinda became a bridal session after the wedding. 








So even though we didn't exactly "trash" her dress, it was still a great shoot and I got some great shots.  Thanks Allison! :)
To see all of the photos, go to my website, www.jpoolephotography.com


Live Greatly, Love Softly

Mary Katherine and Cody- Engagement Session

Sometimes when you shoot one event such as a wedding, you can acquire more business from the first client's friends and family.  That's what happened with Mary Katherine and Cody.  I first got to know M.K. while on a road trip with one of my friends to Baton Rouge.  Cori, my friend, and I decided to go see Jessica, (whom you've read about in previous post).  When we got there we found out that she was expecting M.K.  From the beginning, we all had a great time.  And this was before Jessica was engaged.  Jessica and Daniel's sessions came and went and when I saw M.K. at Jessica's engagement party she informed me that when she got engaged I was taking ALL of her pictures.  I was more than willing.  About seven or eight months after that I got a message on facebook letting me know that she was definitely engaged and asking when I could come and take their photos.  So off to Greenville I went to start the whole process.  I didn't get to meet Cody until the day of, but soon figured out that he was a great guy and he and M.K. are the prefect match.  Here are some of the engagement photos.  We had a great time and I got to see lots of things that were important to them.


 



 


 

Next up will be M.K.'s bridal session, and I'm so excited and so ready to shoot and to see the results for it, so check back often and see what's been happening.


Live Greatly, Love Softly

Summer 2011: Part 1...

Summer is officially here.  I can tell because all of my make-up sweats off by the time I take the 3 steps out to my van to go anywhere.   And my kids, who love to play outside, stay outside for all of 5 minutes and come in with beet red faces.  So yes, it's here. :)  But with all of the heat and sweat come the fun and freedom.  The friends that come over and play until the street lights come on, the snow-balls, sprinklers that you get to run through, the pool parties, and the endless water balloon fights.  It all makes for some amazing memories.  I've planned to document all of my kids' good times this summer and blog about it.

A couple weeks ago I babysat a friends little girl for a couple of days and Carter and Maci were so happy to have someone their age over to play.   They all had such a good time and I know they can't wait to do it again.
















More posts about Summer 2011 to come. :)



Live Greatly, Love Softly

Loss...

Such a huge word.  Unless one has been there, one cannot understand what it really means.  The loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, big or small, the loss of finances, and the loss of a pregnancy.  You never can say that you understand what someone is going through unless you have been there your self.  I, sadly, experienced the first and the last.  I will elaborate on the pregnancy.

My husband and I have been trying for a forth and last child for a few months and the month of march we were successful.  We were very excited to say the least.  My youngest is 3 1/2, so it's been a while since I've been pregnant.  I couldn't wait to start showing.  I found out on April 1st, so there were alot of people that didn't believe me.  But 3 days after I found out I started having problems.  Things that shouldn't happen when you are pregnant.  I won't go into it, but it just wasn't right.  Tuesday morning I woke up and felt a little better, but I decided to call my Dr. anyway.  Well I found out that he wasn't doing Ob/GYn anymore and I was crushed.  Not only was I scared and crying, but the doctor that delivered my 2 previous babies wasn't gonna be there for me to deliver my forth child.  I was told I should go to the ER, so that's what I did.  Long story short, it was confirmed that I had a miscarriage.  I honestly couldn't believe it was real.  I cried a little, but mostly my emotions consisted of depression and small amounts of grief.  I was fine during the day when I was taking care of my kids, but at night when Ben and the kids had gone to bed and it was just me, that's when it was the worst.  I know people have got to be thinking, 'well if you already have 3 kids, then you should just be thankful for them.'  Yes, I am thankful for my 3 beautiful, wonderful kids.  But that doesn't mean I'm not heart-broken about loosing this baby.  It's so hard not to think each and EVERY Sunday, 'Well I'd be 6 weeks this week', or 'I'd be 8 weeks today.' 
But I have slowly gotten better and I don't think about it quite as much as before.  I keep in the back of my mind that we are gonna try again and Jesus is always good.

Daniel and Jessica Hill-Wedding

So I was just sitting here going through my pictures and I realized that Jessica and Daniel's wedding photos were still on my computer. I have not moved them to my external hard drive yet. Then I realized that 'Hey I haven't blogged about it yet!'
Sorry Jess. :) Here ya go. <3

So here it is. The big day. After all the engagement and bridal post, Here it is...The WEDDING!!! YAY!!!

The day started off like any other wedding day for me. I got up, quite early may I add, got ready, and got myself to Warren. I was more then excited about this particular wedding though. This wedding was for my cousin and one of my best friend's, Jessica. Even though we don't get to see each other often and we don't always talk on the phone, she's still one of my best friends.

Anyway, I got to the salon and waited til Jess got there. She got there and things got rolling. Ya know, hair, make-up, all that good stuff.




The girls there at the salon made Jessica a beautiful bride. But in my opinion you can't make her any more beautiful than she already is. But she was the picture of perfection that day. After hair and make-up, it was time for the dress to be put on. For jewelry she wore simple things. It was all very very pretty. And it all screamed, JESSICA!!!



Before I got into photography, I thought the bride and groom seeing each other before the actual ceremony to get pictures done was absolutely insane. I mean weren't they supposed to wait?! Didn't this ruin the surprise?! In my mind yes, it did. But since I've started this, I understood this. You get more personal pictures because you have more time with the bride and groom and you don't have all the people standing around watching. Jessica and Daniel opted for this route. And I believe we got some great photos. The surprise was still there. They had time together alone. Even I disappeared for a while so they could say what they felt like they needed to say with no one around. It was amazing.











And then it was time for the real thing.











It was a beautiful day and I wish the best for Jessica and Daniel. I love them both and they have only made each other's life better. :)

To view all the photos go to my website, www.jpoolephotography.com


Live Greatly, Love Softly

Ferguson Family

Well this post is NOT about my kids toys. :) Happy, happy, Joy, joy!! I bet you can't tell I am excited!
I recently got to take family pictures for some of my family. My cousin, Jeremy and his wife, Jessica and their little girl, Jayda. Beautiful family!!!














You can view the rest of the pictures at my website, www.jpoolephotography.com


Live Greatly, Love Strongly.
:)