I am LIVE!!!!!!!!!!

So I am so thrilled to announce the unveiling of my new website!!! I have been working on this for months, and it has tested me a bit , but I am so very pleased with the result!! You can check it out here www.sugarsnapatl.com. Lots of great things are happening for Sugar Snap Photography, we are getting ready to expand, my very dear friend and business partner Tandy will be spearheading a new Sugar Snap in Orlando Florida! I am so excited for this expansion, we are looking forward to what God has in store for us the remainder of this year. Speaking of the remainder of this year, can you believe we are already almost in April??? Scheesh, the time is really flying!!

Just an update on all of us here, Paul is still working 2 jobs, he is really starting to see some results from his second job Mona Vie, I am so proud of him for reaching for his dreams and persevering, what a great example for our boys, to keep pressing on for what you believe in. He continually amazes me with his new look on life and leadership and I am so thankful he was God's provision.

My boys....oh, my boys....where to begin? I am on most days a referee, I try to keep the peace. They are such wonderful and loving kids, who keep me on my toes, and I would not have it any other way! They continue to bring such love and laughter to our home, we are truly blessed.

I am excited to help welcome a new baby to the Estes clan....(no not me) my sis in law April is expecting her 3rd, better her than me. I am so excited for them and am keeping my fingers crossed we will have a little pink added to the mix, that would be nice, we will see soon!!

I again am in a women's bible study on Thursday mornings, it is amazing ad I have meet some great women who I have come to admire, respect and adore. So if you are in the area and do not have plans on Thursday's come on, we would love to have as many great ladies as we can join us!

So I guess that is a little snippet as to what has been going on here, so busy, and there is so much more to report, but I am in a hurry and will have to make it another post.

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week, I will try not to make the disappearances in between posts quite as long!!!

The cabin fever blues!!!

Alright, the past week or so has been a bit strange. Bowen was fine, then feverish, then fine, then coughing up a lung, then feverish, then fine.....needless to say we have been cooped up in the house!!!! I am defiantly an on the go kind of gal, and I start to go a bit stir crazy after looking at the same walls for days and days... not to mention we have no TV and the DVD player broke last week. I'll tell you what, it is harder then you may think to entertain 2 kids with no cartoons or anything like that ALL day long, with no outside play!!! But, I have had fun, there are always more snuggles for me when the boys don't feel well. This would be the one and ONLY perk of a under the weather baby!! (not that I want the perk...you get what I am sayin')

So, if there was a face that could express how we all have felt being held captive in our own home...this would be it!!

Judd on the other hand would be happy no matter where you took him, he is so easy going and happy, especially when I give him a sucker!!!

Aghh, my kids and their faces , I just could squeeze them till they pop!!

My Bowen, so full of life, he has really shown some wonderful leadership qualities since his little brother came along. He is quite the helper and even when he does not feel well he is always up for a task that helps out mommie!! I am so proud of him, he is a wonderful big brother. Again, my kids are the greatest! I know I am partial...what mom isn't! :)

I was able to get out a bit and do a shoot, which is always a great source of relief for me. You should check out the new maternity pics I took. My friend Kristina is due any day and she looks amazing!! www.photosbysugarsnap.com

This is supposed to be a busy one, we will see if I am able to keep appointments and dinner dates. I am hoping so. I am looking forward to seeing some friends I have not been able to catch up with in a while!!

I am waiting on my babies to get better so I can at least get out and snap one or two VDay shots!! Also my little brother's birthday is this weekend....13....I seriously feel old...

I am back!!

Finally, I am home from what was a wonderful little getaway! Although I missed my hubby terribly, it was nice to just hang out and relax, spend time with my dad and my aunts and my grand mom, my cousin...you get the drift!

Today was my first official photo shoot of the new year and I was super excited! This whole thing has gotten in my blood, now I really crave to be creative and take pictures! So it was nice to get back to it! The family I shot today was so nice and sweet! I am forever grateful that I gain new friends from this line of work!

Christmas and New Years were awesome! I am so looking forward to this year personally and professionally! Paul and I have both purchased gym memberships...scary I know but we have decided to take hold of our health and make 2009 our year! So 4 days a week my hubs and I will have a date on the treadmill!! I think it will be real fun!

Now professionally, there are some awesome thing happening with my business Sugar Snap Photography! I cannot divulge all that is happening now, but I am THRILLED with what we have coming down the pipes! So I will keep everyone updated as I release new things in that area!

A few tings I am going to work hard to do, keep up with my personal blog, I will strive to do one post a day! I just don't feel lead to write everyday, but I will try...another will be to take a picture a day, not a self portrait but an image that represents what we did each day.....who knows. I am a sanguine so this may not last past this week, but my intentions were good!! HaHa!

So...I Lied!!

Alright, alright...I was fully intending on taking a break from the blogging world, but I had to post some recent pics of the boys.

This holiday has been super busy with Sugar Snap, and I have been consumed with tons of wonderful families pictures. The only problem was I had NO time whatsoever to take or edit pictures of my own family! So today, while I still had Paul to help me toat them around, I took them out and snagged some shots!!

They are growing so fast, and Judd is really starting to get around now, he is so funny toddling around. Bowen has really been the best big brother ever. I am so impressed with how he handles his little brother, he is so special!

Now, I have been on the hunt for some vintage suitcases the past several weeks...and finally I came across some that I really loved! I am always on the hunt for new props for my business and I really loved the way these turned out.

Now processing these was different, I always feel like I should try new things to see if I can learn something new, so some are processed a bit different, but I love them all.

We head out the beginning of the new year to visit my family up north, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have a change of scenery! I will hopefully be taking some pictures of my cousins kids ...hint hint!!

Anyways, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year. I will come back rejuvenated and ready to be a part of the blog world once again!!!

My Boys

Here are my babies once again I have made them be my models.... not really, I just wanted some fall pictures of my kids so we headed out and caught a few of my favorites!! I love the sun in these images!

Just an update, things are good at the Estes household. I am still in my bible study and loving it! Paul and I are reading together a book called Love & Respect, I am excited about this book too. This weekend is very busy, but I am so looking forward to everything on our to do list! From a killer Halloween party with some new friends, a wedding, Bert's Farm, pumpkins, and apple picking!!! OHHHH my I can hardly wait!


This is Bowens silly pose!! He looks so GQ here it is hilarious to me! But I love it!!


This one slipped in there cause I think it is cute, we took a few Christmas pictures for our Christmas card and I loved this one of Judd, I know he is not smiling, but I still love his expression!

On another note, Paul and I have started mentoring with this awesome couple, I am so pumped about this. I think it will be good for us to have others who have been where we are in life and help Keep us on the path of serving one another. I have been learning a lot lately about God's provision in my life, and about being obedient in honoring my husband I am so excited to see what he has in store for our marriage.

Here is a part of the bible study I am reading. I really like what Kelly says here. I found it very pleasant!

" I believe obedience is the precursor to experiencing God's satisfying presence and the richness of His blessings. This is not a formula but a path that manifests itself in a relationship that is honest and open between God and us. It functions supremely when we are looking solely to Him as Savior."

I love it, I love the picture it paints of our relationship with God! Oh there is so much in this study that just ROCKS my socks off...

I feel this pertains to my obedience to God in respecting Paul, even when he does not deserve it, and I must be more obedient in loving Paul, even when he is not lovable. I love how the things I do with my study group of amazing ladies, always seems to go back and pertain to my amazing husbands, God is so good to intertwine the two....He is much smarter than I give Him credit for at times!

The Many Faces of Judd!!

Well, I know you all saw the birthday celebration for Judd's one year birthday! September 4, 2007 a day that brought new light into my life! Here is my super sweet baby boy!! I had a few minutes with him without Bowen and decided it was a good time to get some one year pictures. It was short and sweet! They are always the best! We went and had lunch together at Chic--fil-A, and with a full belly and a happy baby we were off ! I wish there was a way to preserve the sounds as well as the images of certain moments(without chugging both the camera and camcorder everywhere). If you could have only been there to hear the deep cackle that came from my child at this point! I do believe that my children's voices are like angels and when they laugh and are happy it is so good to my heart and soul! I had always prayed even before I met Paul that one day when I was married with children, that laughter would be the resounding sound that echoed around my house. My children have helped that prayer be answered, not only with the giggles that come from them, but the continuous comedy that we are entertained with daily!!

Oh, my his teeth...my little child is a year old and still sporting only the 2 bottom teeth, but he is proud, and this picture just shows how proud he really is! It is so endearing to me to see Judd smile, my whole life every picture I see of myself smiling my eyes have disappeared behind these teeny beeny cracks called eyelids....I think Judd has inherited the disappearing eye trick his momma is so good at!!

This would be his squish face! You ask him to do it and he is right on point! Ready to preform!! Again, just another one of the many reasons I am laughing throughout the day...right here, you're lookin' at it!

My serious thinker, Judd really is extremely laid back, he studies things around him and is pretty sharp already if you ask me. Now I know I am his momma, but I am not saying this from a partial standpoint, I just really think he is! Now he is not walking yet, but he has way more complex things he is trying to figure out right now. Give him a few weeks and he will be off!!

This is the dancing machine! Ever since he was 3 months old he has been dancing, moving his head back and forth with serious conviction! I was a bit alarmed at first(I'll be honest) it threw me for a loop, this little baby just moving in this manner, but now we have come to realize that he loves music, and loves rhythm!! I think the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Talking and crawling' this is the life! Here is his usual stance. He is really fast too! Now when he sees me coming he turns around and crawls as fast as he can laughing along the way! I follow suit of course, and crawl after him, laughing right along with him! As soon as I get to him he grabs my face and opens his mouth, as if he really knows how to kiss me! I love it, wet and all...you never know where his mouth will land, he is passionate(another trait he comes by honestly) and will go for it, so you better be ready!!

I love the"many faces of Judd" they are are so dear to me, and I hope this gives you a better glimpse of why he brings so much happiness to our world, he is special in every way, in every laugh and in every cry he becomes that much more special to me, for it is one more chord that binds us together, one more moment I get to store up and look back on.

I am so thankful for all the memories and sweet moments I have because of my husband and my children. I try to savor and preserve the sweet gifts from God, etching all that I can onto the tablet of my heart, for I know one day I will need to pull from this reserve, from this precious treasure in my mind to re live the euphoria I feel for my boys (all 3 of them) in this very day and in this very moment!!

Stuff....

No pictures in this post, just some stuff that has been happening in my own life and thoughts.

First off I have just started attending this bible study with a group of ladies I am so excited to get to know better. And I have read the first part of the study and I am already hooked. I think it is so awesome to see how God puts things together. The book is No Other God, by Kelly Mnter, and I don't want to put it down, I will not say much yet, but I am excited to see what God has in store for me to learn these next few weeks! I am ready and willing to soak HIM all in! This past year has come with it's ups and downs, and I am still through it all reminded that God is faithful! Friendships come and go and things don't always work out the way I had planned, but I believe and trust in God's provision and am trying to be content and rest there! Just to wrap that up I am thrilled to be a part of whatever He has for me to learn!!

I have had a low point lately, I don't know why or what, just low....Paul is great, the kids are great and I am blessed, just dealing with the blues. No pity party here, just a season...hopefully not a long one!!

On the other hand Tandy and I were asked to photograph a vow renewal and I just want to let you all know that I am so inspired by this couple!! I know they have been through the dessert the past few years and I think it is so awesome to see the miracle that GOD did to restore them and their marriage! There were so many amazing details, everything was so thought through and had such great meaning! I love that God still is in the miracle business, and that I truly believe this couple would not have made it without trusting and leaning on our Father! I am completely impressed with the marriage I witnessed this evening!! I am so glad that they stuck through it all, I believe God honors commitment and I can tangibly see Him working and shining through what could have been another divorce! I also think it was so awesome for them to have this celebration! It was on their actual anniversary and they had some very close friends who were there to rejoice and celebrate with them after standing beside them with tears and feeling the pain this couple was going through!! I could go on and on, but God is so GOOD!!!! I amazed at the things he does for myself and others...the things he has already done!!

And I was suppose to go and visit my family this weekend out in Stone Mountain and I can't because there is no gas at any of the gas stations in a 50 mile radius....and I will certainly run out before I find one!! So it is looking like tomorrow will end up a family day after all, sitting home and watching movies, let me rephrase that watching one movie, the same movie over and over and over again....who knows what movie Bowen will decide is his favorite tomorrow, but I am looking forward to finding out!! I hope you all (anyone who stops by and had the time to read this blog) has a wonderful weekend! I will post birthday pics soon!

Special Friends

Guy and Fibi, I want to first say thank you for always being so kind and generous and available! Anytime I have ever needed anything you have always been there, from watching my kids last minute, to wonderful converstaions over dinner, you guys are one of a kind. Never making us feel like we put you out, always opening your doors with a smile and a great heart! Most of all for loving my kids the way you do! Thank you, Thank you! I know you already know how special your family is to us, but I want you to really know we mean it when we say we love you guys!! This shoot was so fun and I think YaYa is so precious! I love all the images, I could not pick my favorite one of the day! Every other expression she make is so cute how could I choose!

I will be praying for you and your family as you travel far and wide! Please know you will be missed. I know how happy your family is to see you guys, enjoy it and we will have a delicious dinner together when you are all 3 home safe!! Love you!!