Whoooo's There?

Peekaboo!

Something new to look at

Believe it or not, it's been getting cold here in NC.
Not to worry. Our kids are resourceful.

Eight is Great

We all looked forward to Eve's 8th birthday this summer. Eve was especially excited to be baptized! She loved every thing that happened that day! Thank you to family and friends who came to support and share this day! Thank you to Eve for being so patient for your day to arrive(and your post to be made)!

Lemonade Anyone?

The girls had a great time running a lemonade stand a few weeks ago. They had a steady stream of clients since the house next door was on the parade of homes. I figured it was the chance of a lifetime because we normally have little to no traffic on our street! I like to think they did a great advertising job for our builders....they sold the house during the parade!! Below is one of the houses they built with their new Lego set. Mom talked them into pooling their proceeds to get one large something - we have had a lot of fun with the Legos (mom included).

Old Tyme Day

Eve has been learning about what it was like to live in colonial times. Last week she participated in Old Tyme Day at school. She looked darling in her costume and had a great day living in the early days of North Carolina.

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN**

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN**
From Samantha, Kitty, Molly, & Ducky

Happy Birthday Jenny

Today is Jenny's 3_th birthday.
Finally posting something new to our blog is one of my presents to her.
Happy Birthday Jenny!
Love, your family.

Summer Fun Part 2

Even though we're not in Utah anymore, we can still get together with family for important days, and holidays.
Our first gathering was Memorial Day with the Durham Blacks (my older brother Doug's family), and the South Carolina Blacks. (My cousin Mikael Black's family)

The Welcome Wagon Street Artists Team

Dress up in full swing.

Nothing to do with the event.
Just a classic Tabetha shot that has to be shared.

Summer Fun Part 1

Our summer came and went. Now autumn is following suit.
Better take a quick look back at some of the fun we had this summer.

There was the family reunion at my sister's house in Doylestown, PA.
20+ kids in one house. It was simultaneous chaos and bliss.















The trip wasn't complete without a tour of the Hershey chocolate factory in Hershey, PA.

First Taste

We've got a lot to catch up on from our activities this summer—our fun Black family reunion for one. But we didn't want to go to much longer without posting one of Adrienne's milestones. She's starting to eat solids now. It didn't go so well the first time we tried as you'll see below.

8!

Happy Birthday Eve!!

Tab the 2 Year Old

Tabetha has been finding lots of ways to exasperate and entertain us lately.
Sometimes all at once.

A Charming Day

This Saturday the older girls and I met Cinderella and Prince Charming! One of the productions in our town square this summer is Cinderella. In preparation there was a "Tea with Cinderella" at the community center. The girls had a great time dressing up. Eliza's costume was complete with one missing glass slipper (we could only locate 1 in our unpacking mess!).

Eliza turns 6 and learns how to...

Just watch:

Home Sweet......Home?

Haven't posted in a month due to an average work week of 65+ hours, and the exhaustion of moving. But we're finally all here together in our new house. A place we plan to be for quite a while. So start saving those frequent flier miles! We've got plenty of room for visitors. If we fill up the bedrooms, you can always pitch a tent in the forest 20 yards away. Here's some pics from our builder. We'll update later with more/better shots. (Hint: to see all the photos, click on the image. It'll take you to a new window with the original image.) You can see the front of the house, the screened in porch on the left, and one of our 4 rocking chairs on our large front porch. All that's missing is a pitcher of lemonade and some animated animals singing Zippadee-Do-Da.

Day 2 & 1 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny because she's loyal to her family. Ours, and the one she grew up in. She's a good friend and listener to friends and family who call to share their excitement and their burdens. It's no wonder our phone never seems to stop ringing. People love to talk to Jenny because she's such a gracious listener and sympathizer. Hmmm.....maybe we should charge for her therapeutic services?

I also love Jenny because she tries so hard to make other people (me) happy. Her plans don't always work out the way she might have hoped. But there is no question that she puts a lot of thought and effort into doing things she thinks will make others happy. If it's the thought that counts, she never has to worry.

Day 3 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for her constant love and concern for our girls. Somehow she's able to stay on top of what each of our girls needs, when their next appointment is, who's birthday party is coming up, who needs what new clothes, and who has a talk to prepare for Primary. Her love for our kids is wonderfully obvious.

Day 4 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for sharing interest and enthusiasm for things I'm into, even if I don't get excited to go to JoAnn's fabrics with her. She's a good sport. Speaking of, she actually enjoys watching sporting events and other things I really like, and she's always willing to give me time to pursue my hobbies. I tried to teach her snowboarding one time. That didn't go so well. But then again, we weren't at a resort. We might have to try again some time.

Day 5 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for being willing to be the grown-up in our marriage. She does so many responsible things for our family that I never have to worry or think about.

Oops, it's now 3 minutes after midnight, so it's no longer really Saturday. See what I mean? If this were Jenny's project, she wouldn't have let that happen.

Day 6 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for her special gift for bearing beautiful baby girls. It makes potty training, the terrible 2's, and temper tantrums much easier to deal with.

Day 7 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for her sense of humor. She has a great laugh—even if it does result in the occasional snort. She knows how to be silly and fun loving and not take life too seriously.
Sometimes all you have to say is a word and it'll give her the giggles. Like kitty. Or dolphin. Glow-sticks. Puppets.

Day 8 (Why I love Jenny)

I love Jenny for her willingness to support my dreams.
How many wives out there would be willing to leave the comfort of "home" twice, move to 4 different far away cities they have no previous connection to, and allow her husband to go ahead of her for months at a time 5 different times leaving her to keep 3 (now 4) little kids happy all by herself, all so he could actually look forward to going to work on a Monday morning? Only one. My wife, Jenny Black.

Day 10 & 9 (Reasons why I love Jenny)

I had a super busy day at work and neglected to post Day 10's reason.
So here's a double dose of adoration for my dear wife.

I love Jenny for her selflessness. She is forever thinking of others before herself.

I love Jenny for her natural beauty. She doesn't have to paint on a face to look very attractive. It doesn't take much at all. (And when we're running late, which is bound to happen, she's willing to put her makeup on in the car on the way. Most women couldn't or wouldn't do that.)

Day 11 (Reasons I love Jenny)

I thought it would be appropriate to share this reason on the Sabbath.

I love Jenny for her meekness, humility and willingness to trust in the Lord's will.

Why I love Jenny, Day 13 (and 12)

We haven't posted for a while because our life is a little crazy right now. I'm in Winston-Salem N.C. living in corporate housing by myself, while Jenny is doing her best to be a single mom to our 4 girls in Philly. Work has been really busy since I started (I'm loving my new agency in case you're wondering), and I don't have access to our family photos, so blogging is on hold. Except that we're going to be apart for our 13th wedding anniversary. (Boooooooo!) So I need to use the magic of the internets to let Jenny know of at least 13 things I love about her. I got started 1 day late, because, well, I'm not that good with numbers. Anyway, here it goes. 13 reasons I love Jenny in 13 days.
Warning: If you're uncomfortable with PDA, you should probably not read this blog for the next 2 weeks. But if you don't mind a little PDA and want to be reminded of what an amazing person my wife is, by all means, feel free to read on and/or share this with others.

Day 13
Jenny has the prettiest smile I've ever seen, because it's the happiest smile I've ever seen. As my dad remarked after meeting her for the first time, "she has an infectious smile, doesn't she?" Yes she does. I love her smile.

Day 12
Jenny is super talented. Not only is she an incredible seamstress, pianist, and cook, she's a talented family manager and nurturer. She's got another talent—sharing all of her talents in order to help others. In fact, she's had to learn how to occasionally say, "no. sorry, I can't do that this time." Not going out of her way for others is just not in her makeup. I love that about her.

Stay tuned for Days 11 - 1.
Happy 13th Anniversary Jenny.
Love, me

Tab's Little Ladybug Birthday

Presents! (She's got it figured out this year.)

Pin the dot on the Ladybug.

Color a bug.

Ladybug cake by Chef Mom

Her wish that daddy would get a new job did the trick.
Thanks Tabby Tu Tu, 2.

Wake me up when it's my turn.

Ssssssssssssssssssss

I've been meaning to post this video for a few weeks now, but I thought the Grandmas might want to see their new grand daughter first. Our girls do have a few fears. But apparently snakes aren't one of them.

A Little Behind

Here are a few pictures of the girls from Christmas and a sneak peek of Adrienne (more to come). Props to my friend Danica - the VERY talented photographer! I'm a little bias when it comes to the subject matter - but these photos are AMAZING!! I can't believe Rich & I now have 4 beautiful daughters!

Yo Adrienne!

Welcome to the world.
Enjoy the last moment of peace you'll have for the next 18 years.

We're excited to introduce you to the newest member of the Rich & Jenny Black family. Her name is Adrienne Black. (We chose this name in spite of the fact that we live in Philadelphia, not because of it.) She was born on Sunday, January 3rd at 9:46 a.m. She was a healthy 7 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 19.5" inches long. Mom was a pro during labor and delivery, and is already well on the way to recovery. As is usually the case with our limited photographic skills and equipment, the pictures really don't do her justice, but they'll have to do for now, until you're lucky enough to get the chance to see her for yourself.

The proud mama and her perfect little pip-squeek.

She already knows how to ham it up for the camera.

Big sisters meet their little sis for the first time.

Eliza could get used to this.

Tabetha giving her the baby-doll treatment.

Are any of us surprised?

They are learning

We'll be updating the blog with baby news, but I have to add this little gem.
I just went upstairs to see if Eliza was following through on her task of getting dressed. Of course, she had gotten distracted. What she was doing instead was really cute, even though it is a little misunderstood/inappropriate.
I found her giving "blessings" to her baby dolls with Tabetha's help. She was instructing Tabetha to place both of her hands on the doll's head. Looks like we have our topic for our next FHE.