Newsletter!

Just finished my newsletter with new specials as well as some changes at Amy Melsa Photography. Comment, message, email or text me if you would like me to send you one!

Pregnancy

This is Cody and Tasha.  She looks like she's born to be pregnant.  Like it hasn't affected her body in anyway except for a ball in her belly.  Her walk, her sitting, her energy - all just like no bun in the oven.  Me on the other hand - I looked like a huge HUGE hippopotamus about to birth an elephant.  I walked like a was riding on a horse and needed a few assistants to help me get out of a car.  Im exaggerating a little bit, but that's at least how I felt.  no fair.  

Eating Clean

While surfing pinterest (LOVE pinterest) I came across the website He & She Eat Clean, http://www.heandsheeatclean.com/2012/01/our-story.html and was inspired.  So, Luke and I decided we were going to encourage each other to cut out processed foods and basically eat clean, natural, whole foods that haven't been modified or altered.  We aren't going to be anal freaks about it, just try our hardest to eat God given foods.  Today was day #1 - I ate watermelon, eggs, corn, chicken, and nuts.  I think the hardest part was not having butter on my corn and creamer in my coffee. But, I love feeling good and healthy more.  I'm journaling through the process to document how I'm going to feel 4 months from now (end of summer).  Hoping to get back in those clothes I fit into when we first moved back to Austin 3 years ago.  20 lbs ago.

Mommaerts Maternity

I love this pic.  Holly had been on bed rest for months, but being that this was her first baby she really wanted some maternity pics.  I wanted to grab some shots capturing what she does all day.  She said she reads, gets on her laptop, sleeps and then does it all over again.   I would go insane.  I was on bed-rest with my 4th for 1 week.  1 VERY LONG week.  And, let me tell you - I laid on the couch and stared at all the dirt in the carpet.  After 45 long minutes of bed rest I was up vacuuming.
Back to pic - they cracked open the book and the title was "Why does your boy have an erection?".  HA! Baby Mommaerts is a girl, so no worries.

Contentment

I'm reading a book that a friend recommended, Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  So far so good.  It's all about learning to be content.  No matter what your circumstances.  
Here are a few quotes I've come across that I want to share with you...


"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking." by George MacDonald (who C.S. Lewis called his mentor)


"They took away that should have been my eyes,
(But I remembered Milton's Paradise)
They took away what should have been my ears,
(Beethoven came and wiped away my tears)
They took away what should have been my tongue,
(But I had talked with God when I was young)
He would not let them take away my soul,
Possessing that, I still possess the whole" by Helen Keller


"Two women looked through prison bars
One saw mud, the other stars" - Unknown


Practice:
Choose to give your anxieties to God
Choose to pray specifically
Choose to be thankful
Choose to dwell on the positive.

First born

This is Carley and her first baby, Holland.  I had the opportunity to take their pictures this week.  
This picture makes me think back to when my first baby was born.   I held him like 23 hours out of the day.  He would sleep on my chest.  I just couldn't believe how something so perfect and beautiful could come out of me.  I had such high expectations for him.  And for me.  I wanted to be the perfect mother.  At the young age of 22, being a mother was quite overwhelming.  The responsibility of a real, living, breathing human was VERY overwhelming.  The love I had for him was crazy.  
Yet, as he grew - I had to learn that part of loving a child is teaching them to stand on their own.  Literally and figuratively.  I always wanted to protect him from being hurt, but sometimes you need to let them hurt a little to learn that they have the strength and the power to choose the path out of harm's way.  What hurts even more is watching your child choose to stay on the path of harm's way. If any of you have a rebellious teenager, you know what I'm saying.  Parenting is so beautiful and SO scarey.  You just want that damn manual telling you how to do it!  I know the correct christian-ese thing to say is that the Bible is our manual. True, but aren't you thankful for other parents who have "been there" that can share their trials.  We aren't alone in our trials.  In parenting.  There aren't any perfect children out there.  Please don't try and make yours.  The more I share about my struggles with parenting, the more I find I am not alone.  Thankfully God has placed some wonderful moms in my life to laugh and cry with.  The more transparent you become, the more normal you will feel.  Just remember, you are not alone.  Reach out, because chances are - there's another mom out there that needs you just like you need her.  

Taryn Senior Sneak Peek