The crazy thing about this video is that it hits on a major issue that women face today. About two years ago I decided to invite a few of my friends over to have breakfast weekly. Although I (the introvert) was anxious about doing it, something beautiful happened. We all got ‘real’ and we all shared honestly, openly and were able to seek support, advice and high fives from other women our age. It was awesome. And I miss it.

During our breakfasts something became abundantly clear to me…every woman has insecurities. Even the beautiful ones, the ones who look like they have everything together, the ones that seem to effortlessly float through life and motherhood. There’s always something. Something that nags at us, something that brings us down, turns a good day bad and makes us want to hide. The problem with this is that most of the time these things are either not obvious to anyone else or are an exaggerated figment of our imaginations. Obviously we all have imperfections, obviously there are things about ourselves that we don’t like but the problem arises when these things hinder our ability to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. When they hinder us from seeing how wonderful and truly beautiful we all are.

Then I had an epiphany. I wish I could make these women see how truly beautiful they are. Around that time I read a blog post about a photographer attempting to grow their creative side and step out of their comfort zone by having a personal photography project on the side that she was completing. Her theme was tattoos and I thought to myself “I want to do that” but I didn’t want to completely rip her off so I had to think of my own personal project. Then it occurred to me that I’d known what my project would be all along. I can make them see how beautiful they are. I can take their picture. I debated over the next week or so if this would be offensive, or make them feel insecure or even if the thought that I would be editing their images would take away from the fact that I was trying to show their natural beauty because really, how natural is a photoshopped image? I really didn’t want them to think “well that’s just a pretty picture of me cause it’s photoshopped”.

I finally plucked up the courage and set a date. And it was wonderful. First of all it was fun to be taking pictures of people again! After such a long break from photography my heart had really begun to crave it and it is the jump start I needed to start getting back into shooting again. Secondly, I’ve kind of had a thrill these past few days waiting for these ladies to see their true beauty. Not cause I’m an awesome photographer, not cause there were lights or extravant equipment (which there wasn’t), not cause I used photoshop (which was minimal), but because I want them to see how all of us see them. Beautiful. Plus they brought their beautiful babies along. I always see women shine a certain way when they are holding their children and I wanted to capture that too. So here they are, my beautiful friends. Thanks for being open to shining for us all to see. I love you ladies.

If you are interested in a “You are beautiful” session email me at debbie@englexasphotography.com

I’ve been feeling a lot lately like my best efforts are not good enough. That I’m not measuring up, not fulfilling my potential as a wife, mother or friend. As I was pondering this thought I realized that maybe my “best efforts” aren’t actually my “BEST efforts” at all. It’s kinda like (…prepare your hearts for a cheesy analogy…) the show the Biggest Loser…(did I lose you?! stick with me!) the contestants are working out and are constantly saying things like “I can’t” and telling their trainers that they have done as much as thy can do or they feel like they are dying. The trainers always continue to push them to do more or train harder and inevitably those that follow through always realize that they are capable of more than they ever imagined. The ones that stick it out time after time are usually the ones that win the prize.

So have I really been doing my best? Is this my BEST effort? Or do I have more deep down inside of me that I’m not tapping into. Is there more strength, will power and self-control inside of me that I don’t know is there simply because I haven’t pushed myself harder.

Recently when I’ve been ‘wasting time’ (usually social media is involved!) I’ve thought to myself “I don’t have time for this”…there are so many things that need to be done and there is time to do it all, I just haven’t tapped in to the well of time that I think (and hope) can be found. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough? As with everything in life, there is a balance to be found. If I’m only ever “working” I won’t be happy and if I’m only ever “resting” I will be lazy and nothing will get done!

Since the last update Darby’s speech has really grown and improved. I can’t even count the number of words she says anymore and she is speaking easily in full sentences. I’ve become one of those annoying mamas who repeat everything that her kid says constantly because it just sounds so cute. My husband and I often look at her in disbelief with the things she is coming up with!

She follows instructions really well (when she wants to!) and we’ve been working on getting her to clean up after herself. She is into everything much more than big brother was, which has been an adjustment for me because I literally cannot leave her alone for any reason ever. Those of you following me on Instagram are probably well aware of her antics

She still sucks her index finger, a habit which I am gently encouraging her to break.

We got her into her toddler bed a few weeks ago and sometimes it takes putting you back in there a few times but she hasn’t ever gotten out in the middle of the night (thank goodness). Although her collection of blankets and stuffed animals in her bed has increased dramatically and there is almost no room in there for her! Mama will be remedying that situation over the next couple of weeks!

Her newest and most frequently used word is “though”…if I tell her no she will say “but I like it though” or if I say “eat your food Darby” she’ll say “it’s hot though”.

We still can’t figure out if she is introvert (like me) or extrovert (like daddy and brother). When she’s comfortable with people she is pretty extrovert but she seems to become shy in new situations. Even last night at her birthday party, she knew everyone and was in a familiar place but she kept sucking her finger (which is her comfort) so I wondered if because all the attention was on her she was getting a little overwhelmed. Despite all that she is a really independent little girl who likes to do thing her way (already?! oh boy!)

She now knows every body part, including things like armpit and elbow.

Her molars are in the process of coming in right now and haven’t really been too much trouble!

She is definitely displaying signs of readiness for potty training and has even gone in the potty several times. I really think that if I could devote some time to focusing on it she would potty train pretty easily and quickly, it’s just hard to do with baby brother so it looks like it’s gonna take a little time!

She loves to draw and have books read to her, her favorite books right now are “what do you say?” and “Green Eggs and Ham”

1. Epiphanie Stella Bag // 2. Ona ‘The Brooklyn’ Bag // 3. Dre Hartman “The Liza Satchel” // 4. Cheeky Lime “Livy Bag” // 5. Ephiphanie Lola Bag // 6. Ketti “Chevron” Handbag // 7. Theit “The Bossi” Bag // 8. Kelly Moore “Mimi” Bag

Let me know your thoughts in the comments – I’d appreciate any input, especially if you’ve had experience with any of these bags!

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