He's Just a Regular Kid with a Cool Ride...

Meet Cameron, just a regular kid with a cool ride. Cameron was diagnosed with Duchenne's when he was around five. His grandmother had taken him for an eye exam and noticed that he was getting out of the chair in a strange way. Long story short, Cameron's family discovered that he had a form of muscular dystrophy called "Duchennes".

Duchennes is inherited and affects about two out of every ten thousand people. It is a progressive degeneration of the muscle functions. You are born with it but may not be diagnosed until early childhood. It usually starts affecting the pelvis and legs first, causing inabiltiy to walk and eventually spreads to the arms and other parts of the body. Many with Duchennes inevitably experience heart and lung complications and do not normally survive past the age of thirty. There is no known cure.

Cameron can tell you all about it but would much rather play on his X-box. He is like every other boy his age. He claims school is "all right" (Cameron attends Mt. Juliet Middle) and knows all about wrestling. He is just your typical kid with a terrible disease that will cut his life short if we don't find a cure.

Here is where you can help. Please go to https://www.joinmda.org/lebanontn2010/arphotography and donate to help find a cure. I am a member of TEAM HOPE and am trying to help out Cameron and those like him. Please join me as we send kids to camp while we search for a cure!

Everyone who donates $150 will receive a FREE photography session at Amy Rich Photography Studio.

Thanks! I look forward to seeing the donations build!

amy

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Maternity Session with K and J

Did you have maternity photos taken? I know that I didn't, would not have even considered it at the time of the pregnancies, but now very much wish that I had done so. It is just such a incredible time in your life. That little baby is safe and protected and you are just so excited awaiting his/her arrival. Your body is changing in drastic ways and often you may not feel at your best but it is true that there is a glow about every woman expecting a baby.

I just had a session with K and J. They not only were adorable, I was touched by how much they obviously loved each other. Every girl wants a boy to look at her the way J gazed at K. I have included a couple of photos from their session on this blog.

So if you are thinking about having maternity photos taken, I say just do it!! You don't have to hang them on your wall. You don't ever even have to look at them. But you will have them if you want them. This is one of those times that you cannot recapture. You will only have that particular precious life inside of you this one time. I wish I had photos of being pregnant with each of my children. I want them to see me when I was anticipating them and loving them even before I had ever met them. I want them to see me glowing. I want them to see what they did to my body!! lol.... I want them to know, beyond any doubt, that I was happy.

To Market, To Market

Hi Guys!

I just spent the last few days in Atlanta going to market! My mom and I had so much fun hanging out and searching for treasures. I was at a booth shopping when my husband called and asked what I was doing. I told him I was spending all of his money and he said, "Well, that shouldn't take you long." HA! He cracks me up!

I did find a few treasures here and there. I found a realistic stuffed lamb to use when shooting my upcoming nursery rhyme book. I will be needing some models for the book so if you are interested, give me a shout! I also ordered some hats, clothes and blankets for the studio. I got the hats so cheap! They were all in a big bin and I was having the hardest time deciding which to choose so when the vendor told me they were only $2 each I bought them all!

Don't get me wrong! I was a very good girl and only bought a few necessities. Okay, I am aware all of the hats were not a "need" but did I mention they were only $2???

Well, that is it for now! I will be blogging several times this week as I have a lot to say...lol! Keep checking back to find out some exciting things going on here at the studio.

In the meantime, check out this adorable photo of Mr. R. Whew, he was on the run the entire time we were doing his session! His mommy is going to LOVE the photos when she sees them tomorrow!

amy

Father's Day

Father's Day is here so of course my thoughts turn to my Dad. I sure do miss that silly old man! Don't get me wrong, being his daughter was not easy. He could be tough with a capital T! But you know what, inevitably he was also right. I can still remember when my best friend and I decided to go over to the park at twilight and walk. He went nuts and started yelling about all of the men in the bushes waiting to grab us. I laughed about that for years. Until I had my own daughter. Funny how your perspective changes, huh?
I spent years avoiding his advice and I would give anything to hear it now. I used to cringe when he would sing to me, "Once in love with Amy, Always in Love with Amy" but I would trade everything I owned to hear him sing it again.
Dad died of a massive heart attack fourteen years ago. I am the one who found him and I guess it will haunt me forever. I still can't believe it has been fourteen years. Could it really be that long since I heard his voice? I miss him. I miss him alot.
On this Father's Day be sure and tell your Dad that you love him. I know he knows but I also know that he would like to hear it from you.
I am including one of my favorite shots of my son Evan with with his dad, Morris. amy

Alex turned 19

Yesterday my oldest son turned nineteen and once again I am wondering where the time has gone. I look at my son and now instead of that sweet smooth skin I see that he needs to shave. I look at his hands and see not sweet dimples but the rough hands of a man complete with tatoos. I hear not the sweet piping voice calling for his "mommy" but the deep timbre of the word "mom". The days of sweet smelling baby powder are gone, replaced by the smell of cologne. I am crazy in love with this man - child but I do wish I could go back for one day and snuggle that sweet infant in my arms, hold those precious hands, watch those precarious first steps and look into those big brown eyes that loved me like no other.
He says turning nineteen was hard. He has no idea.

It's the Little Things....

isn't it? It is the little things that can make or break our day? Think about it a second. Think about how those simple acts of kindness can change your whole day. When my second son was two, well, lets just say he was the poster child for a two year old. He would always seem to throw a fit at the worst times. One night we are out at a restaurant for dinner with the family and Blake decides to throw down. I took him to the bathroom and we were both in there crying when out of nowhere appears an angel. Now she looked like a middle age woman with a big purse but she was an angel and here is how I know...she started to talk to Blake (normally this would throw him through the stratosphere and he would have responded loudly with "No Talk!", "No Talk" but not this time. He calmed down immediately and smiled. Then the lady reached into her purse and pulled out a little trinket and gave it to him and told him he could keep it and voila! A totally changed child. We went back out and ate dinner and I never saw the angel again. At least in that form....
See, something so small yet I remember her fifteen years later with gratitude.

When I was sixteen I ran out of gas on the interstate (this was WAY before cell phones) and climbed over a fence into some man's yard. He found an old gas can with gas for his mower, put it in my car and gave me ten bucks to get more gas. To this day when I drive by his house, THIRTY years later, I send up a prayer for him.

How many times have you been down and just seeing a smile lifts you up. (Of course, to be perfectly honest here and I must because it is my blog and I don't want to lie on it, sometimes when I am down and someone smiles at me I want to rip their face off...not all the time, and of course I don't but sometimes I admit the desire is there....I'm just saying....) My point is that little things can go a long way to helping someone. Make that call to your friend that you have been putting off..they may just need to hear your voice. Help your neighbor with yard work. A great friendship may bloom. Talk to the person who keeps bugging you when you are trying to be left alone so you can glue the sequins on your daughter's dance costume. She may just end up being your best friend....yes, Janice I am talking about you....HA!

So quit reading this blog and go out and create some good karma for yourself!! Just don't smile at me....(just kidding...you can smile at me anytime!)
amy