I'll just say it - starting school in our house has NOT been an easy transition.  My husband and I have both extremely appreciated all of the encouraging words and support during this time, but I still find myself really lost and seeking guidance for myself.  Did I do something wrong?  Am I the reason that my son is having a hard time with the changes?  Should I have provided him a more structured home routine?  Was there something I could've just handled differently?  Let's just say my mind has been running like a hamster wheel for the last several days, questioning myself and letting my anxiety get the best of me.  Cue the circus music.

http://www.amber-nicole.com/blog/2017/9/7/real-talk-10-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-becoming-a-mom

One thing about me that most people probably know is I absolutely without a doubt love my church, Renaissance.  It's the place I can reconnect with Jesus and just give all the glory for what I have to Him.  But one thing you might not know about me?  I feel like an absolute, total fraud.

http://www.amber-nicole.com/blog/2017/8/31/real-talk-why-i-feel-like-a-fraud-in-church

If you haven't already figured out, weddings are my absolute, without a doubt FAVORITE event to document.  So when Samantha reached out to me about being a part of her courthouse wedding, I was STOKED!  Even more so when I found out she happens to be the sister of one of my ANP brides for NEXT year too!  Without sounding too goofy, I wanted to respond, "so where do I sign up for this, because I am SO in!"

http://www.amber-nicole.com/blog/2017/8/31/wedding-wednesday-sam-and-roger

Keeping in mind that I got married a little more than ten years ago, even then it seemed out of sorts to break the traditions of traditional wedding day happenings or un-happenings.  I remember scrambling to get all of my "something old, something new, something borrower, something blue"... so much that I'm fairly confident I took the bracelet off of my mom's wrist just to have something borrowed.  Of course all of my bridesmaids wore the same shoes, the same dress, and even had the same jewelry.  We got married in a church, and I wore a white dress (with a little color... I mean c'mon folks!)  I'm sure there are many other "traditions and superstitions" that I'm not thinking of.  But the biggest one that seems to be breaking more and more often?  The First Look.

http://www.amber-nicole.com/blog/2017/8/23/wedding-wednesday-should-i-do-a-first-look

It's funny, this thing called social media.  It has opened up an outlet for people... a sort of immobile soap box where people choose to utilize their right to free speech for the whole "world" to see.  I put the word "world" in quotations because some people truly have afforded themselves a platform to reach the world, while some of us reach the "world" on a more local, intimate scale. One thing I have always said is I want to change the world.  So, I'm hopping up on my soap box and letting it rip on a subject that's pretty close to me:  Back to School.

http://www.amber-nicole.com/blog/2017/8/22/coffee-talk-back-to-school