"the moment a child is born, the mother is also born. she never existed before. the woman existed, but the mother, never. a mother is something absolutely new. " ~Rajneesh
its week 16 of project 52. i am having such a wonderful time participating in this project each week with the other ladies on the bloom forum. its been fun getting to know the other photographers from all over the world. this week's theme is motherly love.
there were a lot of pictures i could have used for this week, but this picture stood out to me. it was one that was just taken on a whim in the middle of life happening. it was not a planned shoot but just hanging out with another friend and our children. (she happens to be a photographer as well and you can check out her fabulous work here). my favorite pictures are ones like these. life in action. not posed, not perfect, but full of love.
amy is also a military spouse and we have shared many talks on motherhood and our challenges as we raise our children, especially during deployments. i think it is a common topic among miltary mamas. as mothers we all sacrifice so much from the day our first child is born. sacrifices are made that we never think twice about. the meaning of life changes and we learn and feel a love like we have never known. but with that love also comes an incredible responsiblity. that responsiblity is heightened as we are carrying it alone so much of the time. the responsibility to raise our children to grow with God and to love others and treat them with kindness and respect. i think we all wonder at times if we are doing things right. and we all make mistakes. but i think the best thing we can do for our babies (of any age) is to be there for them, make time for them, and LOVE them. and to me, that is what this picture says.
happy mother's day! 
head on over to Nancy Schumacher's page and see her motherly love