Photography by Tracy Jackson / Shots from the Heart Photography
Hi there! I’m Amy Bayliss. I come from a long line of Cajuns.
The scoop on moi:
I am a follower of Christ, a 30-something years young mother of 4 rough little boys (*Carsten-14, Maxon-12, Andrew-10, and Matthias – 1!) and married to the love of my life, Ryan. We have a rowdy Boxer dog named Sarge. He is my loyal friend nemesis. They give me lots of great writing material and I use it to my full advantage – when appropriate. ;o)
I somewhat creative and a bit of a DIYer. We always have a project going on; we are currently renovating our home; I’m always making new printables to give away; and I just love trying recipes. You can experience it all with us! In fact, you can subscribe to our free updates so you don’t miss anything.
Through my life experiences, God has given me a desire to help others to overcome their circumstances and enjoy their life. Do I love life every day? Not quite. I’m human and I have bad days too but I don’t let those days define me. I decided not to let my past write my future. It simply gave me the opportunity to make my future better.
From my first marriage I have a special needs child with dwarfism (Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia) and two more sons. Several years ago their father and I divorced. I spent a year or two finding myself and rekindling my relationship with God. Two years later I met Ryan and 2 years after that we were married. We have one son from our union. We struggled as a blended family. Not because Ryan and I couldn’t blend with the kids but because blending with their father wasn’t easy. After three years of chaos, myself, Ryan and my boys’ dad, Mark had finally come to a place of love, respect, and even friendship. We were a family. Giving up all of the pain and bitterness gave us a relationship that we were excited about. That ended on October 18, 2010 when Mark passed away quite unexpectedly.
We still hurt. We still cry. We are still walking through it, together.
I write because I can’t not write. This blog gives me the freedom to share our story, our life, and our testimonies.
This is not an “extreme” anything blog. There is a balance to all things and that balance comes from our own standards and expectations. That’s why you’ll find posts here on what might appear to be both ends of the stick. Some of our kids are homeschooled. Some not. We eat mostly organic, whole foods but I am not beyond using box mixes. We do what is best with what we have at any given time.
One of my hobbies is learning new skills and gaining knowledge. I’ve taken many continuing education classes and use what I learn there and adapt it to fit my lifestyle and wants. Some of the subjects I’ve learned about include: nutrition, culinary skills, organization, interior design, and holistic health. You can be sure that I will blog about how I apply that to my every day crazy life.
In my community:
I serve my community as a meal coordinator for our church’s Helps Meals and Cancer Ministry. We serve meals to those who are ill, recently had surgery, have new babies, or any other reason that one might need a meal. We deliver it! I post lots of recipes and make ahead meals so you can deliver meals to those in need too! If you are in the Baton Rouge area and are in need of meals then just give us a call: (225) 753-2273. In addition to that I am an advocate against sex trafficking and volunteer time and services to Trafficking Hope. We serve our community in various other ways too as we see a need arise.
Want to know more? Check out my FAQs page.
