sorry...i just couldn't resist

these are just too cute to NOT post, ya know? she is such a doll baby.
i miss my niece!!!





and in just a couple of months, i will get to take pictures of my sister's new baby!
can't wait!

boys track meet

awaiting their awards...

summer days...

i love beach days!

perspective

as i was getting ready for bed last night, i started looking around at the effect that a sunday has on my house. i am not a neat-freak, but i really do enjoy a picked up house. but for some reason this time, i started looking at everything around me in a different light.

see, this?

normally would bug me. but tonight i thought...this puzzle reminds me of the time that me and ry spent working on it together. and those legos? first of all, got them cheap at a yard sale, secondly reminded me of the little hands that built them up.

and this?

would normally bring a sigh as i picked up the t-shirt (representing the fact that we have more than enough clothes to wear) and the tennis racket and helmet (which represent the fact that my 2 boys are healthy and love playing sports) and the Bible (which reminded me that ry had just spend time that very morning filling his heart with God's Word) but this time, it actually brought a tear.

why would it even matter what was cluttered and what wasn't? it's all about perspective.

so i went into the boys room, and took a picture of them sleeping peacefully. along with the verses that they individually chose to work on this week.

(oh, and by the way..the boys bedroom used to be my sister's, and i can't bring myself to change the light plate cover. :))

so the next time you see clutter and are tempted to grumble, or get frustrated... stop yourself, and think about what it might represent to you. it sure makes you feel a lot better.

we have so much to be thankful for.

a mother's life

i know that Jesus is coming soon.

i think that satan knows it too.
that's why he is working harder than ever to get christians discouraged, which will stop us from reaching other people with the gospel.

i found a poem that i wrote back in 2003. i am not normally a poet. i mean, i do write songs, but this isn't really the kind of thing you would put to music.

i just thought that maybe somebody needed to hear it.

needed to hear that you are not the only person that has felt this way!

needed to hear that you can make it, and that God has never left you and never will.

it was written from a mother's perspective, but i think it can apply to anyone. anyone can get in a place of just feeling hopeless and not even knowing why. (right?)

i hope this encourages you and gives you hope!

please feel free to email me if you need prayer for anything specific, i would love to be able to pray for you!
ajnrileysmommy@hotmail.com

A mother's Life

A young exhausted mother
Stumbles into bed
One long day is over
Yet another lies ahead

Why are these tears streaming down her face?
She has two healthy boys
She has a loving husband
But her heart just can't rejoice

Tiring duties never end
The whining is so intense
She has a happy family
These sad feelings make no sense

She knows God has a reason
For everything in her life
The darkness comes so strong
The pain cuts like a knife

She wants it to be different
She doesn't want to yell
Others don't know how she really feels
They'll never be able to tell

She's mad at how she's feeling
More than anything
She just wants happiness for her kids
For them to see her laugh and sing

One thing she has to remember
The most important thing of all
Jesus loves and cares for her
He'll catch her when she falls

She is precious and honored in His sight
He is gently leading her on
He won't give her more than she can bear
And his love will never be gone

So tomorrow will start another day
His compassion will be new
He'll giver her more strength as she needs it
With his help, she will make it through

Whatever comes into her life
Has been approved by God
He'll carry her through every storm
In this pathway of life she must trod

Lamentations 3:21-23

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love

we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

first wedding...

i have not quite reached bethany chase status, but i feel pretty good for my first wedding ever :)

the loves of my life

i can't even imagine my life without them. i am so grateful that God has blessed my life so much.

thoughts on father's day

i believe that i have been given a lot. let me explain.

when i think about all the father's in the world that i know, i would say that there is a pretty low percentage of them that i would consider strong, godly, faithful leaders. that being said, let me say that i am amazed and grateful that some of these few are related to me.

growing up, there is one thing that i could say about my dad... and that was that he wanted to please God most of all. that included loving his wife, taking care of his children, faithfully attending church, and loving people. he is a man of the Word and believes that everything we do in life should be based on the Word. trust me, he was not always the popular one, but his values never wavered.

i love that. because as i watch my husband faithfully lead his family to be God-honoring, he also believes that everything we do in life should be based on the Word. see...that never changes. our world, traditions, people's moral beliefs - those change. all the time. God's Word is truth, and it stays the same.

my husband is a man of the Word. he is constantly reading his Bible. he grew up watching his dad read his bible, and now our boys get to watch their dad do the same. he loves and takes care of me, and he is a great role-model for his kids.

you know what else is amazing? his dad is the same way. adam grew up watching his dad love his wife, take care of his kids, attend church faithfully and being a man of the Word. don't even think for a second that i take that lightly. i don't.

believe me, it can be a scary thought to raise boys in this world today. but i know that this heritage of godly men can continue.
the message today was encouraging to me because it reminded me of how my father, father-in-law and husband are doing all of these things:

deuteronomy 6

1. I must take the initiative in life. (it's a personal decision)
2. I must make a life decision. (it's a choice - forever)
3. I must be passionate. (the minimum God expects is total love)

4. I must be intentional in leading. (strong connection between living the word of God and teaching it)

5. I must be on guard and seek to finish well. (there is always a tendency to turn away from God)

6. I must choose my heritage. (no one else can make that choice)

so thank you. thank you to my dad for raising me the way God wanted you to, even when it wasn't the popular choice.

thank you to my father-in-law for raising adam the way God wanted you to, even when it wasn't easy.

and thank you adam for already making hard, unpopular, wise choices to do everything you can to raise godly young men who can change the world for Christ.

and also thank you to grampa vigue, grampy townsend (who is now in heaven) and bic for being yet another generation of godly men who have made the way easier for us.

"the generation of the righteous will be blessed"

yesterday, adam was asking one of our teenagers if they have been tithing. she said

"i've been trying"

to which he quickly replied

"oh good, God will try to bless you"

it was funny, but so true. obedience brings blessings.

do you want your children to be blessed? love God. serve Him. keep Him first. He promises to bless if you do.

the choice is up to you. what are you gonna do?

a few thoughts...

i have not written much lately. i feel like i haven't had a minute to stop and even THINK about how i might be feeling about things...much less write something profound about any of those thoughts!

with that being said, in one week's time, i have flown to baltimore, driven to virginia, shot my first wedding, driven back to baltimore, flown home, packed in one hour's time - right after church, driven to pennsylvania, shot lilla's pictures, driven home, done a shoot of the boys, and that doesn't even include any of the other million things that i have done for the porch, for church, or just for life in general.

i literally have almost no space left on my computer for anymore pictures and i don't even know where to start when it comes to editing and proofing everything. so i will just give you a couple of the things that obviously make me the most happy - my family.

adam came to the wedding as my 2nd photographer, and he did an amazing job. i had so much fun with him, and even though it was a super fast weekend, we did manage to hit up cold stone creamery (um...paid almost the same for our ice creams as we did for the rental car, and that's no lie!!) and i got a super cute pair of sandals :)

here he is helping me out. it just makes me smile to see this picture. i love him. so much.

it's funny with all the picture editing i'm doing, i keep realizing that i am smiling when i edit the pictures of my boys. just seeing their faces, knowing them so well and thinking about everything that they are to me makes me happy. it's a crazy realization...how strange it is that these little boys are supposed to be the ones that need their mommy so much, and yet i feel like I am the one that needs them so much. weird how that happens, huh? i love being a mom.

my little aj is suddenly looking so old!!


and my little ry...



there i go smiling again!
you know you are too.

i have a ton more, but i have to go to bed for now.

i will leave you with something that i really needed this week. it's from Isaiah - one of my favorite books.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…. - BELIEVE IT!

a few of my beautiful niece lilla

baby lilla

for the fam...

so the boys had a track meet last week. although i say that nonchalantly, it was actually the first one ever. they were so excited!!!

3 things about it.

1. i brought the wrong lens
2. shooting sports is wicked hard
3. my boys did amazing.

ok. so. here is riley getting ready for his first long jump

and here he goes


now it's aj's turn


then it was aj's turn to run...
getting in the mode.




coming around the corner and finishing just behind his friend.



riley getting ready for his run



riley coming around the corner.

then...wait for it...riley turning to wave to zach. ok, i guess we need to be a little more clear about when it is time to be friendly! ha!



the boys had a great time, and it was so much fun to watch them compete!

oh....and i have a new niece!



thank you for bearing with my poor quality shots, and thank you for reading :)