taking more pictures...

i am trying to do a better job at taking more pictures of our every day life.
it's hard to just take shots for fun without thinking...ok. what setting am i in?
what is the best lighting for this situation? how is my focus?
ahhhh...i have to learn to just snap fun moments in my family's life without worrying about all the technical stuff!
so today, we went with my brother and his family to the exeter parks and recreation pool.
it was perfect weather, and so much fun for everyone.

to my fellow photographer friends...
the next time your kids are playing together, or you are with your friends having fun,
don't forget to just grab your back up camera, or your point and shoot, or your phone!
don't miss out on any moment.
you will be able to look at those pictures and remember how much fun you had...regardless of your camera settings.

how did this happen...

how did my boys grow up so fast?

for real.

it really feels like just yesterday that i was busy changing diapers, filling sippy cups and rocking my boys to sleep.

i almost forget that that was ever a part of my life!

of course, when i was in it...i felt like it might very possibly never end.

but here i am...i am looking UP to my 11-year-old and having deep, theological discussions with my 9-year-old!

it's so crazy when you realize that you would rather spend your day hanging out with your kids than just about anything else in the world.

that's exactly how i feel.

i spent the day out with the boys today shopping, and will spend tomorrow at a pool...and it is so.much.fun.

they make me laugh, they don't care about what my outfit looks like, and i absolutely love being with them.

last year, i wrote a post about the benefits of getting off your couch. you can read that here.

today was a day that reminded me of one of those benefits...

the benefit of training when they are young. 

because those long, tiring, sometimes discouraging days turned into amazing, peaceful, fun days like today.

i don't want to take one single day for granted.

i have no idea if i will have tomorrow.

i have no idea if any of us will...but i do have today.

and i will live it to the fullest.

a couple moments from my week:

a while ago i had recorded myself doing a parenting tip of the day on the ipad.

i actually didn't even remember that it was still saved on the ipad!

this week, riley had asked me if he could do something, to which i said no.

he went upstairs. 

brought me down my ipad, and asked me to watch it

the tip of that week was...say yes as much as possible!

ha!

he is a funny one, that one! (and yes...i did end up saying yes)

today, aj said to me "mom, how are you so happy all of the time??"

ahhh...and it is comments like this, and jokes like that, that remind me of  how blessed i am.

so blessed.

i will try to take more pictures, say yes more, and show joy and contentment in my life.

a little personal...or not

i just wrote a huge long post about something i have been thinking about for a while.
it was personal.
which is not like me.

i'm honestly, truly content and happy most of the time.
but i still have feelings.
ugh.
and they get hurt more than i would like to admit...and i hate that about myself.
i was going to talk about myself. my feelings and where i am at with those feelings.

then i decided i wasn't ready.
i like being a private person. i don't like to throw my heart out there...i think i have tried that 3 too many times, if you catch my drift! ha!

so instead of a long, deep personal post.

i am just saying that i am thankful for my family tonight.
we have been spending a lot of time at the park playing soccer together and it has been so much fun.
i love and adore being with my three boys. honestly, they make me so happy and sometimes i feel like i could just explode with happiness because of where i am in my life.
where God has brought me.
i am thankful that God has given me everything i need.
everything.
not necessarily everything i want.
but definitely everything i need.
and i am so thankful.

what are YOU thankful for tonight?

don't assume you know

the following thoughts are coming from the mind of a boys mommy.
it's an interesting job...being a female and training males.
but i take my job extremely seriously, and i really try not to just let days, weeks, months go by without putting serious thought into decisions that i am making.
i do not want to have any regrets later.

so...on to the main point  here.

i have talked before about how important it is for moms to teach their daughters to dress modestly.
you can read that post here.

but i want to ask you moms of boys a question.
do you know what it is like to have the mind of a boy?
of course not! and you never will.
just like i don't, and i never will!
i am afraid that there have been too many times where i have just assumed that something was not a big deal.
because, to be honest? in my mind, it was not a big deal!

for example. i can see a girl dressed in really short shorts, and i can think either...
her legs are skinny, i wish my legs were that skinny!
or
those shorts are way too short, girlfriend!

either way, i think the thought.
and 2 seconds later? i am not even thinking about her legs or her shorts.
and i have probably had about 62 other thoughts that are completely unrelated to....well. anything...go through my head!

that is how a female mind works.
the male mind.
totally different from mine.
not in a good or bad way, but just different.
so for a male?
did you know that if he was to see that exact same girl...he might literally have to fight for the rest of the day to get the image out of his head?
did you even know that??
now...before some of you even go off on a rampage about sick minds...etc. etc.
let me just encourage you to stop and think it through.
it is not that males are sick.
it is not that they have problems (i mean...most of them. of course some do!)
it's just that their minds are designed differently.

i want for you to stop and think right now of the last time you have asked your son to tell you what goes through his head when he sees a girl in a bikini.
go ahead. do it! right now!
you might be very surprised at what his answer is!

now, if you ask your daughter (if you have one) what goes through her head when she sees a girl in a bikini, you are going to get a totally different answer!!
crazy, right?

i have made the decision that we are going to be a very open family.
meaning. i encourage my boys to ask questions. i encourage them to tell me and adam the honest truth even when they think it might be wrong.
and i will say...sometimes i have all i can do to keep my mouth from dropping open.

this is not to say that my boys are bad kids.
i don't think that they are...at all!
i see such a sensitivity to people, to needs, to Jesus...that i could just cry.

but.
i. will. not. assume...anything!
and i will say that when i have asked those hard questions and heard those answers that i can't even relate to as a female...
i change the way i do things. that's for sure.
i am aware that some people may judge me for my decisions. they may say that i am sheltering my kids too much.
but my question to you would be...why?
if i find out that seeing girls dressed in certain ways brings thoughts that are unsettling to them,
what kind of mother would i be to go to places where it is thrown in front of their faces?

if you found out that your son was upset every time he saw a clown...that he couldn't get it out of his head, and had nightmares...would you bring him to the circus every week?

of course not!

i have to be willing to change my plans, to change my ideas and change my way of thinking if it means that it will help my boys grow up to be pure, godly men.
this is what we want right?
our boys to grow up to be pure? to have eyes only for their wives? to be faithful?
then maybe we, as moms...should be a little more intentional about making sure that we are encouraging those traits in them now!

i, for one...am going to stop assuming that the next time i see a cute bathing suit on a girl, my son is thinking...wow. look at the way those colors match so nicely!

i am going to stop assuming that i know what it's like in the mind of a boy.
because i don't, and i can't.
but just because i can't understand doesn't mean i can't train these boys!

see..i think a lot of times moms are causing their boys trouble completely unintentionally!
i don't think they are thinking...haa...let's go to the beach! 
i know there are going to be a lot of girls dressed in almost nothing! 
let's see how they handle this one! bwaahh haa haaa!!

no!
i think they are thinking...hmm. it's hot! let's go to the beach!
and this is where things get from nonchalant to seriously hard work.
the kind of hard work that involves maybe giving up something that you like, for the ultimate purpose of protecting and guarding the hearts of your little boys.
your little boys, who are all too quickly growing up to be young men.

so for me? i am going to change the places i go, and change the people i hang around with if i have to.
because it's worth it to me.
it's worth it to do what is best for them. even it means living 20 minutes from the beach and not going.
judge me if you want to.
i have boys whose thoughts and hearts are more important to me than the ocean and a tan.


so my challenge to you is this.

don't assume you know.

ask questions and be ready to get answers that you are going to have to deal with.
God gave us HUGE responsibilities as moms.
and i am going to do this job the very best that i can.

Proverbs 119:9
How does a young man keep his way pure? by living according to Your Word.

Rye Beach Engagement ~ Brendan and Jenna

I was a little nervous before this shoot on Saturday, because it was super hot and humid....

and there was 2.7 million people at the beach. 

Give or take a few!

Anyways, Brendan and Jenna were absolutely so much fun to be with and we had such a great time I almost forgot it was a photo shoot!

People eventually left the beach, and when the sun went down it was a little bit cooler!

I could not have been any happier with how everything turned out.

Thank you guys for such a fun time.

I am so happy to have had the honor to shoot for you , and I am so excited to be able to capture your wedding in November!

noise galore

pretty  much when my kids and the currier kids get together,
it is everyone...
all at once...
trying to get a word in.
loudly.

and i love it!
i have no problem with noise as long as it is happy noise!

we had such a great time visiting my sister this week...i only managed to drag my camera out for one short time. but i loved watching them all have so much fun together!

i seriously can't stop laughing out loud every time i see the look on drew's face here!! love it!

love you all so much!
pova.

dream big!

Have you ever had a dream? I mean a big dream. At first, you didn't really want to talk about it to anyone, because it just seemed too big. Then maybe you shared it with a few close friends that you knew you could trust. But there was still something inside you that was thinking, “I don't know if this is possible!”

I was there. I had a dream. The kind of dream that seemed impossible. To be honest? If I'm not careful, I can let myself feel like it still is impossible!

But this is where God's Living Word comes in.

I want to encourage you with something that will hopefully push you over the edge...in a good way.

Push you to take that step. 

To realize the kind of God we serve. 

This God who is all-powerful, and who wants to command His blessings all over His children.

I want to remind you of a story in the Bible that will blow you away.

I'm sure you know the story of the 12 spies, but let me refresh your memory. 

12 spies were ordered to go into the land of Canaan to see what the people were like, and what the land was like. They were sent in to find out if they thought it was possible to overtake the land and claim it for themselves.

After returning, 10 of them were discouraged. I mean, super discouraged. They said that the land was awesome, but the people there were too big, and they would never be able to conquer it! (paraphrased, obviously!)

Joshua and Caleb also said that the land was awesome.

And what did they say about the obstacle...about the people, you ask?

NOTHING! That's right. Nothing.

In fact, as soon as they came back from seeing the land, the 10 men started trembling in fear at the obstacles in front of them, and Caleb said this...

“Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. “

Did you get that?? While the others were saying, No way. No how.

Caleb and Joshua were basically saying,  Hey! What are we waiting for? Let's go get this!

Now that is the kind of faith that I want to have!

While the 10 spies went on and on describing the people who were in the land,  how powerful they were...and on and on -

Caleb and Joshua said one word about the people, and then put all of the emphasis on how great the land was, and how great it would be to go and get it!!

That's it right there - Caleb and Joshua set their focus on the prize, while the 10 spies set their focus on the problems.

Where are you at in your dream?

Are you looking at the obstacles and saying that there is no way you can possibly overcome them?

Or are you focusing on how amazing the prize is?

Why don't you take your eyes off the obstacles!

Focus on the incredible blessings that God wants to pour on you, and remember how amazing and  powerful our God is.

Are you going to be one of the discouraged 10 spies? Or are you going to be a Caleb?

I want to be a Caleb! I want to go and claim my Canaan!

What's your “Canaan”? And what are you waiting for?

Go and claim it!

i heart faces ~ enjoying life

i haven't submitted any pictures to the i heart faces website in a super long time.
but when i heard the challenge was enjoying life... this is the first image i thought of.

i just love the look on everyone's faces.
totally priceless.

as fun as it looks

sometimes pictures make things look way more fun than what is really happening.
but today...

everything you see is really as fun as it looks.

i took the boys, along with a couple friends of ours, to alton bay for the day.
it was perfect weather, and perfectly fun.

so thankful for much needed days like today!