way to end the season

adam decided to coach a soccer team this year for kids in grades 5-6. (the porch sponsored the team!)
riley played too...which was awesome, because i got to watch the boys play together! i loved it.
so did they.

we ended the year UNDEFEATED!
awesome coach (duh)
and awesome group of kids!

i am so absolutely crazy about these boys!!

what are you doing right now?

just wanted to give you something to think about.
if you know me at all...you know that i am crazy passionate about intentional parenting.
hence the name of my blog.
i have the opportunity to be around kids and teens a lot of the time.
i am always so interested to see how they act when their parents aren't around.
how the treat adults. how they treat the other kids. how they talk and how they react.
while i totally believe that even KIDS are accountable for their actions. (proverbs 20:11, james 1:14)
and they can not blame bad behavior on anyone else. i can still tell a lot about a kids family life by the way they act.

i think that it is my responsibility to constantly be thinking of ways to help prepare my boys for life on their own.
i mean...that is the ultimate goal, right? to get them to the point where they will be able to live on their own.    i honestly don't like to think about it, because being a mom of kids still living at home is totally a  full time job, and it is very fulfilling!
but. i need to be reminded that they are still learning!
learning from what i say, and learning from what i do.

so that brings me to the point of this post.
what are you doing right now?
are you so busy trying to just get through this phase, that you are not even taking the time to enjoy it?
are you so busy breaking up arguments that you aren't taking the time to stop what you are doing and make those moments teachable?
i wrote a post here about the benefits of getting up off the couch.
let's be real here. it is easier (at the time) to just ignore the arguing.
easier to block out the whining by turning up the tv.
but if i start thinking of my decisions maybe as individual investments into the accounts of my kids lives?
maybe i would take those decisions a little more seriously.
if i knew that turning off the computer to go and play a game with aj and ry would automatically put 50.00 into a bank account for them...i'm pretty sure that decision would be easy!
if i knew that leaving the sink of dirty dishes and going calmly into the living room to figure out how to teach the boys how they can peacefully resolve the conflict they were having was going to add to that account?
easy decision, right?
i love the verse in proverbs 14:1 that says
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

i am building my house. that's what i'm doing here.
every decision...even if it seems small...is an investment.
what are you spending your time investing in?
right now.
oh...your kids are asleep?
perfect. start praying for them. pray scripture over them.
are they awake and arguing? go check out romans 12 and teach them about living peacefully!

you are building your house. build it wisely!
take the time to think things through, and to realize that you are making investments into the future of your children's lives.
and i think that is a pretty big time investment!
what are you doing right now?

enjoying every second...

i remember when i was dating adam, i loved when he would hold my hand.
it just made me happy.
it made me feel safe, and it made me feel like he loved me and was proud to be with me.
i still love it.
i realized last night as i was with riley and he put his hand out to hold my hand...
that i love when he holds my hand too!
i just love that he loves me, and that he is proud to have me as his mommy!

look at that little hand!! isn't it so cute?!

but i feel the same way with aj too!

and the older my boys get, the more i realize that this is not going to last much longer.

are you joking me that this is the hand of my baby boy?
i mean...look at this!

his hands are already bigger than mine!

ok. ok...everyone reading this probably thinks i am totally wacked out right now.
but i'm ok with that.
when i do a newborn shoot, i am careful to capture everything. the little tiny hands. the little tiny feet.
i don't want the parents to forget everything that looked so small!
i don't think it should be different now!
i don't want to forget riley's little hands that reminds me how when he was 9-years old, he had a bad habit of biting his nails!
i don't want to forget aj's 11-year-old hands that are already bigger than his mom's.
i just don't want to forget anything.
it all reminds me of my life. right now.
and i want to enjoy every second of it.

Seacoast Photographer {3 month old}

You never know quite what to expect when you are getting ready for a 3 month old photo shoot!
This baby boy was an absolute doll.
I mean. for real.
He was so sweet and easy, and he is absolutely gorgeous!

what is actually happening before photoshop

i had the privilege of doing a quick mini shoot for my sister-in-law and her family last week.
i was laughing so much when i looked through them all.
check out the obviously-big-sister in all of these.
she doesn't change at all and just keeps trying to control her little brother!
and of course hannah's...um...excitement? is just too funny!
haha! i normally have to go through all of these, and swap head out to try and find one good one!
i just left these, because i am sure sarah's days are actually really like this.
so sarah - even though it might feel like you would never forget these days...you just might.
so this is to remind you. :)

fun in rome...

about a year ago, i had the privilege of meeting this sweet girl karen.

it was at a time when i was just not sure what i was supposed to do with my photography business. i was in the middle of homeschooling my boys, and running a not-for-profit, as well as a million other things.
i just could not settle in my mind, whether photography was the best use of my time.
karen started a group for christian women photographers who were struggling with the same issues i was!
it is called pursuit 31. i went to connecticut for a small group and met the most amazing girls...who are literally going to be my sisters for life. i blogged about that experience here

so when i found out there was going to be a 4-day conference in atlanta, georgia, i had to find a way to get there.
i don't even know how it all happened financially, but early monday morning i found myself sitting on a plane headed south!
i was a little anxious to leave my boys for so long, but really excited about what i was going to learn.

added bouns -
my freshman year of college i had 2 pretty amazing roommates.
well....i haven't seen one of them for 16 years and guess what...
she lives in georgia!
she drove all the way to atlanta to meet me at the airport!
we literally walked arm in arm through the airport and giggled the entire time.
we picked right up where we left off, and had such a great time.
here we are in college

and here we are last week!

ahh....i love her.

i then took a limo with 13 other girls i had never met and traveled to rome.
rome, georgia that is.
we drove to what seemed like the middle of nowhere and came into one of the most beautiful places ever.
it is called winshape retreat and it is amazing.
the people who work there are so friendly and the location is perfect.
it is impossible to not be in awe of God's creation just by walking around the campus!!
i was rooming with my sister-in-law bethany. i mean come one now.
could that BE any more perfect??
whenever we are together we are usually surrounded by our families, and really don't get time to just talk.
it was so nice to be able to talk and just enjoy each others company!
i totally love her like she is really my sister.
she may have found out for SURE that i am a little bit cRaZy,

but i'm pretty sure she loves me anyways!

i went to this conference to hopefully build my business a little bit better.
to figure out how to get more clients.
to find organizational help.
but what i didn't even realize i needed a little bit more help with was just...
my life.
being quiet.
slowing down.
not being able to check my email and stopping long enough to hear from God on what i need to change in my personal life. in my family life. in my marriage and in my ministries.
i heard a lot from God as i begged him to speak to me.
i want to know what the next step is going to be for my family.
and how to make sure we are doing exactly what God wants for us to do.
i got up early the first morning and went for a run around the water.
it was pretty dark out still, and i enjoyed the complete alone-ness. i was totally by myself with God.
i prayed out loud as i ran and it was awesome.

i remembered things that i sometimes forget in the business.
things like God is the strength of my heart forever.
and that i am not strong enough to do anything on my own!

i was able to sit under the teaching of some incredibly successful and talented photographers.
this was what i loved...
the woman who shot eva longoria's wedding opened her Bible and encouraged us to ask God for big things!
the girl who has had her wedding photography featured in people magazine shared how we had to emptied before God could fill us.
these women reminded us that we had to spend time alone with Jesus every day to truly succeed.
They opened God's Word and gave us encouragement on how to trust Him. truly trust Him.
and for me? what it showed me in a very real way was that i CAN really push my business and be bringing glory to God...at the same time. this is exactly what i needed.
to see these women using their gifts to honor Christ.

i am so grateful for the opportunity i had to meet some amazing new friends and get reacquainted with some old friends. i had a peaceful, relaxing and incredible time.

of course, it literally made me giddy to see my husband and my boys when i got off the plane!
i am so excited to see where God is going to take me!
already looking forward to next year's conference...