we're back from haiti!

wow it is good to be back in the U.S!!!!! we had an amazing time on our trip, and we are so grateful for everyone who prayed for us while we were away. we could so obviously feel your prayers. i mean that. there is so much to say, but i am tired tonight...we got back at about midnight last night, and had to deal with 2 sick little boys today, and lots of laundry!! so i will post more later, but just wanted to say thanks for your prayers!!! here are just a few pictures of us handing out tracts and just a little of what haiti looks like. i have a million pictures, but i will share more later!!

riley got baptized!

it's getting late and i am getting up bright and early to go on our mission trip to haiti! today was a very full day in every way, but the highlight was riley getting baptized! he was SOOO excited about it! he kept asking me all morning to pray for him. so i would stop right there and pray every time. we went into the study to get him dressed, and his face lit up and he said "i can't believe thith!" (those of you who really know him can appreciate the "thith" part. it is just so cute!) anyways, he was the sweetest little thing ever, and i feel so incredibly overwhelmed with amazement at where God has brought me and our family. i just feel...full. i have a husband who is an incredible man of vision, and wants to serve the Lord entirely. i have 2 beautiful boys who have both been saved and baptized. does life get any better? you can check out his precious little baptism at www.eppingbible.org
it should be up in the next day or two!
i will be gone for the week, but i will fill everyone in on the details of the trip when i get back! please pray for safety, and for strength...especially for the boys. that they would stay healthy and safe. can't wait to see what God will do this week!! love to you all! xoxo

excuse me

excuse me while i get a little carried away, but this is so fun to play with pictures like this!!!

God is amazing

today we did our family devotions on the passage in I Corinthians how it talks about us being new creations in Christ. it compared it to a butterfly and said that we should find a picture of a butterfly to remind us of that. i was walking down the stairs, and looked out into the flower garden and saw this beautiful butterfly. i know God did that just for us. isn't He amazing???

a little sentimental

so i have a little journal that has "tranquil thoughts of a mother" on the front cover. every once in a while i write it in, but not very often. i started it about 4 years ago. i mostly love to just pick it up every once in a while and read from the beginning to remind myself of things that i loved about the boys growing up. i can't help but smile when i remember the cute faces, and funny comments they have made over the years. i am amazed that i have a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old. i don't know how time goes by so fast, or why. funny how when you are right in the middle of changing diapers and wiping noses, fast is the last word that comes to mind! but tonight, i am just remembering to be thankful. today was a fun day with the boys, and as we played a game before bed, the boys were getting really giggly. it is so contagious!!! so i made them come downstairs with me and hold this ginormous sunflower my mom had gotten for her birthday and pose :) they were laughing so hard, and i just loved it. sometimes it's good to just forget about everything and LAUGH!! it has been really hectic the last week or so, trying to get all the final details together before we leave for haiti on monday morning. it was really refreshing to just laugh and enjoy! hope you like the pictures!

a few more pictures

i should also mention that ronnie and bobbi got the boys their boogie boards! thank you!!!

rye beach

i love rye beach...not just because that is my son's name :) today was a super hot day, so i packed some lunch and snacks and me and the boys hit the road for the beach. i love rye, because i can just park on the side of the road, walk a little ways, and we are at the beach! no cost involved, just the fresh air, and the beautiful water. the boys loved their boogie boards, and they had such a great time! there is nothing cuter than 2 cute little boys running towards the waves with their boards. i found myself just smiling as i watched them, and was reminded of how blessed i am. they were in the water forever, and aj had blue lips by the time we were done, but they just didn't want to get out! they were so cute to watch, and sometimes they would totally wipe out, and then just get up and do it again. i loved it. we had a great day together, and i can't wait to do it again!

i have a great husband

i am really thankful for the husband that God gave me. he is such a great dad, and loves playing with the boys. they all enjoyed a little tackle football the other night, and then we all came in for popcorn and a movie. we watched veggie tales "Gideon", which is actually a very encouraging and challanging movie! anyways, still enjoying my camera and love capturing a little family fun! :)

just practicing

not nearly there, but just a little thing i am trying. i am not done with this one yet, but it's fun to practice!

cute feet

i love my little boys feet. i still love to kiss them...i wonder what age they will be before that really grosses me out! :)

no words needed

another picture

this may start to get old...but it is so fun!! i don't love the quality of this picture...it was wicked hot and sunny, and i took the picture fast. (the boys are so patient with me!!) but i love the effect. i will use this more later!

my new camera

so i finally got my new camera!! YAY!!! i am so excited, and am becoming a little obnoxious with it, i have to admit. i just love photography so much, and i am starting to pursue ways to become better at it, and also ways to use it as a blessing for others. i know that professional photographers can charge so much money, and i would like to be able to help some people get some nice pictures without the expense! i am just starting with the camera, and the software i have, but i love it so far! here are a couple of my newest ones! keep in mind, they were literally taken about 3 hours after i got the camera!!

walking home from church

i was looking out the window sunday after i had gotten home from church, and saw the cutest sight. my dad and riley (or "dennis" as my dad calls him, after dennis the menace!) were walking back from church holding hands, and holding their Bibles. it was so cute, i ran to get my camera! i am so glad that i have parents who care so much about their grandkids, and choose to be such a big part of their lives.

celtics!

ya...this picture was taken at 10:45 tonight. i know, what kind of mother would let her 5 and 7 year old boys stay up so late?? well, in adam's words "the celts haven't been in the finals since 1986!" so there you go. the boys love this, and although it's been a long couple of weeks with all these games, the memories are priceless :) go celtics!!

happy father's day!

the boys had fun making father's day cards that looked like shirts! they LOVE doing crafts - thought i'd show what they looked like. gotta love familyfun.com!

9 years

so our 9 year anniversary was thursday (we have actually been together for 15 1/2 years!!) i think that for some people, acting romantically just comes naturally, like it's in them. i don't want this to sound like i am putting adam down, but i don't think it comes naturally for him, which is what made last week even more special to me. a few weeks ago in passing, i mentioned that i had always wanted to go to the cape. i don't remember the context, but i didn't think much about it. anyways, he remembered that i said that, and planned a romantic 3 day getaway for us. he planned the whole thing himself, found a great place to stay, and kept the whole thing a secret! it was so amazingly sweet to me, how excited he was about it, and how special he treated me. we had perfect weather, and had such a relaxing, refreshing time! it was so great to be able to have no time schedule, and just no schedule at all! we laid out by the pool, walked the beach, shopped in all the cute little shops, and had an absolutely PERFECT time. i am so thankful to be married to someone that loves me so much. i love how we are even more in love now than when we first got married!

boys will be boys

riley thought it would be fun to rub dirt all over his face. you should have seen the tub water after his bath! i love being a boys mommy!

one more thing...

have i mentioned how amazing my family is yet? if you were to see melanie with my boys, you would think she was their mommy. she loves them so much, and is so amazing with them! they love her so much...which of course makes it even harder that she is so far away from us!! every time she comes for the weekend, the boys want to be near her constantly. (i mean, i do too!!) she is always willing to do anything they want. i love that.
i also love how my parents are with them. my mom spent an hour outside with them playing "pirates" - whatever that even means!! but she is always right there with them playing, and loving. my dad took them out for ice cream, and let ry wear his pirate hat, eye patch and hook! (side note here...i would never have allowed that!! haha!!!)
then erika, who acts as if there is nothing could ever phase her...5 kids, 7 kids...ya know, what's the difference, right?? she treats them the same as her own kids, and i feel really blessed to have such a great family.
ok, it's 11:37. i have had a long few days, between the boys doctor's appointments (they both had shots - so sad!! :(), praise team practice, young adults group,
and the list goes on...but the celts are on, and so i am sitting here watching adam get very frustrated with pierce and garnett. i mean, how could they do this to us and play so poorly? geeeez! so i am not going to go back and re-read this, and it is rambling that probably makes no sense at all. maybe it will at least give you a good laugh!
anyways. i am looking forward to a few days alone with adam! he is surprising me and taking me to a mystery location (which mark is convinced is lot #73 at a campground! haha...you ALL know me better than that!) for our 9 year anniversary! yay :)
also, the picture is kind of random, but is a picture of the weekend with my melly.