quite possibly the longest post ever...

i was going to be all clever
all creative
and all profesh.
i was going to explain what each picture represented...
then i decided to throw all the pictures of alton bay all together.
in one.very long post.
so consider yourself warned, and here is our week in pictures.

and there it is.

alton bay 2012

i don't think it's a big secret how much i love alton bay.
i have been coming here since i was 8 months old and have so many amazing memories of this place.
just this morning, i was watching adam walk towards me, and i was remembering back to when i was 17 and was watching my boyfriend walk that same path! i love that boy more now than i did then.
and now i get to spend summers here with my entire family...so blessed.

there was a lot of soccer going on all day long!

yesterday, ron and bobbi came up for a couple of hours so we took advantage of everyone being together and got some great family shots!

i'm hoping the rest of the week has very similar pictures.
our week on vacation looks like this:
eating, swimming, soccer, eating, lounging, eating, swimming, sleeping.
that about sums it up.
the perfect vacation.

what makes me run

i ran a 5k with my dad today.
it was the first time we have run a race together in 5 years.
i can not even believe it has been that long! we used to run together a lot.
i mean, hours and hours every week.
sometimes we would have to run a long run on a saturday and it could take us 3-4 hours just on that day alone. that was back when we were training for marathons.
but today was just a little 5k.
a little something that will hopefully be the start of some more races together.
i wrote an article quite a while ago about what makes me run...you can read that here.

thanks for today dad...it was a lot of fun, and brought back a lot of happy memories!

wednesday's analogy

so i went running yesterday morning.
i like to think of myself as a runner, although adam says i'm not allowed to have my 26.2 sticker on my car anymore since i haven't run a marathon since 2005. i mean come on now! haa!

anyways. my dad and i ran a little over 6 miles and it was pretty hot outside!
when we were at about the 5 mile mark, i saw one of the most beautiful sights i have ever seen...

a blue, buick le sabre with my mom's smiling face looking at us out the window!
she pulled over and held out 2 water bottles!

i can not tell you how amazingly wonderful it was to drink that water!
it was just the boost we needed to get us up the last 2 hills in the final mile.
i love running. i love how it feels even when it hurts. i try to smile at people driving by, and i just run on.
i could have made it without the water, i would have survived. i would have finished.
but it was so helpful to get it.

here's my analogy.
sometimes i think we see people running the race.
they look strong.
they look fine.
they might even be smiling at the people driving by.
but...that doesn't mean that they don't need encouragement.
it doesn't mean that they are not hurting.
could they carry on in life without you? probably.
but would it be a little easier if you decided to stop and give them a little water? a card, a text message, a phone call? absolutely.
you have no idea what might be going on in their life at this moment.
and that one decision to stop, could be exactly what they need to push them up that hill.
sometimes the ones that need it the most are the ones that look the strongest on the outside!

my challenge:
find someone today who you think looks fine.
who you think looks strong.
and give them a little push up that hill.
you never know how it might encourage them to keep going!

patriots training camp babbbyyyy

ok.
i admit it.
i am a little crazy.
i don't think that is a surprise to anyone on earth that knows me.
but i like to have fun, and i like to be loud...much to the chagrin of my husband at times!

we FINALLY got to meet the curriers at patriots training camp this year and it was absolute perfection.
and i was loud. :)

here's a video of our time.
(don't forget to scroll down and pause the music at the bottom of the page first!)

quick little tip for mommas

i can not even count the times that i have watched a little something like this take place.

kid: mom, i want money to buy a drink
mom: (calmly) no...i told you before we got here that you couldn't buy a drink
kid: (whining) but mommmm, i am so thirstyyyy
mom: (whining back) noooooooo. stoppp asking meeeeee

i have seen and heard it with kids from all ages.

here's the deal
you may not realize what you are doing, but you are acting out Proverbs 26:4
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him."
sometimes our children act foolishly. when they do, we are told not to answer them according to their folly.
it makes us just as foolish.


when your child starts doing something wrong, whether in action or in word...
you have a choice.
you can either start acting like them, and responding in the exact same manner they are.

OR

you can answer by reacting with calm tones and in the confidence that you, as the mom...you know, the one in control? have.

choice 1. when you choose this option...both of you will end up frustrated and it will not end well.
funny though, because i don't think we normally even realize what we are doing! i can remember having a conversation with my 3-year-old about WHY we were going to go into TJ Maxx. i stopped myself, and thought..what am i doing? i am the mom!

choice 2. this way is always the better option. this is what God teaches us to do, and it will always have a better result!

i am not a fan of giving my kids orders, with the reason being  "because i said so"
BUT, ultimately, i am the mom.
i am the one who has been given the responsibility from God to train these children.
so there are times when i have to show self control and stop myself if i start sensing that i am answering them back in the same way they are talking to, or acting towards me.

my challenge to you moms.
tomorrow.
listen to your tone of voice.
is it whiny?
listen to the words that you are saying!
are you provoking your child? are you giving them an easy opportunity to respond poorly back to you?
stop yourself.
remind yourself that you are in control, and that your goal is to raise your kids to be self-controlled as well.
try it out. see if you notice a difference!
let's raise self-controlled kids together!