Meet my Senior Reps ~ part 2

tonight i had the rest of my senior reps meet to do our shoot.
they literally all met tonight for the first time, and they were so good about just doing whatever i asked them! they were amazing.
i seriously wish i was best friends with them.

here are some of my gorgeous models!

Hailey~

Jillian~

 Lauren~

Spencer~

they rocked these poses out...i mean.
seriously.
i am not just saying this - they should model for reals.

you would think they had already known each other for years!
so helpful...i made Hailey lay in the grass so they helped clean all the leaves off her back!

i had such a fun time meeting all you girls! congratulations on making to your senior year!

 Click here to book your senior session with me today!

maybe a little bit too much information?

when i decided back on february 20th that i was going to blog every single day except for sundays (which i have now changed to saturdays and sundays) i really wasn't sure how i was going to do it.
i didn't necessarily have a game plan.
i just decided to set a goal and go for it.
i try to balance things out as far as alternating the super deep posts with some light hearted or photography related posts.
i have loved getting feedback from many of you through personal emails telling me that my posts mean something to you.
truly.
it makes me want to write again, and it keeps me going!

sometimes i'm not sure how much to really talk about. i wonder...am i sharing too much information with who-knows-who?
i mean...i have people who don't like me, and sometimes i wonder if they read my thoughts just to have one more thing to hold against me.
but i always try to be real, regardless.
i like to tell things how they are, and i like to find out how many of you are exactly like me because of the topics i write about.

so today i'm sharing a little bit about myself.
my favorite book when i was about 11 was a book called adopted.
i read it over and over.
it broke my little heart thinking about kids who needed a mom and dad.
it was not just a passing stage i went through.
when i was in college, i talked to God about this heart he gave me for orphans.
i was never sure exactly what He wanted me to do about it, but i knew it was something.
(i wrote about my thoughts on adoption becoming a fad, and how it was something i didn't want to fall into here.)

adam and i started thinking about this years ago. we started doing what was necessary to begin the process of becoming eligible to adopt of foster.
however, we were not living in a place that allowed for us to take kids in.
we didn't own our own place and we were sharing the place we did live.
now that we have our own home, we have started the process again.

i am so excited to think about what God might be preparing for us.
i don't know what it looks like, i don't know where the road will take us,
but i know that we are just doing what God is telling us to do...
i finished all the paperwork for me and the boys (adam is on his way to completing his) and we will see where this goes.

so maybe this is too much unnecessary information for some of you, but it's just where we're going in our lives right now, and i like to think that i have all of you joining me in this little old life of mine. i feel like i just have to share it with all of you! so - thanks for coming along!

and because i am such a dork and laugh over random things, i thought i would end with something that totally made me laugh out loud.
i don't know why...but

really?? haha...come on. you know it's funny!

thanks for reading.

i blame my dad for my sugar addiction

i opened my easter basket with sheer child-like excitement.

it was a huge basket.

and full of chocolate...every girls dream, right?

i mean. i was about 8 years old and in my little world, nothing could be better.

i opened the foil wrapped bunny and held it in my hand ready to savor every last bite of it.

until my daddy asked for a bite.

just one bite.

ugh...why did i have to be the first kid to open the chocolate?

but ok...just one bite.

and as he took the one bite...the entire hollow thing crumbled into pieces.

i. was. devastated. 

i mean, truly crushed.

i have the picture to prove it.

the reason i still like to tell this story to this day, is because in my world -

this was one of the worst things that ever happened to me between me and my dad.

and what i mean by that is...he was and still is...an amazing dad.
(and also, i blame him for my insane sugar addiction. haha!)

he's unique. 

unlike almost any other man i have ever known.

he is incredibly serious about his convictions and his faith, and he never cared if it made him popular or not. that was not the point.

he had his convictions. and he stuck to them...no matter who stood against him.

i remember his conviction about not letting his kids watch beer commercials. 

it was just his thing. he didn't want for us to ever start believing the lies that were being spread in those commercials - ya know...the only way to really have fun is to party and drink.

i also remember watching other christians mock him for this belief. 

i still don't understand the concept of mocking someone for having a conviction.

it's odd, because you don't normally see someone mocking another person for their lack of conviction. but anways...

the reason i love him for sticking to that seemingly small decision, is because it showed me that i don't have to follow what everyone else is doing and saying.

and most of the time? those people who are judging you don't even end up staying in your life for very long.
true that.

i remember how important his family always was. over everything.

being in full time ministry was not always easy...for any of us. (you can read about my view from the eyes of a pastor's kid here.) but he showed the importance of loving people while still taking time for his family.

i watch my dad go through his life and keep his relationship with God first.
i mean. first over everything.
and i realize that there are so very few men who truly live that out.
(i am beyond blessed because not only does my dad take this relationship seriously, so does my father-in-law and so does my husband!)

i just wanted to take the time on this father's day weekend and thank my dad for being the kind of father that God requires.

thank you dad, for all the times you made the hard discipline choices.
thank you for the way you worked 2 jobs just to give me and erika the opportunity to go to a christian school.
thank you for the way you love mom so much.
thank you for giving me my crazy love for football.
thank you for running hundreds of miles with me.
thank you for loving my boys.
thank you for passing down your insane love for sugar to me.
thank you for your always supporting me.
thank you for all the memories at alton bay.
thank you for staying true to your commitment to Jesus no matter who questioned you.

thank you for your belief in this verse in Psalms
Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.

i am so grateful for your godliness. it will have an effect for generations.
i love you so so much.
and i will always love eating ice cream with you.
xo

brownies, pens and planners...how are you setting yourself up?

i always have so much motivation...
for tomorrow.
ya know - i'm gonna get up early...tomorrow.
i'm gonna start eating right...tomorrow
i'm gonna be more organized with my business...tomorrow.

and then guess what happens?
i oversleep.
someone offers to take me out for ice cream (can't be rude, right??)
and then i feel like such a fat, lazy bum that i lay around all day and remain unorganized.

ok. maybe that's a little extreme, but you get the point.

i started thinking about how i am setting myself up for either failure or success.
and i realized that it can be small steps that get me there.

i need to see the things that are truly important to me, and set myself up to succeed in them.

so.
i love when i get up early. have a cup of coffee and a good long time of prayer and Bible.
what if i set up the room the night before? got my favorite mug out. put my blanket on the couch and had my Bible, notebook and pen all ready to go.
instead of searching around for a clean mug and a pen!

i really feel good about myself when i eat healthy.
what if i had fruit already cut up in containers in the fridge? what if i decided to not buy the brownie mix?
instead of grabbing the brownies that are already right there!

i want to be organized with my businesses.
what if i set up my office area with planners, calendars, magazines...things that are going to make me want to sit down and plan?
instead of trying to find a planner, an updated calendar and some inspiration!


what happens when i set things up the night before?  i am setting myself up to succeed.
what happens when i just go to bed and see what happens the next day? i am setting myself up for failure.

small steps.

the reason i pick out my outfit for sundays on saturday night...is because i am setting myself up to have more time to get ready and get the boys ready in the morning.
(and i save myself from trying on 62 outfits when i am still groggy! ha!)

so what do you have to set up tonight?
get up right now and do it!
you'll be so happy you did!

when it rains in the kitchen: the sequel

so remember just a week ago i posted about it raining in the kitchen?
we are now trying to see how many rooms we can get a similar blog post for.

today's is: when it rains in the breezeway.

we have been having a huge need for wisdom when it comes to our roofing situation.
we hired someone and have been having some...um...issues.
he took all the shingles off the breezeway and then shingled one side.
and then put a tarp over the other side.
apparently the tarp isn't quite cutting it, so the other night when i went into the breezeway...
lo and behold.
raining on the inside.
what do you know?

all over my SHOES...gasp!
it was pouring in our privy.
(yes, we have a privy. please try not to be jealous, and also don't hold your breath for a before and after of that room!)

the thing that freaked me out the most was the gorgeous piece of furniture that used to be adam's great grandmother's.
it had been in the breezeway just temporarily while we waited to finish the family room.
it was starting to get wet, and so i frantically told adam he had to get it to the family room right away! (he still thinks it was just my way of pushing him to move it..ha! but hey...now i have it in the family room. perfect.)

we did get another tarp put over the roof, but it is still not secure.
so...we are continuing to enjoy our indoor/outdoor breezeway.

the moral of the story?
i haven't quite figured one out yet.
just another reminder that this house is just that...a house.
it is a reminder that we are not storing up for ourselves treasures on earth...where moth and rust destroys and water comes in and floods (that last part was my very own version) matthew 6:19-20
we are trying to store up treasures in heaven.

hopefully this post is the last one of this series.

14 years and counting ~ my love story

who could have known when looking at these two little ones...

that they would one day fall in love.
this is the boy i fell in love with.
i loved him even though he didn't know how to match his ties to his shirts...
and he loved me even though i had not yet been introduced to tweezers.
love can be blind, people.

(you are welcome for the little laugh you got tonight)

you can read more of the details of our love story here
but we dated through high school and went to college together.

we got married (and i will not post any pictures of the occasion. between his hair, my dress, my hair...just ugh.) and God blessed us with this little munchkin in 2001

and this little one in 2003.

i fell in love with adam for many reasons.
he was awesome with kids, and i loved that about him. he made me laugh. he took everything in stride. he loved his family. he loved my family.
he was chill and relaxed, and i was hyper and crazy.
we seemed to just go together.

it has been 14 years since we got married.
in those years, i have watched my husband do some pretty amazing things.
i have watched him work long and hard hours at a job he absolutely hated, and then come home to 2 energetic little boys and a house full of teenagers.
he gives his heart and soul to people.
ministry is what drives him and energizes him.
it is an amazing and inspiring thing to watch.
we have traveled to new york, canada, and many other places with vans full of teenagers.
while sometimes it can be discouraging to see the lack of contact we have with many of them today, or the way that some of them have chosen to live their lives...i have no doubt that adam has impacted hundreds of kids through the years.

we have run these ministries together for 14 years.
we have stayed up all night long for word of life's superbowl for 13 years!
(and he doesn't even drink coffee!!)

he has done whatever needed to be done to make his family happy. 

 we love watching sports together and have gone to foxboro and boston many times.

our newest ministry venture together is a big one for us. we spend every week pouring hours of ourselves into the kids in our town. we want to show them that God loves them, and that we are here for them no matter what. i absolutely love serving with him. love it.

don't misunderstand me.
every day has not been all sunshine and roses.
marriage takes work. hard work.
love is a choice...not a feeling.
humility is essential and is not always acted out.
but...
divorce is never mentioned between us...see. it's not an option for us.
period.
we made a vow before God that we would be together forever.
we take it seriously.
the days that i irritate him or he irritates me, we have to figure out how we are going to handle that. the days i hurt him, or he hurts me...it's the same thing. working it out. figuring out what God wants us to do, and how we are going to forgive and move on.

it's not always easy. but it's always worth it.

this boy i fell in love with in high school has become this man that i love even more today.
i trust him with my life.

adam ~ my life has been so incredibly full and happy so far...i can not wait to see how the rest of our story plays out.
thank you for putting me first.
thank you for letting me eat as much ice cream as i want.
thank you for loving our boys.

thank you for understanding that i just need to buy shoes. 

thank you for pushing me to dream bigger.
thank you for making me laugh.
thank you for understanding my crazy ways and thank you for encouraging me to stay faithful to God.
i love you more than i could ever put into words.

14 years and counting...♥ 

awesome despicable me birthday party

my sister-in-law can throw a mean party. you can see lilla's angry birds party from last year here
and emmi's ladybug party here.

this year was all about despicable me!
minions were everywhere!

 right down to the...ooooooh! stuffed crust!

 knocked oooooveeerrrrrr

 present time!

 i can't even handle the little painted nails and the sweet little bracelet!

 this pinata was amazing!

and there you have it.
an adorable little minion-filled despicable me party!
happy 3rd birthday sweet lilla!

love,
your favorite auntie ♥ 

the danger of teaching our kids too much independence

obviously we teach our kids to be independent.
we teach them how to talk...so they can tell people what they want.
we teach them how to walk...so they can learn to take care of themselves.
we give them an education so they can get a job and eventually support themselves.

but somewhere along the way, i think we can be so focused on teaching them independence, that we forget they need to live their entire lives in complete and total dependence...

dependence on God.

that can sound so incredibly cliche, but it is absolute truth.
my goal in raising my boys is to teach them that they need to go from dependence on their parents to dependence on their God.

it is not going from dependence on their parents to dependence on themselves!
too much dependence on yourself, your achievements, your abilities can so easily lead to

pride.

pride is the easiest sin to fall into, because it can so be easily disguised as other things.


if i want my kids to be prepared for life,
if i want them to have the best chance at accomplishing great things...

i will teach them complete and total dependence on God.
once they learn that, they will be ready to take on anything.

don't make the mistake of focusing so much on teaching your kids complete independence,
that you leave out the most important thing you can teach them.

"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble" James 4:6

another before and after for you.

things are coming slow with the house.
with my back being the way it's been, it makes everything harder.
i can't just go to the barn and grab the furniture or box i want and unpack or decorate.
but it's ok. i just have to be patient and just try and take one small room at a time.

so here's the downstairs bathroom before - in all it's purple beauty...and after with our beach theme

this is the sand dollar that aj found in florida!
and the starfish that i found in christmas tree shop! ha!

alright. 2 rooms down!

a little creepy

sometimes i check good old google analytics to see what brings people to my blog.
while i would like to say some of the biggest google searches that bring people to my site are:

~super cool blogger
~best parenting advice
~how to keep looking awesome after having kids
~superstar mom
~amazing new england photographer
~incredible senior photographer
~how to be awesome.
(hahaha.)

the actual biggest google search that brings people to my page.

wait for it...

boys feet.

yep. you read that right.
boys feet.

say what?!?
i don't know. but if you google boys feet and then look under images?
a picture of my boys feet is like the 5th picture that comes up.

creepy, right?
i don't know what's up with that, but hey. whatever.

hopefully. when i become a famous blogger?
some other great and actually fun google search words will bring people to my blog.

but for now.
feet it is.

oh boy.

emotions emotions emotions

i am normally totally chill when it comes to keeping my emotions in check.
i don't cry a lot and can pretty much hold it all together really easily.

the past week, however, i have felt like i could lose it at any given moment.
i had some health concerns.
(in addition to my back which has been really bad for going on 2 weeks, and a headache every day for the last 5 days)
they were the kind of health concerns that you could really lose sleep over.
the kind of health concerns that required some doctors visits and uncomfortable tests.
the type of thing where i was starting to think...what would happen to the boys if i'm not around...
what would adam do if i...ok. ok. ok!!!!!

it's been the kind of week where i would have to start yelling at myself in my head to just
stop thinking!
i was allowing my thoughts to think the worse and i was starting to allow fear to creep in.

i know.
whenever i start to have these feelings of fear that GOD has not given me the spirit of fear!!
so if i start feeling it? i know it is not from God, and i know it is wrong.

today i sat in a room with a doctor with my hands gripping the chair underneath me.
bracing myself.

and when i heard the words that every test had come back normal...
i had all i could do to not burst into tears.
tears of relief.
tears of thankfulness.

as i walked out of the hospital, i also started having feelings of sadness for the other women who have walked out of the same kind of building with the opposite kind of news.

after one test, the nurse asked me as she was leaving...
are you going to be ok? are you alright if i leave you in this room by yourself for a few minutes?
and i paused.
and said. yes. i'm fine.

because honestly? i was.
it was a peace i felt knowing that Jesus was already in my tomorrow.
He was right there with me. and when i would allow myself to hold onto those thoughts instead of the dark, fearful thoughts...
i really was fine.

it's an amazing feeling, this peace.
i don't know why i choose the fearful feelings over the peaceful ones.

i am incredibly thankful for those of you who were praying for me.
i felt it, and i totally mean that.
i literally felt your prayers.

and then life didn't just stop. you know, it never does...
i had to drive to the porch. (after a stop at dunkins. i thought i had earned it!)
and switch gears and give my full attention to every teen that needs me.
and then i had to go home and make dinner before i ran to praise team practice where i got to sing and worship.
and then we drove to young adults group where i listened, and shared and prayed.
and then i came home and put the kids to bed.
and then i looked at the clock and said...oh no!! i haven't blogged yet!
so here i am.
and now i am going to get off this computer and maybe let it all out...
all those emotions that i have been holding in and didn't know what to do with.

poor, poor adam. haha!!

good night everyone.
hope you have a peaceful week.

are you pushing me or judging me

i loved the message i heard sunday about staying motivated.
i need motivation.
if there is a contest? i'm in.
if there is a challenge? i want it.

i want to be with people who push me.

when i started running with my dad, i remember him pushing me super hard.
i remember running hard, and lagging behind a little bit at the end.
when i did that, my dad would point to the ground right next to him.
his point was saying to me - you should be here. push a little harder.

it made me push harder.

when it has to do with exercise, people are constantly trying to push their friends, right?
i mean we think of it as inspiration if our friend were to say...
you ran 3 miles? i bet you could do 4!
oh you ran a half marathon? i bet you could run a full!
and we take what they say. and we let it motivate us.
we let it push us forward.

the same way with my eating! i know who my total real live friends are when i go to pick up a brownie, and they say...put that down.
it's not worth it. you don't really want it.
ahhh...i feel like - THANK YOU!! you just saved me all that extra fat on my hips! ha!

but interestingly enough. sometimes, when you try and motivate your friends spiritually?
it suddenly becomes judgment.
if i say to my friends...
you go to church on sunday mornings? you should try sunday night too!
oh you read your bible? you should try memorizing it!

we take what they say, and we let it make us critical!
we let it think they are being judgmental and holier than thou!

how does that happen?
what kind of friend are we looking for?
the ones that say... so i care about what you look like. but as far as how happy you are?
ya. not so much.

i want my friends to push me spiritually too!
i want them to stop me if i start complaining about someone from my church family.
i want them to stop me if i start doubting God's provision for me.

i want them to encourage me if i say i want to start a new ministry.
i want them to encourage me to not give up on my dreams.
i want them to encourage me to be consistent in my child discipline.

i also want them to want me to inspire and encourage them!

because that is an all around friend.

so the next time someone challenges you in your faith?
don't automatically assume they are being judgmental.

just take it, and let it push you and inspire you to move on.
to push harder. to work harder. to become stronger.
to become a better person.

and you have my permission to push me.
physically and spiritually.

welcome the newest member of the chase family

i am not a pet person.
sorry to all of my friends who just dropped their mouths open and gasped in disgust at that first sentence.
let me clarify.
i am not a have-my-own pet person.
i have no problem with yours.
i just don't want the trouble that comes with all the care and cleaning and dealing with a pet.
no offense.

ok. moving on.

riley has wanted a hamster for a while now.
i took him to the pet store a few months ago and watched him giggle with delight as he watched the tiny little rodent run around his wheel.
it was cute.
but i still wasn't sold.

with everything going on at the house, we couldn't really justify the expense that comes with buying the cage, the food, the animal itself and everything else.
so we just pushed it off.

saturday morning we went on our usual yard sale route.
we had to cut it a little short because aj had his piano recital.
(which he did awesome at! we are so proud of him!)

so we drove into our very last yard sale of the day and to riley...
the world stopped. the clouds burst open. and the angels sang.

there. in front of him.
was a sign.
it said.
FREE TO GOOD HOME:
HAMSTER WITH CAGE, TOYS AND FOOD

oh boy.
i guess we had no choice.
so now, let me introduce to you the newest member of our family.

meet taco.

 and, taco is a girl. so i guess it's not all bad.

 she came with literally hundreds of dollars worth of toys and cages!

God definitely blesses us and shows us how much He cares.
right down to the little details of a pet for riley!

he is one happy little boy!