James and Miranda ~ New Hampshire Wedding

Young love...
I have always had a good impression of it.
Of all the marriages I have ever seen, I would have to say the most godly example of what marriage should look like would be my parents.
They were both 18 when they got married.

Miranda was just 18 years old...fresh outta high school...ready to marry the man of her dreams.

To some people? They scoff and mock. Saying under their breath that it will never last.
What they do not take into consideration is the God-factor.
Marriage is hard work, not doubt about that.
But when you choose to love the way God loves, He holds things together in a way that no amount of counseling, therapy, or medication can!
This is not only what James and Miranda vowed to do, but they also come from a generation of parents who have chosen to do the same.

And then it was time for the daddy to see his little girl...

All her little details were adorable...right down to the little tree stump with their initials carved in it!

 Sweetest daddy-daughter dance...they danced to When We're Together.

It is incredibly encouraging to be able to take part in a wedding that is so Christ-centered.
Miranda's family has been close friends with Adam's family for years, so it was even a little more special to be a part of this day.

Congratulations James and Miranda...I pray that God blesses you in amazing ways as you start your life together!

Rachelle Chase Family Photographer ~ Epping, NH ~ Outtakes and All!

I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable little family of cousins.
There were a bunch of boys, and one girl.
They all seem to get along great so it was a lot of fun watching them all interact with each other!

I bet this makes for some pretty crazy family gatherings!!

And I thought I would throw a few outtakes in here too.
I really like for all of my sessions to be relaxed, fun and totally real to life.
As much as I like posing and all the rest, let's face it...
Especially as a mom, we love to see those moments that describe what our lives behind closed doors actually looks like!

Something that makes me sick

Have you ever had a time when you know you need to do the right thing...
Say the right comment, not the sarcastic one?
Do something nice to someone when you feel they don't deserve it?

And you literally, physically feel sick to your stomach with just the very thought of "giving in" and doing the right thing?

Ok. Well, me either.
I was just wondering if you had.
Ha!

But seriously, it's like what is with that?
What is with the fact that just thinking of doing the right thing makes you feel like you're being weaker, like you are giving in, like you are surrendering...and can literally make your stomach react?

I mean...I know that the Bible talks about the flesh and the spirit fighting against each other.
In my body? It is like a full out war.
Like, pulling your hair, screaming and clawing and wanting to...I don't know, win?

If you have never read the Bible, or even if you have read it but are just not in the habit of reading it every day?

I gotta warn you!

It can make you sick.

I am sorry if that sounds totally blasphemous and ridiculous.
But I just happened to go over to this page which has a list of verses on it.

I am trying to fight against the negative thinking that I feel is going on in my head.
(I know that none of my readers ever deal with this...duh. But I do. So bear with me!)
Oh it comes in many different variations, some of which make me feel like a holy martyr, but are in reality pure sinful negative thoughts.
I am a terrible mother.
I need to lose 10 pounds.
I do not deserve to be treated like this. (you can read this post here about dealing with hurt)
I can not succeed at anything I do.
Basically...waa waa waa!!

And then you open the Bible and it's like conviction up and slaps you right in the face.
Or more like punches you in the gut.

I need to be reminded that I have an enemy. I can't possibly think that if my goal in life is to please God, the enemy is going to just ignore me.

And when I start thinking of it as not letting him win?
I can't help but give in and surrender to the one who made me and gave me the guidebook in the first place.

It's all about focus.
It's funny how even when life slows down during vacation, your life still goes on.
Your mind still goes a hundred miles a minute, and you still have the opportunity to do the right thing or do the wrong thing.

I can't take a vacation from God.

I am sorry I had to go and write 2 deep rambling posts in a row.
I normally try to split them up and give people a chance to breath and see some photography or family time or something totally random!

But for some reason I felt like God wanted me to write this tonight.

So for those of you who are finding yourself feeling sick to your stomach with the very thought of doing right...listen to those feelings!
Know that it is called conviction and when the Holy Spirit decides to convict you...
you better not ignore it!

God's Word is a light.
It is alive.
If you are a child of God you better be in it.
And not only that...you better be obeying it!

And if you are doing both of those things.
Let's be friends.
For real.
Let's stick together, keep each other accountable and help each other out the next time
something happens that makes me sick!!

Get on that.
 

Fighting the If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it Mentality

There seems to be a common trend going around these days.

The idea that if something is "fine" then there is no need to put any effort into it.

You can see this in many areas...

*Marriages

*Parenting

*Ministries

*Health

You name it.

The way it works is this...

My marriage is fine. We are fine. We get along. We are living a good life. There is no need to work any harder than I have to.

My kids are fine. No teacher has called complaining, so I guess there is no problem. My kids are not getting into too much trouble, so I guess they are doing alright.

The church is fine with the way it's going. There are a few people who come to my Sunday School class, so I guess I will be content with just those few.

My blood pressure is fine. I haven't had a heart attack. My pants still fit, so I guess I don't have to eat healthy or exercise.

It can literally work this way in any area of your life.

But here's the thing.

IT IS NOT OKAY TO JUST BE FINE!

See..FINE is not cool to me.

I don't want fine.

I want better than fine.

I want incredible.

I want the best.

I don't want to just survive throughout my life, I want to enjoy every second of it!

Just last month, I had a little talk with AJ. He is 12.

I said listen...You are going to be 13 soon. 

Ya know, a teenager.

I want you to know that people around me have told me for years that you are going to start being rebellious, moody, hard to get along with, disrespectful and basically a nightmare.

I also want you to know that you do not have any responsibility to live up to (or should I say down to) that!

You are responsible before God to honor and respect your mom whether you are 2 or 52. 

I told him...there may be times that you are in a really horrible mood. There may be times when I just really irritate you. But I want you to know that you are just as responsible to obey God during those times, as you are during the times you just won your soccer game and I bought you your favorite video game. I don't expect you to be perfect, but I do expect you to be growing closer to God every day. 

Don't be disrespectful and rude just because people say all teenagers are.

And that is what I think I should do with every relationship, every aspect of my life.

I don't want to live with the mentality that things are fine.

I want to live better than that.

Don't think that just because your life is a certain way right now, that it has to stay that way.

Don't settle for less than what God has promised you!

God promises a life that is crazy exciting.

Yes, that's right.

Your life is supposed to be crazy exciting!

Don't settle into the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it mentality.

Sure, it's going to take a little work.

You are maybe going to have to have a hard conversation with your husband, or your kids, or a friend.

But the things that we care about the most are the things that we need to take the most care with!

We need to treat these things like the valuable treasure that they are.

Go ahead. 

Go have that conversation.

Work at what you have so you don't lose what you have.

Everyone Needs to Get Away...and Eat Bacon

Every year we go away for the week to my favorite get away place.
Last year we had a lot more people with us, but this year is just my parents and the four of us.
Tomorrow Mel and Chad and the kids will come and stay for the rest of the week.

It is that one week in my life when I just eat whatever I want and do nothing.
I literally wake up. Get in my bathing suit. Read my Bible. Eat bacon. and go to the beach.

I mean, everyone needs time away.
Time away from life, and from reality.
I normally am very conscious about how I eat, and eat very healthy and low fat.
But this week?
It is cinnamon rolls, oreos, pop corn, ice cream, and anything else I can get my hands on.
And I don't even care.

Unfortunately, my back decided to go out on me on Friday morning.
I do not like to be a complainer, so I tried my very best to keep it a secret while I shot a wedding Saturday. It was literally like a knife was in my back the entire. day.
Somehow, and only because of all the people praying for me, I made it through the day!

It has still been bothering me a lot, and it kills me because I love playing beach volleyball and swimming with the boys.
AJ came up to me this morning and said
Mom...thanks for always being so fun and not letting your back problems stop you from doing things with us.

It made me so incredibly happy, because you never know as a mom if you are really doing a good job!
I mean...I really do try!
I try to laugh a lot.
I try to let things go.
I try to not take life too seriously, because you literally do not know when your last day will be.

And so this week, I am enjoying being away...in spite of my pain.
I enjoyed going to church in more casual clothing.
I enjoyed taking a nap Sunday afternoon.
And I kind of even enjoy the fact that I have no service at all on my phone!
I am enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the place we are staying.
And I am eating a lot of bacon. and every other kind of junk food.

Ron and Bobbi and the girls came to visit yesterday, so here are a few pictures from when they were here.

And of course I have to make my boys smile for me whenever I have a camera in my hand.
Don't worry. They love it.

Happy vacation week to me!

Rachelle Chase Senior Photographer ~ Raymond, NH

Hailey is a senior at Raymond High School this year, and I absolutely loved having the chance to spend a little time with her last week.
Her mom is my cousin, and I have many sweet memories of time spent with her!

She is a little quiet, but very quick to smile...just like her momma.
She is just plain gorgeous.
See for yourself...

This girl can rock a serious face! But when she smiles, her entire face lights up.

Hailey, I hope you have an amazing senior year.
You are absolutely beautiful...thank you for giving me the honor to capture your true beauty.

My Boys Soccer Bedroom ~ Before and After

AJ's bedroom was in pretty sad shape when we first saw it.
Ugly, stained carpet and dirty white walls were what we saw when we walked in.

But...he had in his mind what he wanted, and we made it happen.

He loves Real Madrid, and also loves the color green.
So we did a little combo of both.

Here are a few before and afters...

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dan bought him his super cool Real Madrid Fathead.

AJ loves antiquing with us, and found this old adding machine that he had to have.
It looks so cool sitting on the antique desk!

He is my neat son...as opposed to what the before and afters of Ry's room will look like! ha!
He loves reading and is trying to collect every Hardy Boys Book.
We got this awesome ikea wardrobe from craigslist...his room doesn't have a closet so this was the perfect solution.

Finally! Another room complete! We are getting there!

How to Turn an Obsession into a Sweet Family Tradition

It all started with a surprise trip for the boys back in 2009.

Patriots training camp...its pretty much like my favorite thing ever.

Not really, but pretty close.

If you know me at all, you know that I have been a huge football fan ever since I was born on Monday night football night. I mean. Come on now, I don't believe things happen by accident.

I know I've talked about this before, but for my new readers...

I grew up watching patriots football with my daddy back when Irving Fryar, John Stephens and the first love of my life...Tony Eason were playing.

No. really.

I was obsessed.

I wrote his name with hearts all over my paper, my shoes (I'm sure my mom was thrilled about that, and maybe that's when I started only getting to have hand me downs? Not sure.)

And every other thing in sight.

While other kids were day dreaming about trips to disney, or vacations with friends...

I was dreaming about someday having the chance to have a job.

Any kind of job that would allow me to be on the sidelines of the New England Patriots.

I would have been happy to be a trash collector on the sidelines.

Well. That never happened.

But here is how you get creative and learn:

How to turn an obsession into a sweet family tradition!

You work it so that your kids not only think your obsession is normal? 

But they think you are the coolest parent around! 

See that? Clever, right?

And who knows?

Maybe next year I will have a media pass and be right down on the field after all!

Then it will be a business expense and I can write of the mileage.

Am I a thinker or what!?!?

Don't ever tell me that I haven't taught you something on my blog!

(I am now trying to find a way to get my obsession with shoes to become a family tradition. 

I got nothing so far, but I'm still working on that.)

So every year since then we have made it a tradition to go to training camp.

Unfortunately for us, this year...every single person in the north east decided to go on the same day.

I have never seen so many people there!

While I could normally be right down by the field taking pictures, this year I was up on the hill.

And the kids normally get a bunch of signatures after, this time, they were lucky if they got one!

But it was ok. It was sunny and beautiful outside.

Last year we met the Curriers there, the year before that we took a couple of our friends and went, and this year? We filled up a 15 passenger van and went.

I didn't get as many pictures as normal, but we had an awesome time and I am already excited about going next year.

Next time, we will be planning to go a little earlier in the year!

 Cousins!!

Go New England!

Brutal Honesty.

Sometimes. 
I don't think that we as believers take this verse seriously at. all.


Hebrews 3:13

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."e

Exhort means to:

strongly encourage or urge someone to do something.

Interesting, right?

This verse says that sin is deceitful.

As much as we know that, do you think that you really think everything through with this verse in mind?

because I don't.

At least I haven't been as consistent as I should be.

So what exactly is this verse talking about?

It's telling us that we need to STRONGLY encourage someone to do...something.

And we need to do it  - daily!

If it's something we need to do every day.

And it's something that we need to be strongly encouraging...

Don't you think we ought to know what it is?

So let's figure it out.

In what ways could I be being hardened by sins deceitfulness?
I mean...if I want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I will say that the things I am doing wrong are really not all that bad.
I mean..I haven't killed anyone.
Haven't cheated on my husband.
Haven't beat my kids.

Phew! Home free, right?
Wrong.

The Bible says that the thought of foolishness is sin.

dang it all.
I am pretty sure I think foolish things alot.

(ex) I could just throw that person through a wall! haha!

Anyways. My point is this.
Be an exhorter.
Show some brutal honesty.

Of course it should go without saying that this needs to be done in love. Always.
Not to just make me feel like I'm better, but genuinely because we want people to be living a full and joyful life!

I have definitely had people take it the wrong way and even use my words against me when I chose to exhort.
I have also had people thank me for it.

But...the thing is, while God does give us freedom to make a lot of decisions on our own, there are some things that He simply tells us to do.

Exhorting each other every day, with the goal being to keep them from going down the wrong path...
not a choice.

So it doesn't matter how someone takes it.

We are called to be obedient. 
That's it.

I will continue to be brutally honest with people, because I think that there are way way too many people in the world today who are excusing every single thing we do.
Giving us someone else to blame.
Giving us a reason that we should be against God, against the church, against people!

So the next time you see me being negative, or critical, or complaining...
go ahead.
I double dog dare ya.

Exhort me!
Be brutally honest with me!
I can take it.

Answering machines, cucumbers and Liberty University

Ok.
Weird title, right?
Hang with me.

Tomorrow morning, my sweet and beautiful 2-year-old niece will be going off to college.
Oh wait...She is not 2-years-old anymore.
Well that's what it seems like.

I can remember it as clear as anything:

I was at Liberty  and I would come back from my classes to see the red light blinking on my answering machine.
My roomies and I would all dive over each other to see who had gotten a message...
And I would hear this sweet little voice -

"Auntie!" Then my sister's voice in the background saying - say adorable!
"dubbable"
Say cucumber!
"coocumbah"

And then I would hit replay. Again. and again.
That was my first niece.
The niece I swore I would love, and spoil and be there for.
Forever.

Somehow, we got through the nickname I earned of "Auntie no-no"
Since she would slap my face everytime I picked her up and would have to take her little hand and say "no, no!"

And all of a sudden, right before my very eyes is this beautiful, sweet and amazing...
woman.

I don't know how it all happened, but it did.

I have loved her since the second I saw her.
I am beyond proud of her.
She is smart...but doesn't let it make her arrogant.
She is beautiful...but doesn't let that get to her head.
She is serious about life and driven...but doesn't let that stop her from being silly and having fun.
She is godly...and you can tell that by the choices she makes.
She is incredibly giving...and will be the first one to offer to buy you a coffee.

I am so excited for her that she will be spending this next year at one of my favorite places.
I like to think that she chose Liberty because her favorite auntie went there.
(please don't tell me otherwise, I am happy in my ignorance)

I can not wait to see the way God is going to use her.
She is a go-getter.
She is an incredible evangelist and I have seen her lead so many people to Christ.
She is stubborn and independent and knows what she wants.
I honestly don't think she would let anything get in her way.

I take my job as an auntie seriously.
I want my  nieces and nephews to know that I am will always. always. always have their back.
I always wanted to have an auntie who was like a bff.
Who would spoil me, love me and be there for me for everything. forever.

God gave me an amazing auntie by marriage (actually before I was even married!)
When I was at college, missing my family and getting stressed out by a lack of quarters for laundry and studying overload...
Jackie became my auntie.
She let me come over for dinner, do laundry, talk, she listened and we laughed...a lot.
She was amazing.
She still is.
I remember many days I would go to her house and she would ask me if I had any new Brianna stories...she just cared about every aspect of my life.
I love that about her.
She is still in Virginia, and I know she will take good care of my Bri Bri.

I will always be that aunt for my Bri.
That crazy auntie that will always have her back, and will defend her to the end.

I am so grateful that God blessed my life with Brianna.
I am so proud of her and pray that she will continue to serve God with her life in everything she does.

Gone are the days of answering machines, and I'm pretty sure no one has asked her to say cucumber for quite a while.

But she will do my proud at my alma mater...
and she is still adorable.

Love you Bri!

It's Not Enough...

It is not enough to know who God is.

It is not enough to know what God wants me to do.

It is not enough to know that God is forgiving.

It is not enough to know.

I need to know who God is to me.

I need to do what God wants me to do.

I need to ask God for the forgiveness He promises, and then stop doing the sin I am doing.

I need to be doing.

I can fill myself all up to the brim with knowledge.
I can give people advice on any topic they need help with.

But I need to not only be all filled up with this knowledge...
I need to be acting on it.

I will tell you one thing for sure...
My kids do not get any reward whatsoever for knowing that we require them to be clean their room.

They do, however, receive a consequence when they choose to not act on that knowledge!

Yesterday in church as we sang the song Holy, Holy, Holy I was hit with the realization of something that I must admit I do not think about nearly enough.

God is Holy.
Do you get that?

He is like...beyond big-time.
Every single human being WILL bow down to Him someday. (Romans 14:11)
The amount of respect and honor that He deserves is amazing, and yet we can act like we are doing Him a favor by showing up to church on a Sunday or opening our Bibles for more than 10 minutes on a Wednesday.

The way that I treat Him a lot of times does not show Him the respect that He deserves.

If I understood even part of what that holiness looked like?
I would have to act differently.
Have to!

It makes me want to change.
It makes me want to wake up tomorrow morning in anticipation of the incredible privilege I have to actually spend time in the presence of someone like Jesus.

Just. wow.

I hope that you take a minute to think about just what exactly you are doing with your knowledge.

Because know this:
It is not enough to just know about God.

He requires more.

To act justly. To love mercy.

And to walk humbly with our God.

Did you blow your Monday?
It's ok!

Make your Tuesday incredible.
Tuesday is the new Monday.

Rock it out.

Texting and all those crazy things

So one time?

I was standing right next to this girl...like literally standing right next to her.

And she texted me.

Like a legit text.

Not to be funny, but with a serious question.

And I thought to myself...dude. I'm standing right here!

Isn't it weird how people can be so much more bold when they write something than when they actually speak it?

It's like type, type, type...send.

type, type, type...post.

It allows for the exact opposite of what we are actually commanded to live our lives like.

Take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry.

James 1:19

The RCV would add in...slow to text. slow to comment. slow to email.

It is pretty obvious that today, people rarely listen, are quick to speak and quick to become angry!

We see it every day, and unfortunately some days we are the ones guilty of it.

A lot of times, the things we are so quick to be bold about in writing, are not even things that matter in the grand scheme of life.

And the things that we should be quick to be bold about we tend to down play.

I want for my words to be bold.

I want for my boldness to not only come across on my blog, or in a text...

but in my words and in my life.

While I don't try to bring up controversial topics to get people going, I do hope that I can encourage you to look a little bit deeper at where your life is going.

I don't ever want to come across like I think I am better than anyone. 

It is not at all how I feel, but I do want to challenge you to make better choices.

I want to constantly be making better choices too!

The challenge I have for myself is to be more bold in the way I live my life.

To be more vocal about the important things...the eternal things.

To be less bold about the not so important things...the way to decorate, or the way to cook, or the way to run a business, or the way to homeschool, or the way to dress.

My bold words should speak more towards the way to treat your friends, the way to be a better mom, the way to be a better wife, the way to get closer to God.

Because those are the things that matter.

So maybe I should be more bold in my texting...like exhorting you to do the right things.

And maybe I should be more bold in my speaking...like sharing the fact that you can have an assurance of life after death.

And maybe I should be less bold in my smart aleck remarks about what someone is wearing, and how people are treating me!

So if you are feeling upset, and irritated...maybe put your phone down for a few minutes and collect your thoughts before you get all cray cray with your emoji and all that jazz.

Then you just have to apologize after for your mean comments and that's no fun.

Just stop yourself before you start.

Use your phone, your computer, your words to encourage and build people up.

Oh, and seriously. 

If you are standing right next to me? You can just talk to me. 

No really...no need to text. 

When it's ok to torture your kids

When you want to have amazing pictures of them!
duh!

Haha..ok. Seriously.
My boys are the best sports.
They know that pictures are important to me, and they just let me do what I have in my head to do

I don't even have to bribe them...most of the time.

Sometimes it seems like I am taking the same poses of my kids, but the thing is -
they change so fast!

I love looking back and seeing the difference in them.
The lost teeth, the different expressions but the same sweet faces.

So I personally think it's ok to torture your kids - a little -
if it means you get pictures that make you giggle with excitement when you see them.

yep.
That's my excellent excellent parenting advice for the night.