Sweet baby Maelyn ~ 6 Months old

I have the sweetest nieces. There is no doubt about that.
Maelyn was a perfect model for her newborn shoot and she was just as perfect for her 6 month shoot!

I could snuggle and kiss her all the day long, but I had to pick up my camera and actually photograph her a few times too!
Here are some of my faves

One. Hard. Choice.

Remember that time you had a really awesome idea?
But then you thought that it was a little too crazy, so you pushed it aside.

Remember when you decided you were going to start running?
But then you got so busy.

Remember when you decided that you were going to start going to church?
But then you chickened out Sunday morning and came up with a good excuse.

Remember when you had that feeling like you should stop hanging around certain people?
But then you felt like you didn't have any other friends that one night, so you kept hanging out with them.

Why do we talk ourselves out of things so easily?
When I have eaten so much I can barely breathe, I am all...
I am never gonna eat bad again!

And then what do ya know? A few hours later when the dessert comes out, I am all...
Well, maybe just this once!

I can go bed at night and be totally confident that I am going to get up the second my alarm goes off and get a huge jump start on the day.
And then my alarm actually does go off. And I hit snooze. And then I hit it again. And again.
You get my point.

The crazy thing is, I am in complete control...if I want to be.
But it takes discipline.
And discipline has to start somewhere.

Discipline has to start with just one hard choice.
Make that first hard choice.

See... what happens when you make that first hard choice, is the second hard choice feels a little easier!
Then the third choice is a little bit easier than the second one.
And before you even realize what is happening you are making all kinds of good choices up in here!

So that really awesome idea? Make a choice to do one thing with it.
That decision to start running? Just run tomorrow.
When you decided you wanted to start going to church? Decide you will go this Sunday.
Those friends you know are bringing you down? Make plans with other friends this weekend.

Just make one hard choice.

You only have to start with one.

Go ahead and do it...you will be so glad you started.

My lobster

Today is Adam's birthday.
He doesn't like the thought of getting old, and he constantly reminds me that I am older than him.
Even though he is only a few months younger!

For my boys birthdays, I like to write about what they like doing.
How their personalities are, and how they affect me.
What they like eating and who their favorite friends are.

But...if you've ever wondered about the person who has to put up with someone like me all day.
I thought I would say just a few things about my husband.

He prefers to stay home over going out all the day long.
Pretty much the opposite of me.

He likes watching any sport on tv, but basketball and soccer are his favorites.
He loves bread.
Duh. If you know Adam at all, you know this about him.
He loves carbs and hates fruit and vegetables. (I wonder where Riley gets it!)
His favorite sweets are orange slices, twizzlers and gummy anything.
Also his mom's sugar cookies.

He loves playing soccer and basketball.
He is an amazing dad, and would definitely rather spend time with his family over anyone else.

He loves playing with his nieces and nephew, and they adore him.
He is the most knowledgeable person I have ever met when it comes to knowing his Bible.
And he doesn't stop with just the knowledge part...he lives it out.
He has a loud voice.
He is amazing with kids, and is the best coach (according to many, many parents.)
He is very slow paced. Like. very.
We make an interesting team since I am not so much on the slow side. (I wonder where AJ gets it!)
He loves cheerios and honestly? I think he has had at least one bowl of plain cheerios (name brand only please) every. single. day since we have been married.
No lie.

He is incredible with people and loves to serve.
He makes everyone feel like they are important.
He is an awesome speaker...definitely gifted in that area.
He could not care less about what people think of him.
(I wish I cared a little less, and could learn a lot from him in that area!)
He doesn't think having a nice car is at all important. ha!
He hates spending money on food, and would be happy to never eat out.

His laugh is contagious, and I literally just laughed out loud even thinking about it.

He balances my crazy.
He pushes me and supports me.
He loves me for who I am.
He makes me laugh and I know how lucky I am to have him.
He is my lobster.
And I am so thankful that God gave him to me.

Happy Birthday pumpkin.
haha....Totally would never call him that. At least not with a straight face.

Rachelle Chase Photography ~ Winter Wedding in New Hampshire

This has been a pretty cold winter.
So when I talked to Amber and Matt about their February wedding, we had no idea what the weather would be like!
And then...in the middle of freezing cold temperatures and cloudy skies came their wedding day.
A beautiful sunny day in the high 40's! We could not have asked for anything better.

It was a simple, elegant, and beautiful ceremony. Followed by an intimate and fun reception.

It was hard to pick a only a few favorites, but here are some of the highlights of the day.

Congratulations Matt and Amber. It was an honor to share a part in your special day.

Hair by Riannon Phillips

Makeup by Candace Lannaco

Flowers by Katie Bronson and Amy Humpton

Cake by Matt and Amber Chouinard

Catered by Lovin Spoonfull Catering & Cafe 

Mommy Monday ~ Your tone of voice

Sometimes it's the simple things that can make all the difference in the world.

Today I am just going to give you a simple encouragement.

Think about your tone of voice when you are talking to your child.

Make a conscious effort to listen to the way you sound when you are having a normal conversation, and when you are trying to be more stern.

It's funny, because I am sure that the majority of moms reading this post would consider themselves intentional in the way they are raising their kids.
But..sometimes I think we tend to be intentional about the bigger things, without realizing the effects of those smaller things.
We might be totally strict on a bed time, on what they watch on tv, on the foods they eat...
and totally be missing the fact that we are whining at our kids.
Or we are rolling our eyes at them (or their dad!)
Or we are using sarcasm instead of direct discipline.

Because I chose to write the mommy posts on Monday, I want to encourage you to take whatever hits you the most, and just work on that one thing for this entire week.

I will probably be saying this a lot on these posts, but because consistency is so important, 

Pick one thing and be super consistent with that all week.

I think that is more effective than trying to pick 5 things and only sticking to them here and there.

So for this week.

Try to work really hard on your tone of voice.
If they start whining, don't whine back with stopppppp ittttttt!
Listen to yourself.
Try to imagine what it would be like if you used the same tone with your friend!

Here's to a week filled with the right tone of voice!
You can do it!


*Side note. Many of you know that I am a firm believer in Biblical spanking as my main form of discipline. I have written an article about it, as well as made a video on my views about why I believe what I believe. I will most likely not be blogging about this in any future posts. Because I like to have my blog open to anyone who would like to read it, along with that comes a lot of potential negativity. In the past, I had my video open to anyone, and I received a lot of comments by people who clearly just wanted to argue. I do not want to waste my time with that kind of energy.                  I am more than happy to personally talk to anyone who wants to know my view, and will gladly share my article and video. Feel free to message me any time.