photography love.

every single time i do a shoot...

or even take pictures of my kids,

i can not WAIT to get home and upload them to see what i've got!

it's honestly like i'm more excited than my clients sometimes!!

here are just a little bit of what i have been up to..

i have got some gor.geous clients!

a little crazy

that's what i am

crazy
about
these boys.

yep.
totally crazy.

i can't even hardly imagine how our lives were without them!

how much less we must have laughed.
how much more money we had...haha
and how boring our lives must have been.
we love these boys like CRAZY!

how can i not be thankful

today...
my back is really bad.
it was hard to get out of bed.

but ya know what?
i can not and will not complain.
ya know why?
first of all..
i was convicted in a message yesterday about the verse in philippians that says to do everything
yes. everything.
without complaining.
ouch.

and second of all.
God has blessed me so much, that something as small as walking slowly and with a limp should never affect my outlook on life!

yesterday, these 2 little (i should probably stop calling them little now, huh?) boys learned about the importance of prayer in sunday school.
i am always challenged by my boys faith.
they started their own lists of things they are praying for. i loved looking at it, and thought you might too.
maybe you should start one of these!

it's no secret that my boys could play with legos forever and a day and be perfectly content.
they work so hard on their little creations, i thought i would show you some of their handiwork!

oh, they are growing up so fast.
i was just talking about the word of life super bowl that is coming up in a few weeks, and could  not believe that my AJ will be old enough to go next year!! are you kidding me right now? where does the time go?
they are the lights of my life, and i am so incredibly blessed beyond words that God has given me the opportunity to raise these boys to honor Him.


so my back hurts.
so what.
with everything God has done for me...how can i NOT be thankful?
what are you thankful for today?

a different-kind-of-biggest-loser-CHALLENGE!

i find it very intriguing to see the amount of time, effort, and sometimes money people put into losing weight and staying healthy.


i mean...it's not like i, myself, don't put time into staying healthy as well.
i do.
(some months more than others!)
but, i guess that the reason that i find is most intriguing is because of the following verse:


"For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things." I Timothy 4:8
Interestingly, giving all your goods to the poor actually profits nothing. (I Corinthians 13:3)
as does foolish questions and controversies, and arguments about the law.


*side note: it  has always blown my mind with the amount of  time and energy people put into spouting about being King James only, or the necessity of expository preaching! 
for the love of peter!!
is it me? or is this a bunch of foolish controversy?


ok. moving on.


what IS profitable is this...
and we are told to affirm constantly, or insist on, or stress:


to be careful to maintain (or, devote yourselves to) good works.
does this surprise you?


in a way...it surprises me!


to think about maintaining good works sounds..
almost...
legalistic.
which is what i do not want to be anywhere near!!


but interesting, right?
now, what would i have to be doing to devote myself to good works, in a non-legalistic way?


well..working so hard on my relationship with my Father, that i am just dying to please him.
just dying.
you know, the way a 5-year-old wants to make his daddy proud of him
the way a 16-year-old wants to do everything possible to show her boyfriend she likes him
not because they have to...
but because they just want to so badly!
and it's not so other people will look and applaud.
it's wanting to work hard because of the relationship that is there.


so that is where i want to be, and where i am going to challenge you to be.


this is a full fledged challenge, people!!


and i am totally serious about it. 
serious, because i want to surround myself with people who are striving for the same things i am.
serious because of this verse i found that i love that says "Be diligent with these matters; give yourselves wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 

so serious that i am offering a prize at the end of the month to the winner!!

yep!

you read me right!

a real. live. prize.

i mean, it's not a trip or anything...but it is a gift certificate to CBD.

which you can, in turn, use to help yourself continue to maintain good works!!

yay!

ok. so here's how it works.

we are starting the competition on next tuesday. (november 8th)

we are starting on a tuesday, because i love the idea of starting something new and hard 

not on a monday!

and it will go until thursday, december 8th.

this will work sort of the same way the actual biggest loser show works.

there are challenges during the week.

there will be a "weigh in" at the end of each week, 

and there will then be a final "weigh in" at the end of the month, determining the winner!

(weigh in will be decided by points earned)

here are the basics:

1. Bible reading

2. Prayer time

3. Scripture memory

4. Church/small group attendance

5. Ministry 

this is open to any person of any age in any location.

i will have a more detailed chart of how it works for everyone as soon as i have a list of who will be joining the challenge.

so - either leave a comment with your email, or email me personally at ajnrileysmommy @ hotmail dot com.

oh. and one more thing

i will be like jillian michaels all up in your face pushing you..

except instead of screaming 

DO ONE MORE PUSH UP!!!

i will be screaming

READ ONE MORE CHAPTER!!

ha!

so. 

instead of counting my calories this month?

i am going to count how many people i have on my prayer list...while eating apple pie.

i mean.

it is fall, after all.

who's in?!?!

let's do this!!

I Timothy 4:15-16 "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. ¹⁶ Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

so lucky

to have such adorable nieces and nephews!

i heart faces {Let them Be Little}

the challenge on i heart faces this week is
let them be little.

normally, i look in my archives of recent photo shoots, and try to come up with something spectacular.
and breathtaking.

but this challange? it reminded me of life.
of the kids that i see every day who are not allowed to be little.
they somehow have had more responsibilities put on them than any kid should ever have.
the kids who are not allowed to be goofy and crazy.

so at my house?
it's a little different.

i try to say no as little as possible.
i love laughing.
i love silliness.
i want my kids to be allowed to be kids
i want my kids to know that they aren't going to get in trouble..just because they are being loud or goofy.

i want to let them be little!

soccer mom

last saturday marked the last day of soccer season for the...
get this...

8th year in a row.

no lie.
i have been bundling up my boys since they were 2 years old to play saturday morning soccer.

we're just that committed.
ha
both of my boys were taking throw-ins with their pacifiers in their mouths.
{insert judgmental attitude here}

but funny enough, our life is really not all about sports.
and the boys know that.
before every game, we stop and pray that we will be love and light to every person we come in contact with.
adam has coached every year, and this year i was the assistant coach.

it was funny because a few weeks ago, in the middle of a game, i said to adam
"don't forget what we're here for!"
and one of the kids on our team looked at me and said
"what are we here for?"
it kind of took me back, to be honest.
i didn't really think anyone else was paying any attention to me...
i mean, they certainly didn't pay any attention to me during practice!!

but i looked at her and said
"well, to bring glory to God!"

so this past saturday was another end to another season.

it was intense..a real nail-biter.

but we came out with a win.
ry scored three goals.
and i was a one proud mommy!

and as you can see..

adam is one. great. coach.
he loves these kids, and it definitely shows!

so proud of our little team!!

i believe...

in God.
not just in a blind-faith-it's-good-for-me kind of way.
i believe in God because of all the indisputable evidence i see.

i believe in God not because it makes me feel good.

even though it does.

because sometimes?
it makes me feel bad.
it makes me feel guilty for things that i am doing wrong that i am trying so desperately to justify and excuse.

i believe in God because if i didn't have hope, i would be lost.

and if my hope in God was only for this life?
i would be miserable.

i believe in the God who is preparing an amazing home in heaven for me, where i will live forever.

i believe in God because there is no other way.

i believe in not just any god.
not the man upstairs
not my opinion of who i think God is.

but the God of the Bible.
and the God of the Bible?
is amazing.

He is loving.
He is personal.
He is compassionate.
He is JUST.
He is FORGIVING.
even when i do not deserve it at all.
He is a healer and a protector.

i believe in God
because it is the only way to live.
God fills my life with
PEACE
God fills my life with
HOPE
God fills my life with
JOY

why would i want anything else, anyways?

i believe in God.
and i love that i have complete confidence in my God
who loves me...
who watches over me...

and who RESCUED ME!

don't you want to believe too?

a few stragglers

i'm editing pictures like a mad fool.

 in the middle of it all...i found these few that i forgotten i had!

makes me miss them all so much more!

i love fall

the best time of year.

hoodies, jeans and boots = perfection.

well...today wasn't exactly that kind of weather, even though i am pretty sure the calendar says it's october!

it has been so so warm outside!
but it is still fall and i am loving every second of it!

oh...and getting to spend every day with these boys make any time of year the best time of year!

bring it on...

we have an official chase/currier challenge.


the boys thought it would be fun since it was sooo warm out today to go outside and throw the football around. 
nothing new.

adam joined in on the fun, and it turned into a let's-see-how-many-passes-we-can-catch contest.

you  know...everything in life is about competition, after all! ha!

so they ended up making it to 663 completions!


they ran in the house yelling...let's challenge the currier's!

so there it is!
let's see what you got cousins and uncle!! 

child-discipline...controversy and all

so here is the child discipline video i have been promising.
i apologize in advance that my mouth does not match the sound!
so annoying, but i didn't realize it until i had finished...
and it was 30 minutes long.
soooo...i was not about to start over!

don't forget to scroll down and pause the music at the bottom of the screen.

hope you enjoy it!

generations of godly men

adam and i are very blessed to both come from generations of godly people.

adam's grandfather and uncle needed a place to stay for the night, so they stayed with us!

we only got to see them for about an hour, but it was great to see them and catch up.

what you see there,

is a grandfather who still chooses to live his life to please God.

then you see my husband, who is also choosing to life his life to please God.

then there are two little boys, who wake up every morning and read their Bibles..

trying to learn how to live their lives to please God.

they have great role models to look up to.

and i am so grateful.

the de-uh-field fa-yuh

the deerfield fair has been a family tradition ever since i was little.

this year, it was just me adam and the boys with my parents.
we sure missed the rest of the family!

i took pictures of things that would remind my sisters and brother of the stops we always make as we walk.
we always start at betsy's donuts.
um. yes, they are enormous, and yes i finished the entire thing.
don't judge me.

we always get a cheese steak at sam, joe and ed's, and finish things off with pat's apple crisp.

oh. i just realized that all i've talked about is food.

yep.

that's pretty much the point. ha
found this old picture of adam and the boys at the fair probably three years ago!
the boys have changed just a little!!

 and a few others...not the greatest quality..but so fun to look at!

then we watched the flying wallendas...

and called it a day.

a great day.

already looking forward to next year.

hopefully?

in 2012,
i'll have pictures of lilla, oliver, cal, and all the currier kids too -

enjoying the fair.