Author - Kishona

How We Capture a Great Family Picture – Every Time

November 9, 2015

In case you don’t know, I love taking pictures, and my favorite subject is my family. While I am always taking pictures of my boys, I generally have my camera with me at all of our family gatherings, too.

A few years ago, my side of the family began making an effort to take group pictures whenever we were all (or mostly all) present.

If all of my family were together today, we’d have my parents, my 3 siblings and me and our spouses, plus 8 grandsons, 1 granddaughter (married to my oldest nephew), and a great-granddaughter. I don’t know of any additions on the way at the moment, even with Elijah still praying for another sibling, but I’m sure our numbers will continue to grow, and with all of our families growing both in age and number, we want to document our time together as often as we can.

Having a professional photographer take our picture would be ideal, but since we don’t usually have a professional photographer at our family gatherings, we are still determined to get whatever pictures we can using my rather decent Canon with the timer and set up on a tripod.

However, getting several little boys (and big boys – thanks to my brothers who don’t relish getting pictures) to sit still and cooperate for photos can be difficult.

We have a few tricks that we try, but one of our solutions to keeping their attention has resulted in some of our favorite family pictures.

What is it?

THE SILLY PICTURE.

In my family, having fun is nothing new. We’ve never been a very serious group, and we love to laugh and joke around.

So when we were on vacation with my family when Elijah was only 3 months old, we were out on the beach, trying to get a nice group picture, and someone suggested, “Let’s do a silly picture next! Everyone do something silly or goofy.”

With everyone in agreement, I pressed down the shutter button and ran back to my spot in the group, trying to find my silly pose before the timer went off.

It was a fun way to capture each individual personality of our fun-loving family in a wonderful way that could never be achieved with a seriously posed picture with everyone’s forced, plastic smiles.

Even my non-picture loving brothers showed their styles, with one completely turning his back on the shot.

That picture was an instant classic.

: The “nice” posed picture

: The “silly” picture

With the success of that picture, we started a tradition. So now every time we do a family picture, everyone knows to expect a “silly” picture (or a few) at the end. All the little guys grab on to that, sticking out their tongues or making funny faces at the camera, free to move a bit instead of sitting perfectly still and having to behave.

And without fail, those silly, goofy, free-to-be-them pictures are always our favorites of the shoot, the ones we can’t wait to see. Sure, we always take a few “good” pictures, too, and it’s nice to have those. We make a good-looking crew. But the silly pictures are the ones that capture my real family.

Whenever I look at them, I can’t help but smile, as the memories of giggles, tickles, and different funny faces we tried out play through my mind.

Those are the moments with my family that I want to keep forever.

Those are the ones that make the great family pictures.

: Silly at a birthday party

: Silly on Thanksgiving

: The “nice” picture for my parents’ anniversary

: The “silly” picture

Here’s one more, from my parents’ 40th anniversary this year. It was a little departure from our usual silly picture, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a really great picture nonetheless. 🙂

TELL ME: Do you have any fun tricks or traditions for your family photos?

Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn

November 5, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn recipe. A quick, tasty, and fairly healthy stovetop popcorn recipe using coconut oil.

For some reason autumn always makes me want popcorn.

It might be all the fall festivals with the warm scents of kettle corn wafting through the air. It might be that we’re more likely to be cuddling up on the couch for a movie now instead of playing outside as long as we can. It might be the simplicity of the treat.

It might just be that I really like popcorn.

According to family lore, my first steps were taken to get to popcorn, and I was busted as a little one eating strung popcorn off the Christmas tree (there’s even photographic evidence).

So popcorn and I go back a few years…or more.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means, at no extra cost to you, I will get a small percentage if you make a purchase through the link.)

Then several years ago I was helping at a youth gathering at a fellow youth leader’s home. We often had youth group at their home because they had a large house and loved hosting people. The leader’s wife always had something special for us – fancy teas and hot chocolate, homemade waffles after a sleepover, and stovetop kettle corn at this particular meeting.

She had a funny pan with a crank that amused us all, but it produced the tastiest popcorn ever! Plus she had all kinds of variations she could make, and they were all good.

I immediately wanted a Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper for myself, so I could have yummy, crunch, sweet, and salty kettle corn and not have to share it with a dozen hungry teenagers.

It would be a few years later before I got my wish when I found a barely-used Whirley-Pop at the thrift store.

After that, I went on a hunt for recipes, finding all kinds of ideas online. I made plain salted popcorn, sweet kettle corn, caramel corn, and recently, pumpkin spice kettle corn. However, my very favorite (and my boys’ favorite, too) is Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn.

It’s super easy to make, and even easier to enjoy. It’s so good that I have to stop myself from eating the entire bowl…pretty much every time I make it.

: Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn in a Whirley-Pop: Coconut Oil, Popcorn, Cinnamon, Sugar, Salt

: Cinnamon-sugar mix and popcorn kernels measured out

: Coconut oil and kernels heating in the Whirley-Pop.

: Fresh Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn

I make popcorn often, especially in the fall and winter. It’s a fairly healthy, cheap, and really quick snack to make. In not much longer than it takes you to microwave a bag of popcorn, you could stovetop-pop a huge bowl of way healthier, tastier popcorn.

My recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn has come from some trial and error and tweaking of other recipes I have found. As always with my recipes, feel free to get creative and make it your own. If it comes out better than mine, please let me know!

Also, I imagine you can make this the old-school way with just a regular pan on the stove. I never have, but it should work just fine. Or you can scour your local second-hand stores in hopes of finding one, although I haven’t seen another one since the day I got mine.

Amazon carries the Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper, though, so you could get it brand-new or add it to your Christmas wish list.

However you can make it, I know you’ll enjoy it. Whether or not you share it or eat the whole bowl yourself is up to you.

By the way, I shared my Pumpkin Spice Kettle Corn recipe a couple of weeks ago in my “Family Room” email newsletter. Make sure you sign up to get other exclusive content and ideas. You can sign up by clicking HERE.

A quick, easy, fairly healthy, and super delicious Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn recipe using a stovetop popper and coconut oil.

My Best Christmas Gift Idea Ever…so far

November 3, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday - My Best Christmas Gift Idea Ever...so far. Creating an original personalized storybook photo book for my son.

Sometimes the best Christmas gift require a little advanced planning. My “best Christmas gift” idea was one of those, but it was completely worth it. It’s an original Tried It Tuesday idea born out of need. Here’s why.

Any parent of two or more children can tell you that making the jump from being a one-child family to a multiple-children family is daunting. The adjustment from one to two (or more, if you get blessed with multiples) is a big one.

However, the adjustment for an only child to go from “it’s just me” to “it’s my little brother/sister and me” is just as big and can be harder for little ones to navigate.

When Elijah learned that he was going to be a big brother, he was just over two years old, and he was ecstatic. He liked babies, so for him, it was going to be tons of fun to have one to play with.

Brad and I did our best to prepare him for the changes and talked to him about how his little brother was going to need Mommy and Daddy and Elijah, too, to do things for him for a while because, as a baby, his little brother wouldn’t be able to do them on his own yet. I made sure that Elijah knew that if he ever felt lonely for Mommy or Daddy, all he had to do was ask us for a hug or come sit with us.

: Photo courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography

Even with all the preparation, we still had some rough days, and there was a point, after the initial “I’m a big brother now” stage, where it seemed that Elijah was constantly getting in trouble, especially for being defiant. I’m sure part of it was just the natural phase of becoming more independent (he was 3), but the timing didn’t help.

It was heartbreaking because not only did I feel guilty for having to spend so much of my attention and time on Josiah when I knew Elijah could still use some Mommy time, but my sweet, joyful Elijah was becoming moody and difficult. I remember telling Brad that I missed “our Elijah.”

It was a situation that we prayed about constantly and one for which I was always on the lookout for a solution.

Then one night while I was up nursing Josiah, God gave me an answer, or at least part of it. He gave me the seed of an idea that took root so quickly that I couldn’t go back to sleep until I’d written it down, even though it was four in the morning.

I was going to write a book for Elijah, one all about him and the many reasons I loved him. Since it was later in November, I think, or maybe even already December, I wanted it to be one of his Christmas gifts.

In my mind, I could see a book with illustrations and knew exactly how the wording would be laid out and what the font would look like. However, with a limited budget and timeline, I decided to do the next best thing – use pictures that I already had and match them to my story.

(By the way, this post contains affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage if you make a purchase through the link, at no extra cost to you.)

Having used Shutterfly for a few photo album-style photo books in the past, I decided to see what photo book themes they had that might work for Elijah’s book. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find one that worked really well, and I began laying out the story.

The story was really simple. I was recounting our day with Elijah at bedtime and using the events of the day to illustrate all the things that I love about him, such as his creativity, his kindness, and his courage. The final pages also reassured him that even when he wasn’t kind or brave or obedient, we still loved him very much because God has given him to us. I titled it, “Why I Love You.”

On Christmas morning, it was the gift I was most looking forward to him opening, and I was praying that it ministered to his unsettled little heart.

From the moment he saw it, he loved it. A book all about him, written by his mommy, was a big deal. The words were exactly what he needed to hear.

That book instantly became his favorite. For weeks we were reading “Why I Love You” every night and sometimes during the day.

And my sweet Elijah slowly reemerged, calmer, more secure, and more willing to listen and help. (He was still stubborn and independent – that’s just him, but it was more manageable.)

I am confident that God gave me the idea and the story because He knew what Elijah needed from us and how he would best receive it.

The book became the best Christmas present that year for all of us.

Since my first personalized book was such as hit, the next year I created two more books: one for Elijah and his cousin Christian that was all about their friendship and an ABC book for my little Josiah that featured words relating to him and our family. Each book contained pictures that I had taken throughout the year, so it served not only as a fun storybook about them, but also as a way to share our memories.

In addition, Shutterfly often features great coupons for everything photo-related, including prints, calendars, and the photo books. By planning ahead and having my stories ready for when they had special offers, that year I ordered three books and only paid full price for one of them (and I don’t think I had to pay shipping on that one)!

And again, those books became instant family classics.

Feel free to borrow this idea. I’m sure it’s not unique to me, but the cool thing is, when you write your own stories, your book will be completely original and special for whomever you write it!

(If I see any new Shutterfly coupons coming up, I’ll be sure to share them on my Facebook or in my emails. Follow me or sign up so you don’t miss out.)

What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever given someone?

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Being Married to a Cheerleader

November 2, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: Being Married to a Cheerleader. Being your spouses teammate and encourager in all their endeavors.

As a little girl, I was a talker, a mover, and a wiggler who was constantly dancing and singing and usually loud. Since my parents couldn’t afford dance classes for me, they put me in cheerleading to help me use up some of my energy.

I cheered for six years of my childhood, up through ninth grade, and I loved it. It fit my cheerful, bubbly personality and brought out my natural encourager.

My experience came in handy once I started working with children’s ministry and youth. I could be animated, cheer them on in games or events, be in front of groups, and project my voice to be heard (an especially helpful skill!).

I didn’t really think much about how those talents would translate into my married life, since there usually isn’t much call for cheers or stunts during a housewife’s day.

However, I have found that my cheerleader heart has had plenty of opportunity to use its training. As his wife, I have the privilege of being my husband’s main encourager (aside from the Holy Spirit), and whether that’s supporting his endeavors at work, in ministry, or his hobbies, my cheerleading or lack thereof can have a tremendous impact on his success or failure, if only in how he feels about either.

I remember the day early in our marriage when he came home and told me that he felt that God was leading him to run a 5K. Brad was not a runner, nor was he really into many athletic endeavors overall. His sport was paintball, but since it is a rather costly game, he didn’t pursue it much in the interest of our budget.

So, when he decided to start training for a race, I was surprised but supportive. If nothing else, it would be good for his health.

Since that day, I have filmed and photographed training runs and finish line crossings at various 5Ks and half-marathons, washed his sweaty running clothes hundreds of times, bundled our babies up to stand along race sidelines for the chance that we’d see him dash by, and given up some of my own options for kid-free time so that he could go for a quick (or hour-long) run.

I don’t do that because I have to, but because I love him, and I’m proud of his accomplishments. I do it because I’ve seen God working in him and growing him, challenging him and strengthening him. He has become healthier and more confident.

For much of our marriage, I was the main encourager, and he was the main achiever. It wasn’t that I didn’t do things. I did various creative things, such as organizing events at work or church, writing and directing church plays, coordinating my nephew’s wedding, and working to improve my photography skills, even doing a few sessions for family and friends.

I would say that the only major, long-term undertakings that I faced were when I was pregnant. As any mamma knows, pregnancy, labor, and delivery are no joke, and both of my pregnancies were a wonderful chance for my hubby’s inner encourager to shine.

He didn’t disappoint. From the first trimester nausea through all the doctor appointments and all the uncomfortable, I’m-done-being-pregnant, sleepless third trimester nights on into all of my laboring-over-night, med-free deliveries, he was a wonderful support.

As it turns out, my hubby is a good cheerleader, too.

So when I first mentioned starting a blog, my husband didn’t laugh. He was all for it. In fact, he got excited. Of course, that wasn’t really about me blogging. He was about to get a chance to nerd out, with my blog as an excuse. He was determined to configure our server to host my site, and he did. (My site is on a server in the next room.)

From my initial researching and planning, he has been right beside me, my biggest encourager, as well as my sounding board and my first proofreader.

My blog has been the first real “my project” for us. It was something I felt called to, just like he felt nudged to run a 5K. (So glad it wasn’t the other way around!) And my cheerleader has been there every step of the way.

Then I announced that I was going to do a 31-day writing challenge. When I told him, Brad was hesitant, a bit worried that it would be too much for me. However, once he saw I had a plan that seemed doable, he was behind me 100 percent.

Initially, my October posting went really well because I had written a few ahead and so as long as I kept writing every other day or so, I stayed on top of it. Any time I added a post to social media, Brad came along at some point in the day to share it, too. He never failed to ask, “How’s your site doing today?” as we kept track of new traffic that the challenge was bringing my way.

Then I had a few days of Josiah not napping well and daily life being more demanding, and suddenly, I was working on posts later and later into the night, just to get them ready for the following morning.

Still, there was my cheerleader, not only encouraging me to keep at it, but picking up my slack around the house so I could write, edit, create graphics, and set up a post. He would take the boys upstairs to play so that I could focus. While I sat typing away at night, I could hear him in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and putting away dinner.

No matter how late my night, he stayed up with me, to help proofread and just to be with me, even though he would have to get up earlier than I would the next day.

Toward the end of the month, the Write 31 Days group came up with a shirt for members of the group to buy to celebrate finishing the challenge. I showed Brad the options and told him that I would like to get one.

Even though the end of the month might be a little tight financially, my supportive hubby was more than adamant that I should have something to commemorate all the hard work of the past month. So every day I would mentally remind myself to go online to order a shirt…then forget. He asked me once or twice if I had bought my shirt yet, and I would open up the page to order it “in a little bit.”

The second to last day that the shirts would be available, he sent me a text from work:

“Buy your shirt please! LVU!”

Maybe it was partly exhaustion from one-too-many late nights, or just realizing how important it was to him for me to get my shirt, but I seriously teared up when I read his message. A reminder to me, who usually is on top of everything, from my guy, who is usually the one who needs reminded.

So, yeah. I guess we both married cheerleaders, which is awesome because when you’re married, you are a team. You win or lose together. Sometimes you are both on the court; other times one of you is cheering on the other from the sidelines.

No matter which it is, though, facing the struggles is easier with an encourager by your side, and celebrating a victory is so much more fun when you have someone with which to share it.

Go, us, Brad! LVU!

Tell me: Who’s your biggest cheerleader?

My Boys and the Giggles

October 31, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: Write 31 Days - My Boys and the Giggles. A joyful conclusion to a challenging 31-day writing challenge.

One of the most amazing sounds to a new parent’s ears is their baby’s first laugh. It’s is like nothing else. In that moment, your child’s individual personality really begins to show.

As your children grow, their chuckles, giggles, and chortles become the music of your home, delighting everyone who hears it (well, except for when they are doing something they aren’t supposed to be…).

So, for my last day of the Write 31 Day challenge and the last entry for my series “Out of the Mouth of Babes: 31 Quotes from My Children,” I’ve decided to end with more than a quote.

Today you get a small sampling of the beautiful, unquotable symphony of my children’s laughter.

Elijah and the Amusing Broom

With a seven-month-old keeping me busy, it was after Christmas by more than a month when I finally got around to taking down the tree and decorations after Elijah’s first Christmas. I was cleaning up the pine needles that fell off the tree when Elijah became rather amused by the broom.

Josiah and His Silly Brother

Sometimes all you need is a funny sibling to make the day hilarious. It’s so nice when they can entertain each other.

My Boys and the Air Conditioning

This little game was invented by my mother when she was babysitting my nephews. After hearing about it, I decided to let the boys try it out.

All you need are tiny pieces of tissues and a running air vent, and you have a recipe for fun for as long as the air is running.

Thank you so much for joining me on this month-long adventure through all the funny, encouraging, and amazingly wise things my children have said. I pray that you have been challenged, inspired, and delighted every day and that God has ministered to you in some way through at least one of our stories.

It has definitely been a challenge to have something ready to post every day, but I have enjoyed it and am rather proud of myself for sticking with it and managing to share something each day without fail.

Thank you for reading along and encouraging me. Your visits, comments, and shares have helped keep me inspired to continue.

In writing my posts over the last month for the Write 31 Days challenge, I began to see a recurring theme. Most of the things my boys have said have pointed me over and over again to trusting God with a childlike faith.

People might say that having childlike faith is easy for a child (it’s in the description). Apparently, they think that since adults have seen “real” life, it’s okay to become hardened and cynical, seeing the negative much quicker than the positive. Trusting God is a “nice” idea, and it’s cute for those innocent little ones. It’s not “real” life for many grown ones.

However, I would argue that if Jesus did not expect us to have a childlike faith beyond childhood (and know it was possible), He wouldn’t have told us “For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10: 13-15)

Over the last 31 days, God has allowed me to reflect on how much I am truly trusting Him (or not). It has been a challenge that I did not expect when I signed up, but it has been an edifying challenge nonetheless.

Again, I pray that this series has been edifying, challenging, and encouraging to you as well.

So, let me know: Have any of the posts challenged you or encouraged you? How has God used this series to minister to you? What was your favorite quote from the 31 days?

Elijah and the Sign

October 30, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: Write 31 Days - Elijah and the Sign. Elijah's version of hospitality leaves something to be desired.

There isn’t a day that goes by, I don’t think, that Elijah isn’t “working” on something. He loves drawing and coloring, creating “crafts” (that’s in quotes because they are his version of crafts…such as a piece of string tied to an old bolt and a paper clip), and writing out letters and words.

Last summer, Elijah made a sign for the main door of our home. He worked on it secretly, all by himself, and then used a sticker to put it up. (Thankfully it all came off.)

When he was ready for the big reveal, he called me in and proudly showed me his creation.

When I asked him what it was for, he told me, “If someone comes to our house, and it’s time for them to leave, we can show them this sign.”

His sign features a cute smiley face on the front, and then you open it up, and it reads, “Go” with a picture of a house, which means, “Go home.”

Elijah apparently understands how to “speak the truth in love.”

When he explained his sign, he didn’t say it as though we would be making our guests leave, so much as it was simply time for them to go, and perhaps they needed a nudge. The little smiley face on the top clearly indicates that we enjoyed their visit, right?

Hospitality, Elijah-style, leaves a little to be desired. 🙂

This post is part of my Write 31 Days series, “Out of the Mouth of Babes: 31 Quotes from My Children.” I’m posting every day in October, so if you’ve missed one and need to catch up, or if you really enjoyed a particular quote, you can find the entire series on my Write 31 Days page.

Author - Kishona

How We Capture a Great Family Picture – Every Time

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