2 Aug 2015

Sundays in the South

by | posted in: Sundays in the South | 1

Sundays in the South

I’m sick this Sunday.  I don’t know if it is strep, or stress, or a cold, or the flu.  But my husband is working today and soon two toddlers will be home from Sunday School.  So, maybe today mommy will take a nap with them.

But, why not send up some link love for your weekend:

Even though we just celebrated his for real birthday, this lemon poppyseed cake we may just need to make because.

Love when healthy food inspires me to eat it and be healthy.

Each week I have my husband pop us a huge bag of popcorn and the boys and I snack on it all week. Cheap and healthy.  Here is a new one for me with a favorite spice I usually put on chicken.

 

2 Aug 2015

Building Spiritual Disciplines in your Toddler (part 2)

by | posted in: Bible, Books, Shepherding Children, Uncategorized | 6

Just for Me Bible

How many of you have more than 10 Bibles in your home?  That would definitely define our home – we have so many, and many in boxes.  The ones in boxes are probably from our childhood.  They are tucked away to help us remember what the Lord has done in our lives by the help of His word.  That is actually why I encourage note taking, prayer highlighting, etc in your Bible.

One of the ways to teach children, especially starting in the toddler years, even before they can read, to love their Bibles (the very Word of God) is by getting a little Bible made just for them.  The new Tommy Nelson Bible,the Just for Me Bible,  complete with round board book edges and a bridge red handle, is a perfect example.

You can teach your toddler to look in the Bible.  You can teach them to take their Bibles to church.  You can teach them to turn in their Bibles when the pastor instructs the adults to turn in their Bibles.  They may not even be able to read yet and yet they will be learning a valuable discipline of loving the Word of God.

If you would like to win one of these for your toddler: tell me what was your favorite Bible story when you were little.

Thanks Tommy Nelson for the book: all thoughts are my own.

1 Aug 2015

Building Spiritual Disciplines in your Toddler (part 1)

by | posted in: Bible, Books, Shepherding Children | 3

Teaching Toddlers Spiritual Disciplines

Toddlers: they are the funnest and hardest part of my day.  This afternoon when I was eating Chickfila with my boys on the back porch – watching my older one get so excited about dipping his fries in the sauce or hearing my younger say “coke coke” begging for a sip of my diet coke – I looked at both of them with a huge smile – telling them I love you.  And then there are moments when I just want to put them to bed and have a moment of silence to myself.  And I’ve learned that is ok.  Grace comes with bedtime.

But, grace also is imparted to our children by them learning about spiritual disciplines.  One of the disciplines that we are teaching our boys is prayer.  They clap and say yay when we are done praying at dinner.

A great new resource to help your child learn how to pray is the Say and Pray Bible.  It is by Tommy Nelson resources and is a board book with great illustrations for your toddler. One of the aspects of this Bible that I love is that it helps them identify objects in the story (learning new vocabulary, helping them learn how to spell).  This is purely educational.  But, when tied in with a Bible story and prayer guide – this is a great resource for your toddler – probably my new favorite.

One of the ways I intend to use this as my boys get older is create worksheets that they can do as we read along with the story.  I want to pull of the words and give them space to learn how to write, draw pictures of the words that they can match, There is a variety of creative games or word searches that you can do to help your children learn how to read, spell, match, and learn the Bible.

If you would like to win this resource for your children – just leave a note here or on Social media and tell me one verse that you are teaching your kids to pray.

That’s all.

28 Jul 2015

Newborn Photography Link Love

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

newborn photography tips

Isn’t newborn photography one of the sweetest sessions ever?  Little toes.  Little noses.  Sweet new life.  A picture full of expectation and excitement and journeying and love.

I’ve taken a few newborn photo shoots, but I am all about learning poses, what parents want, and lighting techniques.

Looking around Pinterest, talking with friends, and following photographers on Instagram have given me wonderful pages to look at and photos to be inspired by.  Thought I would pass some along to you.

Kelli Nicole out of Houston offers great tips for lighting and posing.

I found Tiffany Farley on Instagram and absolutely love her photography.  You do want to find out what your client wants and work to those needs.  These are their pictures.

Little babies like to be all wrapped up because it makes them feel safe and warm.  Here are some wrapping tips.

Photography is a lot about light and angles.  Here are some helpful tips .

If you are in the Atlanta area and need a newborn photographer – I’d love to talk with you: kcreativesphotography@gmail.com

All photos in this blog copyright kcreativesphotography

27 Jul 2015

kcreatives newborn : baby M

by | posted in: kcreatives photography, newborn, photo shoot | 0

I love doing a newborn shoot with a really good friend.  I’ve known Tasya since we cheered for the same school in high school.  We got reconnected because of the joyful thing called social media about a decade ago.  That was before either of us were dating our now husbands, and of course neither of us had kids.

I couldn’t wait to meet baby M – and even though that meeting took a little longer, I still got to meet him, hold him, and capture him in all of his sleepy cuteness.

All photos are property of kcreatives photography. If you are interested in a newborn shoot: kcreativesphotography@gmail.com

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kcreatives newborn: baby M

 

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kcreatives newborn : baby m

24 Jul 2015

Photography Friday

by | posted in: photo shoot, Uncategorized | 0

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Happy Friday!  So thankful the weekend is here.  My husband has Sunday off and we are having some friends over so that will be fun cooking for them (especially a French Silk Pie for the first time)!  Have you ever made French Silk Pie?  What is your favorite type of pie?

I’ve been dabbling in photography for about 7 years now ever since I went on a hiking trip with two of my photographer friends.  It was lifechanging – even though I’d been taking photos since high school.  They were both more advanced in their photography knowledge and I wanted to learn all I could.  Over the years different things have been more important than that, but I’m finally biting the bullet and starting my photography business.  You can see some of the shoots I’ve done in the past by clicking here.

On Fridays, I want to make some great links available to you – ones that I am learning from.  Some weeks I will do an interview with friends who are photographers. I hope these links and interviews challenge you to be better in your craft.

Always learning with you – kdc

A new to me friend Jenna from DiPrima Photography is starting a new series on basics of DSLR for those of you just beginning.

I love it when talented and busy photographers spend some of their time teaching people who read their blogs more about how to excel in photography.  KJ of Virginia does this well.

Since I also love to take photos of food – here is one of my favorite food blogs and they share tips on food photography.

24 Jul 2015

A Guide to 24 Hours

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 1

A Guide to 24 Hours

24 hours seems like a lot sometimes to me, but other times I’m like – where did it go?

A sweet friend (and reader of this blog) asked me to share what my life is like on a daily basis – especially sharing tips for hanging out with toddlers.  I will just say that I love nap time!  Those precious moment are often my most productive of the day!

Every morning we head out (except when my mister is off).  There is so much to do in the ATL metro area.  We have doughnut day and do grocery shopping. Even though I could save money by going to some places, we choose to go to places that make it easy to shop with toddlers (like Publix and Trader Joes).  We have park days, we have passes to the Zoo and the Children’s Museum, we play with other friends, go to our local library time for toddlers, or run errands.

We usually grab a quick lunch at home or out (very cheap and quick) and then prepare for nap time.  My boys usually take fairly good naps – especially when we do something that expires a lot of energy and they aren’t teething (one of mine is teething right now so that makes for interested sleep schedules.

I’m very grateful for the pass we have to our local gym.  We go every afternoon (except Sunday when they don’t have child care).  My boys grow to love the workers there and enjoy time with friends and the Disney Channel.  I get two hours of exercise, sauna, and quiet time which is great for my body and my sanity.

My husband usually works late hours, so we come home and play in the back yard and eat dinner.  When Daddy is home they get baths and we read a story and put them to bed.  Usually that is it.  But, sometimes we struggle with one of ours with going to bed. He has so much energy!

During the times they are not awake is when I get other things done: quiet time, business, housecleaning.  One thing with housecleaning is I usually do a load of laundry a day so it doesn’t pile up on me.  I also wait until the end of the day to do the dishes. I just pile everything in the sink then it takes me less than 10 minutes to unload, load, and wash anything dishes that won’t go in the sink.  Ten minutes.

When do I work on my business?  Well, currently I work on it during nap time.  I edit photos, write blogs, work on marketing and social media, and also cook during that time (when the lighting is the best).

Being a mom and doing anything else is really tough.  Honestly there are some days, like today, that all I want to do is crawl back in bed (which sometimes is the best thing I can do).  Sometimes I watch a few episodes of whatever television drama I’m sucked in to).

And God knows exactly what you need to get done today – and that’s what you’ll get done.  You don’t have to be super-mom and you don’t have to be perfect at everything.  One question I usually ask at the beginning of the day, or at least a few times a week is to my mister: “what is one thing I can do today that will bless you.”  The answer may be different than you think.

So, here are some simple things to ponder when getting your schedule in order for the day:

1.  What are my priorities today (these may or may not change from day to day)?

2.  In order for my home and loved ones to be loved today – what do I need to do?

3.  How can I take care of myself today?

4.  What does God want to teach me today – to speak to me – to breathe life into me?

 

 

22 Jul 2015

Crossway’s Children’s Bible (Review)

by | posted in: Bible, Books | 0

Crossway ESV Children's Bible

My son is nearing three years old.  A few times we have kept him in our church’s evening prayer service just during the time for the singing.  He does remarkably well, especially since Daddy is usually playing the piano and he doesn’t yell out “Daddy” during the last stanza of Be Thou My Vision.  We will start keeping him in more because we want him to learn to be in the “big church.”

It is hard to think about this.  As a parent, I do like the “break” for my active toddler boys for a little bit on Sunday mornings, knowing they are getting solid teaching and fun in the kids’ area.  But, I also want them to learn to worship with adults in “big church”.  I don’t want to have to break them from the motions and screaming singing and then for them to hate big church because its boring.

Having children in the services at your church is so crucial.  They hear the gospel.  They worship with mutliple generations.  They learn to listen.  And parents can be a model for them of how to listen, interact with other believers, and engage with the Word of God.

What is one way that a church can make it clear that children are welcome in the main church service?

Have children’s Bibles in the pew.  I great younger children (preschool) Bible would be the Jesus Story Book Bible.  I love the pictures and some children who are able to read can pick out the smaller words or even have worksheets that go along with different stories or just a blank notebook.

A great new older children’s Bible is the Crossway ESV Children’s Bible.  It is actually a Bible.  It has pictures that are colorful and would appeal to children (say ages 8-10).  The resources are great for curious minds who want to learn more about the Bible: a dictionary, maps (I miss maps in my Bibles), a topical index, a timelines for Christ’s ministry, a very abbreviated systematic theology page, other detail information and more timelines.  It is hardcover so that makes it durable.  It feels just like a Bible and would sit well in a pew rack.  And children can learn to follow along with the pastor, especially if your church uses the ESV during sermons like ours.

This would be a great Bible to give your child if he/she accepts Christ during this age range (again, 8-10ish).  I still have my first Bible (that I can remember).  It is always special.

Thank you Crossway for this Bible for our children!  (This review is my own opinion and the Bible was given to me by Crossway).

 

22 Jul 2015

Easiest Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Easiest Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I’ve mentioned already this month that we are on a very tight grocery budget so I’m making the most of it by using what I already have.  So, I was rummaging through my freezer – and for this meal I only needed to be 1 can of cream of chicken soup.  How effecient is that?

I love comfort food.  My mister finds that strange.  Do you love comfort food?  I’m talking about mostly foods that you can eat with a spoon: my Granny’s chicken and rice, pie, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, cereal, mashed potatoes, guacamole.  The list could go on.  My mister knows that I have a relationship with food because I’ll sit down on the couch with a big bowl in my hand and sometimes sigh as I dig into my favorite dessert or pasta goodness (I don’t do that as often but the relationship still exists.

The biscuits I used were leftover from a 4th of July cookout I went to.  I just saved some of the biscuits in the freezer and used them here.

Print
Easiest Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
A homemade comfort food staple in short time
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • ½ bag of frozen mixed vegetables (no need to thaw)
  • 3 cups shredded chicken (I had some in the freezer)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 Leftover Joy the Baker biscuits
Instructions
  1. Saute your onions in the butter.
  2. Add the mixed vegetables and cook until thawed.
  3. Add everything else (not the biscuits) and stir until combined
  4. Pour into a shallow baking dish.
  5. Top with thawed biscuits.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are warmed.
So, if you need a quick comfort food meal to put on the table in less than 30 minutes, here is one for you.