Family Archives - Page 3 of 4

Drive into a New Decade

If we are shifting everything up and changing normals in 2020, I might as well drive into a new decade in style.

This month we took the plunge and upgraded our faithful 2010 Honda Odyssey mini-van for a more sporty, economical, smooth riding 2020 Toyota Highlander. We searched high and low for the unicorn color combo that I preferred.

The other day I began thinking of the memories and how each of the cars I have driven have defined the era of my life or decade that I drove them.

I was blessed by my parents to drive a Saturn sedan from the time I could drive through my collage years. It was one of the few “American Made” cars that we all agreed on in the mid 1990s. That car protected me and passengers from both a rear and front-end collision during my first couple of years of driving home from school. It transported me around town to various part-time jobs. That car safely transported me to and from Tampa while attending Florida Collage and then allowed me to finish my collage career at Auburn. That car taught me independence

After getting my first “real job”, as a teacher in Auburn, we traded in the green Saturn for a more spacious Toyota Camry. That car was the vehicle of my 20s.

The practical Camry would be the car that would…

• Carry me to work each day

• Haul boxes of materials and books to and from classrooms, multiple times

• Welcome me safely home to our first 3 houses

• Welcome our first born child home from the hospital

• Accept a 2nd carseat in the back for our growing family

I would have driven that car indefinitely as a family of 4, but in 2010 Jonathan talked me into transitioning to a mini-van. So Mother’s Day weekend 2010, we traded in the well-loved blue Camry for a gray Honda Odyssey van and we quickly grew to love the additional space and comfort it gave our family. That van would be the vehicle of my 30s.

A lot of growth occurred while driving that van…

• Our children grew from toddlers to teenagers

• Would welcome us home to our next 2 homes

• Dropped my girls off for their first days of school

• Hauled A LOT of photo equipment and props for countless photo sessions

• Allowed me to reach many personal goals

• Countless trips between Atlanta and Birmingham

• Even though the van encountered a few bumps and scratches from parking, it kept us safe on the road

• Memories together as a family traveling

• Many visits to see family

• The goodness of essential oils to keep carsick prone children traveling well

• Bucket list items checked off along the way

• Taught me about spark plugs

• Hauled our camp chairs and tent for outdoor church this year

Once again I would have been happy to drive that faithful gray mini van another 200,000 miles, but I sensed it was time to drive into a new decade in a new ride. So the vehicle of my 40s will be an SUV.

I envision this will be the vehicle that will…

• Teach me about the car technology I have been missing out on like Apple CarPlay

• Be sportier and more fun to drive around town

• Be more economical with a hybrid engine

• Be will a safer vehicle to drive and park with all the cameras and safety features that have been added

• Be time alone to think and pray

• Teach both my girls to drive in

• Drop the girls off at collage

• Do I dare say it could be the vehicle we drive away from their wedding in?

Driving down the road the other day, Sarah Beth said, “I hope you drive this car until I have kids.” That comment made me stop and think…. “Whoah… how long do I potentially have before that point?” 10 years? 15 years? Sarah Beth assured me it would probably be closer to 15 years… That sweet girl has her whole life planned out, even though it could change every 6 months.

Am I just nostalgic, or do you mark time and memories by seasons you have owned and driven certain cars?

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography

The Browns at Home

It was a joy to photograph the Browns at home! You may remember this sweet little arrow that was added to the Brown’s quiver earlier this year! 2020 has been a long and unusual year to live through, but this little blue-eyed, crazy hair little guy has been such a blessing for our family to watch grow.

He just crossed the 6 month mark and has mastered sitting up on his own and is on to figuring out how to move all over the house. He is carefully studying every move and toy that his big brother plays with in hopes of getting his hands on it also. He is still cuddly and loves to snuggle with his blue blanket and thumb.

The cute baby model needed a quick nap break during our session time together, so I had a fun morning of letting his big brother, my nephew, take me on a tour of their garden and farm property. The tour was filled with songs, animal noises, and picking gifts from the garden.

I’ve had a vision for fusing still portraits with video clips to tell a family’s story at home with more depth and dimension. This was the first time I was able to put those thoughts into practice for a feature I plan to offer custom photography clients in the near future.

Watch the short video below and let me know what you think in the comments.

You can follow more happenings of the Browns at Home, at Shilo Hill, as their family works to bring new life to their 1950s farmhouse

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Categories: Faith, Family, Life, Printables

Back to School 2020

Back to School 2020 – Those few words have never been met with such controversy and unknowns about the year ahead. After 5 months of the longest Summer Vacation, my girls are excited to head back to a classroom today, even if it will currently be for 2 days a week.

They are ready for:

Social interactions
Routines and structure
Knowledge and growth
A chance to develop and practice their talents

As we embark on the beginning of middle school and high school, fears and anxieties have run through their minds. More than ever, those feelings are not alone. Every student and teacher will enter those halls with fears and anxieties more than usual this year.

We are all trying to learn and do the best we can, and grace and patience will be required from all parties to navigate this school year.

We can’t always see the big picture and why we are being asked to endure situations that don’t always make sense to us, but be assured you can shine in the space you have been given.

I was reminded of a common theme with Joseph, Esther, and Onesimus and Philemon in our Bible study last night. We never know when our situation has aligned to be a friend to someone who needs us most, to cheer on and support a teacher, or to be a positive example that stands up for the truth.

Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Esther 4:14 – Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.

Philemon 1:15 – For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while that you might have him back forever.

Join me in prayer today for a hedge of protection to be around each of our children, teachers, and administration for this school year.

Pray Over Your Kids

Whether your school year looks like in person classroom learning, remote elearning, or your own version of homeschooling, here is a graphic reminder of verses you can pray over your children today and any day.

I would love to hear what school looks like for you and your family this year! Comment below and let me know if you have any specific prayer requests moving into this school year.

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Categories: Family, Life, Recipes

Easy Homemade – Sourdough Bread

I have been baking easy homemade sourdough bread for a number of years, but have taken breaks from it during periods of moving or limiting carbs from our diet. When we were given the “Stay Home” orders in March 2020, it seemed like a good thing to pick back up as we would have more time to devote to keeping up with baking bread and have a reliable bread source as the bread shelves were scarce. The whole family loves fresh bread and it is healthier than bread sold in stores.

My sister has consistently been baking bread from this sourdough starter she got from a friend over 8 years ago. We always love going to her house because she always has something fresh she has baked. She has shared some of her extra sourdough starter several times over the years to help me get into a sourdough bread routine. She shared some of her starter again to start the sourdough bread baking process in March.

My baking sidekick joined me to share the steps we take to baking the most delicious homemade sourdough bread. I want my girls to experiment and be a part of food preparation now, so they will be confident in preparing food for their own families one day.

Sourdough Bread

Remove the starter from refrigerator and “feed” with:

1 cup warm water
1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons potato flakes

Stir. Keep mixture out of refrigerator 8-12 hours. The mixture will bubble. You may stir the mixture with a wooden or plastic spoon. Do not use metal spoons.

I typically activate starter and bake bread every 7-10 days.

I keep starter in a glass jar with a layer of plastic wrap over the top with holes punched to allow the mixture to “breathe”. You should feed the starter at least every 10 days. If you do not bake bread that often you should still feed the starter and let it sit out of the refrigerator 8-12 hours and pour out 1 cup of the starter then place it back in the refrigerator.

Bread Recipe

6 cups flour – bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup starter
1/2 cup oil

Measure dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. You may need to use your hands to get ingredients thoroughly mixed. Dough will be rather stiff. Cover with wax or parchment paper.

Let dough rise 8-12 hours or overnight. Dough should be doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and knead dough a few times on a floured surface. Divide dough into 3 portions. Place extra dough balls into bowl while working with one portion. Roll each portion into a rectangle (about 12″ long and 8″ wide). Roll up jelly roll style, pinch ends and tuck under as you place loaf in greased loaf pan. Make sure the fold side is down.

Cover each loaf with wax or parchment paper and cover with lightweight kitchen towel or cloth.

Let rise 8-12 hours until at least doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 27 minutes or until golden brown.

Sourdough is an old form of bread leavening. It relies on a mix of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that are naturally present in flour, rather than baker’s yeast, to leaven the dough.

Sourdough bread contains lower amounts of gluten and its prebiotic- and probiotic-like properties may help improve digestion.

There are many different methods of creating and baking with sourdough starter. This sourdough starter is unlike many starters that you feed flour to keep the cultures active and alive.

When mixing up our sourdough, we typically bake 2 regular size loaves and then with the third part we will experiment with mini loaves, pizza crust, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, pretzels, pancakes, and even tortillas.

Have you ever made homemade bread? Do you use traditional yeast or a sourdough starter to help your bread rise?

If you live in the Birmingham area and would like to get started with this type of easy homemade sourdough bread, reach out to me and I will be happy to share some of my starter with you to get started.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Spoiled Rotten Photography

Graduation 2020

Graduation 2020 looks a lot different this year than what we have come to expect for preschool, high school, and collage graduations. Both of my girls have completed their seasons of elementary and middle school this year and will be moving on to middle and high school in the Fall.

The girls have been sad about missing fun end-of-the-year activities, special programs and award ceremonies that they should be enjoying before making the transition to a new school.

Today we grabbed my 22 year old, royal blue, high school graduation gown out of the closet and had a little fun creating images to help us remember these milestone graduations. Luckily the gown color matches our current Chelsea blue.

I have photographed a lot of preschool little graduates over the years, but these images of my girls are the ones that will make me cry as we pull them back out at the next milestone.

What is not to love about star confetti?!

We’ve been making the most of our time “Staying at Home” this Spring while celebrating birthdays, crafting, playing, baking, and homeschooling.

We are wrapping up our digital home learning this week and are looking forward to a Summer full of more memories!

The thing about new beginnings is that they require something else to end.
– Blair Waldorf

What does the end of the school year, Graduation 2020 look like for your family? Do you have any kiddos moving on to a new school in the Fall? Share with us how you are choosing to celebrate the end of the school year and any graduates at your home!

If you have a high school or collage graduate, Krispie Kreme is doing a fun promotion that your graduate can be recognized for the week of 5/18-5/24!

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Categories: Family, Life, Recipes

Homemade – Chocolate Cake

For Mother’s Day 2020, Sarah Beth and I took to the kitchen to make a homemade chocolate cake. After watching Joanna Gaines share her family’s favorite chocolate cake recipe, we wanted to try the recipe for ourself.

We love following the Magnolia story and everything the Magnolia brand represents, so we thought it would be fun to film our own mother-daughter baking adventure. Have you tried any of the recipes in the Magnolia Table Cookbooks? I need to add both of these cookbooks to my wishlist.

Enjoy a behind the scenes look at the recipe in action.

While we normally try to limit our sugar consumption, this cake was a special treat out of the norm for Mother’s Day. We have been spending more time than usual at home and enjoying trying new things in the kitchen. The chocolate cake was a big hit with the family and the fresh strawberries ended up being a fun surprise to cut into and enjoy eating with the cake.

Did you have any special treats that you enjoyed for Mother’s Day?

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Printables

Game Night

Mothers I see you and know you have all been thrown expectations out of the norm over the past 2 months. From making decisions that are best for your family, juggling working from home while entertaining children and continuing school at home, to providing 3 meals a day and keeping a sense of order in your home.

As a fun diversion, I hosted this virtual game night on Facebook to bring my friends together for an evening of fun.

You can download each of the game boards and post to your personal social media accounts and pages to host your own virtual interactive event.

STAY HOME – BINGO

I know each of our “Stay Home” experiences have looked a little different depending on where we live, how we are working, and the needs of our children. I know for many this has been a much needed time to slow down and rest during a season of growth. As we share our own personal stories from this time, I am sure common themes and activities connect each of us.

Download the Bingo board and you can digitally cross off items you have completed with Staying Home.

STAY HOME – BINGO Download

STAY HOME – THIS OR THAT

If you watch Instagram Stories, you may be familiar with “This or That.” Simply download the graphic and mark it up by drawing a circle around your answer.

STAY HOME – THIS OR THAT Download

STAY HOME – SCATTERGORIES

Scattergories may have been one of my favorite games growing up! I love having to think quickly to come up with a list within given parameters. I have devised a “quarantine” edition of Scattergories, that will be fun to share with your friends.

STAY HOME SCATTERGORIES Download

I SPY – STAY HOME EDITION

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Did you ever read/look at the I Spy Books that were filled with thematic collaged photographs? You could spend hours looking at hidden objects within the carefully arranged pages.

Think through the activities and things you have been doing yourself or as a family during your extended period of staying at home. Gather as many items as you can to represent what you have been doing and set them up on a neutral background (floor, on a blanket, on a counter, on a table) Have fun arranging all your items within your given canvas. Stand above your items. Grab a step ladder or sturdy chair and shoot down to photograph all your items laid out flat.

Try to make sure your items are well lit or use photo editing afterward.

This photograph will be a special memory to hang on to for years to come to tell future generations about the months you learned to be still at home.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Spoiled Rotten Photography

Easy DIY Accordion Photo Album

Mother’s Day 2020 will look a little bit different for families across the nation. Local restaurants will not be open for taking Mom out for a sit down meal. Essential shopping has shifted to online shopping to find the perfect token of your appreciation for mothers and grandmothers.

This year try using the resources you have at home to create an easy DIY accordion photo album that can easily be slipped in the mail if you are not able to gather with your mothers and grandmothers on Mother’s Day.

Materials Needed for Accordion Photo Album

2 – 12×12 pieces of cardstock (white or color of choice) or 3 – 8.5×11 pieces of cardstock
10 photos that can crop to a 4×4 square
Cover image
Paper trimmer or ruler and scissors
Glue stick or double-sided tape
Optional – colored washi tape to decorate edges, ribbon for tying book closed

Gather images that you have at home, print photos on your home printer, or send to your local 1 hour photo lab. I was able to print 4×6 images at my local Walmart 1 hour photo lab. If you have more time you can send to your favorite online photo lab.

I was excited to be able to to pull 10 of my favorite images from the family portrait session we had with Spoiled Rotten Photography on the Spring Daydream Set.

To include 10 images in your Accordion Photo Album you will need 5 – 4×8 strips of paper. Below you will see how I used a paper trimmer to cut those strips from 2 pieces of 12×12 cardstock.

Next fold each of your 4×8 strips of paper in half to create 4×4 boxes.

To put the base of your Accordion Photo Album together, lay each of the sections out, alternating the direction of the folded point.

Use a glue stick or double-sided tape to attach each individual piece to the accordion chain.

Use a glue stick or double-sided tape to attach 6 images to the front side and 4 images to the middle squares on the back side of the accordion chain. You will need to leave the first and last square to fold up to be your front and back cover.

If you have more or less than 10 images that you would like to include in your Accordion Photo Album, you can modify the number of 4×8 in. strips you add to your base. Use 4 – 4×8 in. strips for 8 images, 6 – 4×8 in. strips for 12 images and so forth.

Download the Mother’s Day cover images

Mothers Day Title Cover Download

Mothers Hold Their Children’s Hands for Awhile… Their Hearts Forever Cover Download

There is no greater love than that of a Mother Cover Download

We would love to see your finished Accordion Photo Albums! Use the hashtag #thewayhomelife and post on your social media.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography

A Birthday in Quarantine

Savannah’s 14 birthday fell during our epic “Stay at Home” quarantine Spring of 2020. We all enjoyed good health, beautiful weather, but had to be creative in how we chose to celebrate with family and friends.

My sister dropped by with her kids to surprise Savannah for her birthday and Savannah was able to bake cupcakes with her cousin. She wanted to deliver a boxed cupcake to a group of local friends and then all join up that evening on a Zoom call to all eat their pineapple dole whip cupcakes together.

Here is a little video of her special day.

14 star balloons for 14 years of fun!

Savannah I hope you are able to look back on your 14th birthday and smile for the unique period of time in which you have been able to live and grow through. A birthday in which we were able to completely stop time and be fully present to make memories together with your family and friends.

I know you are missing the structure of school, your friends, and the band trip to Orlando you should be leaving for this week.

I pray we are able to successfully help you bridge the gap between middle school and high school in the coming months and your generation will be a step ahead of the previous generation in your abilities to empathize, create, innovate, and see the good in all circumstances.

I am thankful we were able to grab a few spring portraits at the beginning of our quarantine with our quick trip to Gibbs Gardens.

Do you have any loved ones who have celebrated a birthday during the Spring 2020 quarantine? How did you choose to make their day special?

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Spoiled Rotten Photography

Picture Project

The past 9 days I helped Spoiled Rotten Photography host the #SRPpicturePROJECT. This was a fun project we put together to share with the preschools and parents that we work with as well as our friends and anyone who wanted to join. The purpose of the project was to take one picture each day to represent what you were doing, sensing, and feeling throughout your QuaranTIME. Our generation has never experienced so much TIME spent at home with limited disruptions and obligations. Each of 9 photographs were to be placed into a grid that could be shared, printed out, and saved as a memory to this special time.

We partnered with some other AMAZING local small businesses who sponsored each day, giving away some very cool prizes! We are giving everyone until Monday, April 13 to submit their completed 9 grid to be eligible to win prizes, so you can still jump in this week and participate if you missed out last week!

I shared some of these pictures along the way on my social media, but here is the full story behind each picture.

Day 1 – Photograph something PURPLE

I love watching the purple wisteria vines pop up in the most unusual places during the month of March! We found a hidden patch to photograph the girls while it was at its peak.

Day 2 – Photograph something I SEE

I had begun seeing many women, including my mother, sewing face masks for the frontline health care workers, and had a vision for this portrait that I wanted to photograph my mother for. We Can Sew It!

Day 3 – Photograph something I SMELL

The girls and I got up early one morning to drive to a local strawberry field to buy a bunch of strawberry baskets to deliver to friends and family. I love the smell of fresh strawberries in the spring!

Day 4 – Photograph something I HEAR

Daily I hear the sound of my feet hitting the pavement in the 2 mile loop in my neighborhood. I have a favorite Pandora station that inspires my thoughts and it is this time alone with God that prompts me to take my next step.

Day 5 – Photograph something I TASTE

I recently picked up some sourdough starter from my sister and we baked our first batch of homemade sourdough bread this week. It tastes so good, and is so easy to make.

Day 6 – Photograph something I FEEL

I had all the feels as this 24×30 metallic canvas arrived on my doorstep! I took this silhouette portrait featuring my girl’s interests… clarinet and guinea pig, last summer shortly after we moved into our new house and learned of the beautiful sunsets from atop the mountain. This was a project the girls and I envisioned together and they were just as excited about the process and having this canvas printed to hang on our walls as I was.

Day 7 – Photograph something I PLAY

We have been inspired by all the sidewalk chalk drawings and messages that have flooded our newsfeed and were able to find the last box of Crayola chalk at Michaels. After creating chalk mosaics in our driveway, we got permission to leave sidewalk chalk drawings and messages on the sidewalk outside our Grandmother’s retirement apartment since they have been more isolated during this time of sheltering in place.

Day 8 – Photograph something I READ

I have been digging deeper in to my Bible to find peace, hope and direction for the here and now and what is to come.

Day 9 – Photograph something I GROW

Our time of staying home was kicked off by Sarah Beth’s garden party and we have since planted some herbs, flowers, and vegetables to watch sprout and grow and hopefully be able to enjoy the produce of in the months to come.

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