In This House, We Will Giggle Giveaway with Courtney DeFeo
Ever meet someone and right off the bat feel like you have been friends for life? That would describe my friendship with the talented and Jesus-loving Courtney Defeo I am super excited to have her guest posting and giving away two copies of her new book that teaches parents to instill values and character in their kids through laughter, not lectures. (I always did that with my kids. No Wait. Or did they just laugh through all my lectures?)
Announcing In This House, We Will Giggle. I can still remember her telling me just the idea for this book. And yesterday it came hot off the presses==>Oh how lucky are we!
Now meet Courtney.
Courtney DeFeo is a popular blogger and creator of ABC Scripture Cards featured on “The View.” She is a graduate of Auburn University and has worked in marketing for Chick-fil-A. Courtney and her husband, Ron, are the parents of two children. To connect with Courtney, visit CourtneyDeFeo.com
In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life offers parents a practical approach to instilling virtues in their children through laughter, rather than lecture. Designed to cover an entire year, each of the 12 chapters highlights one key virtue in developing a child’s character, along with insights to help infuse the virtue into everyday life.
In This House, We Will Giggle teaches children to experience the goodness of God, the joy of following Jesus and the difference children can make in the lives of others.
And now on a personal note==> an event which inspired In This House, We Will Giggle.
A Wedding Cake in Ukraine
I was in an underground mall in Kiev, Ukraine one of the first times I experienced God’s love working through me. It was absolutely thrilling. I was giggling with joy. I was traveling with a team of Chick-fil-A leaders. We were there to teach business leaders about Chick-fil-A’s leadership model. On our “off” hours we got to see the city and spend time with our interpreters. They were mostly young girls that were just a joy to be around. Since they spoke English, we could casually get to know them.
My boss, David Salyers, and I were getting to know Masha as we walked under the underground mall area. She told us about her upcoming wedding and was just mentioning the cost of everything. She would have to pick and choose what to include since things were so costly. She mentioned that she probably would have to do without a wedding cake.
My heart started pounding and I locked eyes with my boss. His eyes lit up too. We couldn’t wait to ditch her. We knew this was our chance. To be the hands of feet of Jesus. To simply meet a need and show her she was so deeply loved. We said “good night” to Masha as quickly as we could and had just 5 minutes until the mall closed. We started giggling and RAN as fast as we could store to store to find a card to hold our cash for her wedding cake.
We did it. We found a card. We put that cash in there.
We wrote our notes about how much she was loved. And the next day before the leadership symposium, we slipped that treat to Masha and watched her eyes filled with tears. She never expected it, but we knew what it meant to her world. This was a moment I will never forget. I remember thanking the Lord that night and saying to him, “Lord, whatever that was – I want more of it. I want to be used by you. However. Just let me love others like you. I want to be generous. I want to meet needs. It is so fun!”
This is truly the reason I wrote this book. I want our kids to feel the goodness of Christ before they are adults. I want them to EXPERIENCE who we know – not just HEAR what we know. Let’s invite them to the party. They are not too little to be used by God.
Now for the giveaway. 
Leave a comment below sharing a memory of when or how laughter filled your home with joy and nothing else seemed to matter. Or tell us of a time you performed an act of kindness like Courtney and her boss did. Or were the recipient of one. Or simply tell us why you would like to win this book!
Two fabulous people will win a copy of Courtney’s new book, In This House, We Will Giggle.
Remember laughter, not lectures.
sounds like an inspirational read. my husband is good at using laughter often, I need lots of reminders to lighten up!
I read many comments—we all NEED this book !! I really think your idea is right on. I want to encourage my children to put this in place with their own families.
A few months ago, my three kiddos and I headed to our front porch, arms loaded with finger paints, paper, and hand wipes of course!! ???? We worked together and made five pictures with a set of all three of their handprints on each paper! Then we wrote “our hands are lifting you up in prayer.” While we worked, the kids laughed and talked together about who they wanted to give them to. It was so much fun, and still served others with the live of God. We make sure we pray for each of those people!
I had been ill for several weeks before Easter and hadn’t had a chance to get basket fillers for our 5 young children. But members of my Mom’s Group showed up the day before with a meal, candy, little gifts, and eggs filled with papers: “Good for one hug”; ” Let’s play a game!”; “We love you!” ; etc. A fabulous Easter with lots of laughter, thanks to the wonderful giving of friends.
Life is a little tough right now. My 10 month daughter has gross motor delay and we’re awaiting a neurology consult. Anyway, after a tough day of OT with her, my sweet 4 year old son came running into the kitchen wearing a fireman hat and nothing else. As he began his “dance” and I began my laughter, he said “I’m so happy I was able to make you laugh”. What a sweet reminder to laugh more and lecture less!
Oh to have more joy of the Lord and laughter in our days! As a mom of 5 who works part time I’m always
stressing about something. .. and not savoring my family. I totally need to read this book, win it or not!
I remember the act of kindness done for me by someone at church. I was a young girl with little confidence in a single parent home. I remember feeling great love from a mysterious church friend who would occasionally leave a small present and words of encouragement for me to find. It wasn’t until years later that they finally allowed me to know their identity. I don’t remember the gifts, but I remember the smiles they brought me and the love I felt. It was a rare moment of feeling special. Delighted giggles made possible from someone who cared.
who did that for you?
Wow!! What a concept, laughter not lecture. This sounds like what I’ve wanted for my household, all of my children’s life( I have 3 boys 23, 19, & 14), but they have had mostly lecture & not much laughter. This makes a heart weary! I would enjoy having this book to spark ideas on how to do this, I will someday have grandkids and I still have my kids around. Thank you for writing this book, there is great joy in blessing others! Be blessed!
I remember going through my divorce and it was devastating. Everything seemed all gloomy and I was at a very low point. My son and I were going to dinner with my sister in law (yes, my exes sister, we are really close even today) and he kept mumbling something, we kept asking what it could be. Your hand hurts? You need some kisses? Finally feeling very exasperated with us he yells: “An elephant stepped on my hand and a monkey licked it!” Les and I couldn’t help but laugh, where he got that idea is still beyond me, but it was what I needed. Of course a few days later he stated that said elephant had been in his room and messed it up….Oh just thinking about those times and the imagination and creativity makes me laugh and smile. Thanks for encouraging me to go down memory lane!
Oh how I want this book!!! I am a firm believer in laughter and would love to see how to use it more often:)
In my house growing up I don’t ever remember any laughter. My husband and I have 2 little boys and we laugh uncontrollably frequently. There is something so precious about the sound of little boy laughter. Thanks for the post.
I’d love to win this for my daughter who has 2 wonderful little boys!
Laughter reigns in our home, as this last year was tough with a cancer diagnosis. I would love to win this book! God is Good…All the time ….
And Joy comes in the morning!
There was a man standing on a corner of a nearby town when I went to do some shopping one day last year holding a sign that talked about his family of 5 in need. I went to the store and bought him several bags of snack items and food for meals. It felt really good to be able to drive over to the nearby parking lot, get out and carry the bags over to him. People question if some people like that are really in need, but I think God doesn’t really want us to question their motives. We’re just supposed to help in some small way and he gets to judge their motives or honesty. Anyway, you feel good when you can help and it makes you want to do more.
Where has the laughter gone? With both parents working full time out of the home, and busy school/extra curricular schedules, it feels like we don’t take the time to laugh anymore; everything focuses around getting things done, and getting them done now, as we have so little time together as a family in the evenings. Laughter would be a welcome addition to our lives.
I so need this book. With family heath issues, teenager issues and normal family stress laughter is alluding us lately. NEED SOME GIGGLES! :-)
Our four year old son says some of the funniest things and the rest of the family all laugh at and with him. However, at times our home is lacking laughter. I would love to read this book to help me incorporate more laughter in our very busy lives.
I think sometimes life just happens, schedules fill up, and when we’re not looking our kids grow up. Bringing childhood and laughter back is something I’m trying work on in my family. I love listening to my girls giggling and having fun together in between the busyness of doing schoolwork, cleaning their rooms, and going to sports practice. I look forward to reading this book and starting something new!
I don’t have a story about giggles in our house. I think that’s why i would love this book. There are lectures and not giggles, truly. It’s sad but true. I need to know how to incorporate more giggles in my home for both me and my husband.
I would love to share this with my daughter-in-law. Working and being task oriented with a little boy and a new baby girl – it can be easy to loose the giggles just trying to keep your head above water those first few years as a new mom.
Your timing for this post is perfect! My husband and I just discussed our need to lighten up, laugh more and let the girls express their silliness more. Our girls are ages 7 & 8 and are oozing sillies. Would love a copy of Courtney’s book to inspire us!
I’d like our family to have more of a capacity for fun. We’ve been walking a cancer recovery road for several months and I’m just too tired to even smile most days, but I treasure the times when my two little girls let their inherent silliness break through. I also treasure the kindness our church family has shown us since my diagnosis. It would be great to win the book and learn how to giggle as a family again.
Right now my son is 2 1/2. There is a lot of laughter in our home all the time. I don’t remember a lot of that laughter growing up and I want that for my son. I would love to get this book so that I can begin a legacy of laughter with my family.
There wasn’t a whole lot of laughter in my house growing up, nor in my husbands. When I started our own family our lives probably mirrored much of what we knew growing up. Somehow as the kids got older laughter, jokes and silliness have found their way into our lives. It’s fun to watch my almost 10 year old embrass this humor he has. He pulls some of the most humourous sayings out of a hat at the most opportune time. Looking back I wish I had written more of them down to recall. I’m looking forward to reading the book.
One night my 4 year old came into the living room well past his bedtime. He sat in front of me telling me all the reasons he needed to be out of bed when I noticed white stuff all over his hair (it was the popcorn from the ceiling). He and his brother had just gotten bunk beds and he was NOT supposed to be on the top bunk :) I told him I knew that he had been in his brothers bed (trying desperately to stifle my laugh) and the look of surprise was priceless…it looked like he really thought I had eyes in the back of my head.
That was far too long ago! Life has gotten in the way and we don’t laugh enough in our home anymore. This would be a blessed gift. Thanks for the chance.