Life in Lape Haven

Category - Faith

How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More

June 28, 2017
4 Comments
Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

Last week our family went on a little getaway, the first with all three of our boys. Since we weren’t sure how well 6-month-old Isaiah would travel (he won’t take a bottle or pacifier at all, which has been fun), we knew we might have to make more frequent stops. That’s why we decided to vacation a little closer to home, picking an area within a 5- to 6-hour drive from us. We also decided to go for only 4 days.

In preparation for this grand adventure, I made an extensive packing list, stocked up on car-friendly snacks, printed out some drive-time scavenger hunt sheets and other traveling activities for kids, and created an on-my-visor behavior clip chart to help our older two boys stay on track.

(You can read more about how that worked and get additional tips and tricks for traveling with kids from me and other moms in this post on The Merry Momma.)

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

The on-visor behavior clip chart…on a string.

The night before our road trip started, Brad was praying with our boys at bedtime. Toward the end of the prayer, he asked that God would use our trip to bless not only us but others.

And God gave me an idea immediately of a very easy way to accomplish that and make our family vacation about more than just us.

The morning of our trip, we loaded the car, got the boys settled, and I hung the clip chart string on my visor. Then I put 3 large wire clothespins on the left corner of my visor. Even Brad looked at me in confusion.

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

“What are those for?” Elijah asked.

So I explained.

“These three clips are for the three big days of our vacation. Last night Daddy prayed that our trip would bless others, right? Well, each day our family will do a random act of kindness or find someone we can help. When we’ve completed our task for the day, we’ll take a clip down. Until we do, though, these clips will remind us to be on the lookout for ways to be kind, encouraging, or helpful to other people.”

My boys, especially Elijah, were excited about the plan, and they began coming up with ways we could bless someone.

Over the next few days, amid the excitement of hotel stays, daily adventures, and eating out, I was surprised by how often my boys (or my husband or I) would mention an idea for a random act of kindness. Their suggestions weren’t always feasible, but at least I knew they were busy thinking of others.

So what DID we do?

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

Enjoying our treats at Dairy Queen (note my surprised look as Isaiah tried to steal my shake)

Our first fun act of kindness was passing out ice cream bars to a group of construction workers staying at our hotel. They had been sitting outside when we took the boys out to the pool early in the evening, and they were still there later when we were headed out to get a treat at the nearby Dairy Queen. Before we left the restaurant, we grabbed a pack of ice cream bars, just in case they were still outside when we returned.

When they questioned us about the gift, we just told them that we wanted to do something nice for others as a family and show God’s love. I’m not sure who enjoyed the surprise more – our boys, who were very excited to share, or the men and ladies who were delighted with not only the ice cream, but seeing our boys’ excitement to share with them.

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

Dinner at the diner.

We earned our next day’s clip in a more subtle way. Since much of our day had been spent exploring a state park (and on a weekday), we didn’t interact with many other people until we went to dinner. Throughout our meal, I noticed that our waitress seemed a bit stressed, and while our boys weren’t behaving badly, they were energetic enough to add a little more chaos to the atmosphere.

We didn’t try to initiate much of a conversation with her or find out how her day had been going because, honestly, when you’re wrangling three little boys during mealtime, it’s much kinder sometimes to focus on keeping your children’s mess and noise to a minimum and just let people work. But I knew that she should be on the receiving end of a little kindness before we left. Even though I didn’t mention my observations to Brad, halfway through the meal, he quietly suggested to me that we leave her a substantial tip (far more than just 20%) as our kindness for the day. So we made sure to express our appreciation for her attentiveness and excellent service both verbally and monetarily.

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

Family selfie, blocking most of the view of the beautiful mountains behind us.

Our third clip…well, we actually didn’t get to do anything for our last clip, which really bothered our boys. The last day of our trip was spent mostly traveling home, and we didn’t even go through a drive-through, so the easy idea of paying for the person behind us couldn’t even be used. When we did stop for dinner, there weren’t any other people in the restaurant until we were leaving.

However, I don’t feel as though it was a failure because, again, my boys were looking hard for opportunities to help others (whenever we were around other people. Haha). And I know that the two clips that we used were definitely ones that God directed us to do.

Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

So despite only accomplishing two out of the three things, getting my boys to think of others often during our family vacation and knowing that we were obedient in doing what God asked us to when the opportunities were there, to me means that we were successful in making our vacation about much more than ourselves.

And those three clips will be staying in the car so that we can continually be reminded to think of others and look for ways to be kind, helpful, and encouraging every day.

(Next vacation I plan to be much better prepared to continue this tradition, so check out the links and resources below that I’ve found with ideas we can use.)

Random Acts of Kindness

101 of the Best Random Acts of Kindness Ideas 

30 Random Acts of Kindness to Do with Your Kids 

Super Easy Act of Kindness for Kids (We are TOTALLY doing this soon!)

67 Awesome Random Acts of Kindness for Kids

HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY SPREAD KINDNESS?

 

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YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

How We Changed Our Family Atmosphere with One Question

Simple Ways to Spark Joy in Your Children

10 Ways to Help Your Kids Make Christmas More About Others

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God’s Great Commission

 

Feature picture background courtesy of Pixabay. 

Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn’t Quite Follow My Birth Plan

February 27, 2017
8 Comments
Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

Looking at our sweet little boy as he sleeps beside me on the couch, it’s hard to believe that he is already two months old. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t really introduced him to you yet.  It’s hard to believe that I have sat down to write his birth story at least once a week for the last nine weeks, and either life interrupts my writing (newborns can be demanding) or the words just don’t seem to come. It’s also hard to believe that that’s been okay with me.

Very few things have gone exactly according to plan since Isaiah’s arrival, such as having a stomach virus hit our home the day after coming home from the hospital with our newborn. It was the kind of virus that lingered and caused us to be quarantined over the holidays and miss out on introducing Isaiah to our family and friends. In fact, for some reason or another (mostly sickness), most of our immediate family members didn’t even meet him until he was about a month old. We also didn’t get to do his newborn pictures until he was about six weeks old instead of six days old.

With all of that and other things, adjusting to life with three boys has been…well, an adjustment to say the least.

However, through these last two months, God has been teaching me to let go of my plans (sometimes my control) and trust Him a little bit more. And He started my lessons off with a bang on the day before Isaiah was born.

THE BEST LAID BIRTH PLANS

Just over ten weeks ago, I was lying in a hospital bed with monitors strapped to my 39-week pregnant belly. As I listened to the sounds of my baby’s heartbeat and movements over the fetal monitor, I was waiting for labor to start. Praying for labor to start.

Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

Picture courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography.

That day hadn’t gone according to plan, at least not MY plans. In fact, if my week had gone as I’d liked it to, I would have already had our little boy the day before, on Monday, and I wouldn’t even have had to go to my doctor’s appointment that Tuesday afternoon.

But our son had been content to stay put, and I’d gone to bed with a migraine Monday night (the second in three days). I made a quick – unplanned – visit to the chiropractor Tuesday morning (in case my headaches were just from my neck being out of alignment and also to be ready for when our little guy decided to come, which I knew was soon). Then I drove an hour – in the snowiest conditions so far this winter – to my OB for my weekly appointment.

At 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant, I was in new territory. Both of our older boys had been born at exactly 39 weeks, coming naturally, on their own. The goal for this little one was as near to 39 weeks as possible, too, since I am “over 35” and the risks of going all the way to, or over, 40 weeks are higher for mothers “my age.”

As I pulled into the parking lot at my doctor’s office, I was nervous. At my previous week’s appointment, she’d had me get an unscheduled ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels. I knew she was concerned that I had measured smaller, even though everything had been okay. I also knew that I’d have to tell my doctor about the headaches I’d had over the last week. (I was really hoping that my trip to the chiropractor that morning had solved that problem, and my doctor wouldn’t be concerned.)

Since I was over 39 weeks pregnant, my doctor would be watching me closely. I didn’t want to be induced if I could help it. I knew my doctor would only suggest if there was a legitimate, serious reason.

But still, I purposely didn’t bring my hospital bag with me. Because, you know, she couldn’t send me to the hospital if I didn’t have my stuff.

Clearly, I was already suspicious that things might not be as “okay” as I wanted them to be.

I was only a minute or so into my appointment when those suspicions got a little confirmation. As she was taking my blood pressure, I heard the nurse say, “Hmmm,” over the results. For the first time ever, my blood pressure was high.

My doctor soon came in and double checked it. It was still high. So after she measured my belly and checked to see if I was dilated or effaced at all (only slightly), she was ready to talk.

And I knew what was coming. With this being my third pregnancy, I knew that high blood pressure, unusual headaches, and my age were going to be issues. But then she informed me that I was measuring smaller than the previous week and had had protein in my urine. Since all of those are symptoms of pre-eclampsia, my doctor simply said, “It’s time.”

She wanted me to go immediately to labor and delivery to be checked and stay…to be induced.

I just wanted to cry.

This was NOT how I wanted things to go. I wanted my labor to be as textbook as my previous two (which were un-medicated, “natural” deliveries), only maybe a bit quicker and even easier. THAT was how I’d planned it.

Instead, I was going home to get my bags (my doctor was adamant that I just get my stuff & go to the hospital as soon as possible).

Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

Picture courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography.

TRUSTING THE PLANNER

Frustration, fear, and pregnancy hormones had me fighting tears as I sent a text message to my husband at work and then called my mom. As I drove home, I worked out a new plan – one for getting my boys from two different places to my parents’ house, as well as coordinating with my husband and mom how we were all getting to the hospital.

And I prayed through tears.

I hated facing this sudden sense of urgency. I was frustrated that my body was betraying me like this. I was frightened by the worst case scenarios and the overall unknown that I was heading into. I didn’t want to face the wait, difficulties, and complications that can come with inductions, such as stronger contractions or even a C-section (with two older boys to keep up with, I knew my recovery time needed to be as easy and quick as possible).

I had to trust that God was in control, and not just for me, but for my little guy, as well. I believed that He was, and that He had His own (BETTER) plan, but I needed to REST in it rather than fight against it, demanding we go by the plan that I thought was best. Right then, that was hard.

Brad got home about the time I was ready to leave. We picked up Elijah from school, dropped him and our dog at my parents’ (Josiah was already there, thanks to my mom), and we headed to the hospital.

While Brad drove, I sent messages to different people whom I knew would pray – family, ladies in our church, close friends, and the women of my blogging group. Their replies of encouragement and faith started almost immediately and continued throughout the night.

Many mom friends offered positive notes from their own induction experiences, which helped immensely, while others spoke peace into the chaos of my heart by reminding me that God wasn’t surprised by the situation. Having that community of women that I could trust and rely on to cover me in prayer and support was amazingly comforting.

From the very first reply, my spirit began to settle, and God’s peace slowly took over, soothing my nerves and fears and calling me to simply trust Him.

So soon I was in a hospital bed, monitors strapped to my belly, no longer fearful but now resolute and ready for this baby to come.

Since my doctor knew that I wanted as little intervention as possible in my labor and delivery, she gave me a dose of Cervidil around 7 p.m. to start my induction. (It’s a medicine that’s left near the cervix to soften it. It stays there for 12 hours). There is a long line of things that doctors can do to help labor along, but she and I were hopeful that this was the only one I would need.

Now all we had to do was wait for it to work.

All evening and into the night, Brad, my mom, and I waited. With the sounds of the fetal monitors in the background, we chatted, watched TV, replied to lots of messages for updates, and tried to sleep (like THAT is possible in a hospital).

I just kept praying that the medicine would work and labor would start. While this wasn’t how I wanted my delivery to start out, I knew that I was doing what was best for my little guy and me.

Finally, about 4 a.m., I noticed some contractions and within another half-hour I was unable to sleep through them. By 5:30 a.m., I was tracking contractions that I knew meant I wasn’t going to need further interventions. (Praise God!  At least part of my plan happened!)

With those first good contractions, my focus went from all the waiting and dealing with being induced to “let’s get this baby out so I can meet him.” It didn’t matter how my plan was SUPPOSED to have gone – it hadn’t mattered much since I got to the hospital. All that mattered was that I was going be holding my little guy for the first time very soon.

Even though the nurses wouldn’t check my dilation until 12 hours after I received the dose of Cervidil, which would be around 7 a.m., they did set up the birthing ball for me to use. While my mom, Brad, and now his sister Kristin, who was there as our birth photographer, talked on the other side of the room, I swayed and bounced through increasingly intense contractions until 7:30 a.m.

By then, I was at 5cm and progressing rapidly, so much so that about 9 a.m. my water broke on its own, and I was feeling very done with being in labor!

A call to the nurse got me onto the bed and checked again (8cm). I labored there with the help of a peanut ball, my hubby, and my mom for about 4 or 5 more contractions (so NOT fun). Then I was more than ready to push.

At 9:43 a.m. Isaiah Joel made his debut. He was a tiny little guy at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and 20” long.

With his little body nestled on my chest, I thanked God for such a precious gift. And I thanked Him for this experience. While I always knew that it didn’t matter how a baby was born, I finally had something more to base it on. The feeling of overwhelming joy and awe was exactly the same as it was when I first held my other two boys, even though I needed a little kick start to get to the moment this time.

THE BETTER PLAN

Later in the day, Brad and I would compare notes on how much better God’s plan was than mine.

For one, from what my doctor said when she checked me at her office, it is very likely that I would have gone into labor on my own within a day or so had we not had the pre-eclampsia worry there. (By the way, I tested negative for pre-eclampsia, but they did have to keep a watch on my blood pressure throughout my hospital stay.) Anyway, our weather was being properly wintery that week, that day especially, with the night of my induction having wind chills below zero and icy road conditions. Had I gone into labor that night, we would have had to deal with that not only on our way to the hospital, but also with dropping our boys off with their grandparents.

Also, with as quickly as my labor progressed, had we waited until my contractions were about 5 minutes apart to go to the hospital, we could have been cutting it close to get everyone and everything out the door, drop off the boys, and get to the hospital (in the nasty weather) before Isaiah arrived.

Not only was it cold, but there was also a full moon that night. The maternity ward at the hospital was crazy busy, so much so that we didn’t get to our postpartum room until late afternoon, even though Isaiah was born in the morning. With being induced, though, I was already in my spot in the labor and delivery side when it came time to deliver. 🙂

The timing also worked out well for our boys and Brad’s parents, with whom the boys were staying. Thanks to the yucky weather, Elijah had snow delays for two of the three days we were in the hospital, which meant he didn’t have to be at school nearly as early as normal. That definitely made for easier mornings for them, as well as more time together.

And of course, there’s that whole giving me a chance to trust God thing. Had my labor and delivery gone according to my plan, I might have relied more on my previous experiences and knowledge to get through it rather than finding my strength in God. Often times, having “been there and done that,” we think we can do things at least a little bit on our own.

So even though my birth plan went a little off script, it was exactly as it was supposed to be. Because of that, Isaiah’s birth story will always be a reminder to me that trusting God over ourselves brings us the peace we need in any situation, even when things happen differently than we want them to. God always has our best in His plan.

Our sweet little Isaiah is definitely one of the best of the bests that He has given to us. 
Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

Picture courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography.

 

Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

Our first family picture

Welcoming Isaiah: A Birth Story That Didn't Quite Follow My Birth Plan. Life in Lape Haven. I thought I was ready for the birth of our third child until things didn't go quite as planned. Thankfully, God is always in control, and His plans are even better than our own.

 

Birth photography pictures courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography.


 

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4 Things That Helped Me Through 2 Unmedicated, Natural Deliveries

We Prayed, He Answered

5 Tips & Tricks I’ve Learned with  My 3rd Baby that I Wish I’d Known with My 1st

10 Items that Helped Us Adjust to Life with a New Baby

Having a Second Child: The Amazing Multiplication of Love

 

A Review of Roseanna White’s GIVER OF WONDERS

December 3, 2016
2 Comments
Life in Lape Haven: A Review of Roseanna White's Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began. Based on the tales of the real, historical St. Nicholas, Roseanna White weaves a story of faith, love, and self-sacrifice into a Christmas novel for all year long.

A few years ago, our family started observing St. Nicholas Day (December 6) as part of our yearly Christmas traditions because it gave us a chance to spotlight the more factual history of the man who used his life and resources to serve God and bless others.

So, when Roseanna M. White announced that she was working on a new fictional book based on the real St. Nicholas (the historical beginnings of Santa Claus), I was eager to be one of the first in line to read Giver of Wonders when it finally released last month.

*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you use the link.*

Before I get into my thoughts on the story, here is the back-cover synopsis of Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began for you, just to whet your appetite:

Life in Lape Haven: A Review of Roseanna White's Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began. Based on the tales of the real, historical St. Nicholas, Roseanna White weaves a story of faith, love, and self-sacrifice into a Christmas novel for all year long.

A miracle once saved her life – will another give her a future?

Cyprus was little more than a child when a fall left her paralyzed…and when the boy known as the wonder-worker healed her. Ever since, she has wondered why the Lord spared her, what He has in store for her. But her pagan father thinks she was spared solely so she could be introduced to the wealthy wonder-worker, Nikolaos.

Nikolaos has never questioned that his call in life is to dedicate himself to the church and to God. Never, that is, until he and his cousin Petros meet the compelling Cyprus Visibullis. For years he struggles with the feelings she inspires…and with the sure knowledge that Petros loves her, too.

Petros knows he will never be good enough for Cyprus’s father to consider him as a match for his favorite daughter–not as long as Nikolaos is there. But when tragedy strikes the Visibullis family, he will do anything to save his beloved. Unfortunately, his beloved is determined to do anything to save her sisters–even at the cost of herself.

As the festival of lights bathes their Greek city in beauty, Cyprus, Petros, and Nikolaos celebrate the miracle of their Savior’s birth together one last time. And in remembrance of their Lord’s greatest gift, one of them will make the ultimate sacrifice for the others…and a centuries-long tradition will be born.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

That’s because it IS!

As I say basically every time I read one of Roseanna’s books, she doesn’t disappoint. And pretty much every time I read a new story by her, it becomes my “new” favorite. 🙂

But when you combine my favorite holiday with great storytelling and a call to genuinely live out your faith with simple obedience, it becomes something truly special.

In Giver of Wonders, the story of Cyprus, Petros, and Nikolaos is a retelling of one of the St. Nicholas tales I’ve heard, but Roseanna makes it real. Their struggles to know and fulfill God’s purpose in their lives despite tragedy, family opposition, and self-doubt are not just points in a Christmas legend, but relatable, heart-stirring, and thought-provoking moments for the reader, challenging us to trust and believe God through anything.

And while I was caught up in the story and the romance and the frustrations of the characters, I loved how Roseanna reminds us that the struggles in our faith and for our faith are vital.

As Nikolaos says at one point, “When faith is easy, it loses its potency.”

But Roseanna also constantly brings us back to the amazing possibilities of a life lived full of faith and trust in God, and she sums it up beautifully in what is probably my favorite line in the entire book. It’s on the very last page:

Life in Lape Haven: A Review of Roseanna White's Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began. Based on the tales of the real, historical St. Nicholas, Roseanna White weaves a story of faith, love, and self-sacrifice into a Christmas novel for all year long.

Giver of Wonders is a Christmas story that I will be re-reading all year long.

Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began is now available at any of your favorite booksellers. Or you can download it on your Kindle or Kindle app to begin reading it RIGHT AWAY! 🙂

Thank you, Roseanna White and WhiteFire Publishing for another WONDERful book 🙂 and the chance to be an advanced reader! While I received a digital copy of Giver of Wonders in exchange for my honest opinion, you know that my endorsement of the book is based solely on how much I absolutely loved it. 

More about Roseanna White Life in Lape Haven: A Review of Roseanna White's Giver of Wonders: How a Christmas Tradition Began. Based on the tales of the real, historical St. Nicholas, Roseanna White weaves a story of faith, love, and self-sacrifice into a Christmas novel for all year long.

Here is a little more about Roseanna with links to her website and blog. You can also follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.

Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two small children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of 13 historical novels and novellas, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to make their way into her novels…to offset her real life, which is blessedly boring.  She makes her home in the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com  and at Writing Roseanna.

 

Tried It Tuesday: DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign

November 22, 2016
2 Comments
Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday: DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign. One of the projects I wanted to complete for decorating our boys' new combined room was this DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign featuring a scripture that fits their "adventure" theme. Here's how I made this wall art at home.

Earlier this school year, right about the time we were making plans to move Josiah out of the nursery and into Elijah’s room, I got a text from Elijah’s teacher about his school work for the day. She was very excited about something he had written on one of his papers.

While she had attempted to send me a picture of it, it never came through, so it wasn’t until later in the afternoon, once Elijah got home, that I saw what had made her day and what she’d tried to let me know about.

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday: DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign. One of the projects I wanted to complete for decorating our boys' new combined room was this DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign featuring a scripture that fits their "adventure" theme. Here's how I made this wall art at home.

Each day the students have to use their “Sight Word of the Day” in a sentence on their daily review sheet. That day’s word was “as.” Elijah’s sentence was: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t even know that Elijah really knew that verse. I’m sure he’s heard it before, but I didn’t know he’d memorized it. However, I knew immediately where he’d most likely seen it most often: on the wooden sign in our living room over our pocket doors.

When I asked him, he just smiled and nodded.

While I want our boys to be encouraged and know the priority that we place on God’s Word in our lives, I hadn’t really thought about whether or not our boys were really noticing or remembering the scriptures or sayings they see hanging on the walls throughout our home. His schoolwork was a nice little reminder of how much our children notice the things around them every day and how important it is that some of those things speak to their spiritual growth.

With that in mind, I was determined to make sure that as we made “Elijah’s Room” into the “Big Boys’ Room,” that the first big project I completed was a wooden plank sign I’d already saved on Pinterest. It featured a scripture that fit perfectly with the “adventure” theme for their new combined room. It is a verse that will encourage them in their walk with God and His calling on their lives:

“Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith. Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!” – 1 Corinthians 16:13

Unfortunately pregnancy and life in general pushed this wooden sign project to the back burner for a bit, so I didn’t get to do it as soon as I’d originally hoped.

But over the past couple of weeks or so, I managed to work on it a little at a time, and TAH-DAH! It’s finally done and ready to hang up! (I knew I needed to get it done before Baby #3’s arrival, or it would have to wait even longer.)

So, how did I do it?

Well, it was easy…and it wasn’t. 🙂 Or rather, it was easy, but it was a bit more time-consuming than I’d expected because I had to change my approach a little after I started the project. However, I am still really happy with the results.

SUPPLIES:

Blank Wooden Sign (I got mine from Hobby Lobby with their weekly 40% off coupon)

Print Out of the Verse

Scissors

Tape

Ink Pen

Acrylic Craft Paint (I actually used some from my parents, so that saved money)

Paintbrush

Small plate or container for paint

Sealant (Rust-oleum Matte Clear Ultra Cover)

Hand sanitizer

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. PLAN – The first thing I did was type out the verse on my computer in different fonts and laid it out close to what I wanted it to look like on the board.

2. LAYOUT – Then it was a little bit of trial and error to find the right size that I needed it to be when I printed it out. I would print out the first couple of lines, cut out the words, and arrange them on the board. At first some lines were too big – too long for the board or too tall – so I had to play around with the font sizes and arrangement until everything fit neatly on the wooden sign.

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday: DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign. One of the projects I wanted to complete for decorating our boys' new combined room was this DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign featuring a scripture that fits their "adventure" theme. Here's how I made this wall art at home.

3. TAPE – Once I had the layout as I wanted it, I taped each section to the board so the words wouldn’t move around.

4. TRACE – Using an ink pen, I traced over each letter, FIRMLY, leaving an indent of the word in the wood underneath. This took a little bit of time, especially since I chose a long verse and fonts that were more ornamental. I worked on tracing the words over a few different days, as I could find time to do it. (I made sure to peek at the “tracing” I was leaving on the wood. I didn’t want to be missing a section when I removed the print out)

5. PAINT – With all the words traced onto the wood, I was ready to paint. My original plan was to use a paint marker, which would have saved a lot of time. However, those require a much smoother surface than the wood provided, and the tip was way too wide for fine detail. It just didn’t work. So, I went with a paintbrush and some acrylic craft paint. (Thanks, Mom!)

Starting at the top, I peeled back the first section of words, but left it taped on the far side, just in case I needed to retrace a letter or something. Then, using a very fine-tipped paintbrush, I first traced the outline of the letter, then filled it in. Some parts of the wood were really easy to paint on, but other areas were rougher or had little divots or more obvious grain to them. But that’s part of working with actual wood. A smoother plank or surface would have made the painting easier, but I really wanted that rustic look of real wood.

Once I got a section painted, I removed the print out completely. Then I went on to the next section. The painting takes time and not having little boys bumping into the table constantly, so I could only work on it off and on. But a little here and a little there, and I managed to finish it all. 🙂

*FIXING MISTAKES – As I went along, a few slips of the paintbrush were inevitable, especially when the boys were running around in the kitchen as I worked on the sign at our table. However, thanks to all my work with various stains on the laundry, I knew that rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer both work to get most paints out of things. So I kept a small bottle of hand sanitizer right by my paint. If a letter got uneven or I dropped my brush on the wood (it happened more than once), I used another paint brush with a little hand sanitizer on it to dissolve the mistake, carefully wiping it away with a paper towel.

6. SEAL IT – After the whole verse was painted on, and I was happy with it, I covered the whole sign with a matte clear sealing spray to protect all my work (spraying it outside, of course). I’m not sure that it’s entirely necessary, but since it’s going into the boys’ room, it can’t hurt to have a little extra protection against damage. 🙂

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday: DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign. One of the projects I wanted to complete for decorating our boys' new combined room was this DIY Hand-Lettered Wooden Sign featuring a scripture that fits their "adventure" theme. Here's how I made this wall art at home.

Is my wooden plank sign perfect? No. But it really wasn’t meant to be. It was hand-lettered, so imperfections are to be expected.

Will I be making more scripture or word art signs for our home? Probably. But not until after Baby #3 is here and a bit older (leaning over a baby bump as I traced and painted did NOT make the project easier). And next time, I think I’ll choose a shorter phrase and larger fonts. Haha.

Overall, this was a fun project, and I’m proud of it. Our boys were ecstatic when they saw the finished sign, and they can’t wait for it to be hung on their wall. Hopefully, the message on the wooden sign will find its way into their little warrior hearts and stay with them throughout all the adventures God has ahead of them.

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3 Things I Know About Becoming a Mother

September 21, 2016
5 Comments
Life in Lape Haven: 3 Things I Know about Becoming a Mother. With all the parents-wanting-to-be swooning over my baby belly lately, I find that there are a few things I want them to know about what it means to become a mommy or a daddy.

Counting from when I first became pregnant with Elijah, I’ve been a mother for over seven years. Looking back at the starry-eyed mommy-wanting-to-be that I was when we were first preparing to start our family, I don’t think I realized how much I would change or all that I would learn once I became a mother.

I’ve been reminded of my own eager mommy naiveté lately, as young female friends, family, and even strangers swoon over my baby belly with their own hopes and dreams of becoming mommies someday. I find myself smiling at their innocence with a “you have no idea” knowing that only comes from experience. I remember well that “Oh, babies are so precious,” and “children are so fun” mindset that painted motherhood and parenting as idealistically as a newborn diaper commercial. Not that babies and children aren’t precious and fun, but parenting isn’t all sweet things and blissful days and nights.

So from my seven years of mothering, here are three things I know about what it means to become a mother. (And most of this applies to becoming a daddy, too, but since I’m a mom, that’s where I write from.)

#1. YOU WILL CHANGE FROM HEAD TO TOE, INSIDE AND OUT

From the moment those two little pink lines show up on the pregnancy test (and even before then), you begin changing, and you’ll never be the same again. Everyone realizes that a pregnant woman’s body changes in multiple ways, and despite our current culture’s pressure for moms to just snap right back to their pre-baby selves, it really isn’t realistic (or fair or necessary). Sure you can lose the extra weight, especially when you breastfeed, and you can exercise and tone up, but it will, and should, take some time. Plus there will still be areas of your body that are changed forever, even if others never see the evidence.

And the physical changes are actually the least drastic of them all.

Yes, mommies-wanting-to-be, there are more dramatic adjustments once you have a child than stretchmarks and maybe a belly pooch.

Motherhood changes EVERYTHING – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, socially, and financially.

Life in Lape Haven: 3 Things I Know about Becoming a Mother. With all the parents-wanting-to-be swooning over my baby belly lately, I find that there are a few things I want them to know about what it means to become a mommy or a daddy.

Think you’ve loved someone before? It won’t compare to when you hold that baby for the first time (or even feel his first kicks in your belly). Ever been frustrated? Try going up against a strong-willed toddler in the epic parenting face-offs known at “potty training” or “naptime.” Been proud of someone? Just wait until your mini-me digs deep and determinedly learns to tie her shoes or ride a bike or starts to read or shows compassion and generosity toward others.

And before you have children, let’s face it – You pretty much think about yourself and what you need. Yes, marriage is good at teaching you to put someone else first, and hopefully you consider your spouse’s needs and sacrifice for them. However, from your first seconds of parenthood (and on for basically the rest of your life), so many decisions and choices will be run through the filter of “how will this affect my child?” Don’t believe me? Everything you do when you’re pregnant will prove it – what you eat, how you care for yourself, and what you do. Once that little bundle of joy arrives, you’ll plan your days around their naps or feedings or both (maybe not precisely, but at least roughly), you’ll make grocery lists based on what your preschooler will actually eat this week, and you’ll pick where you live with consideration of the schools in the area.

Every major decision you make will also be even more a matter of prayer. Seriously, I don’t know that any area of your life will be as affected by parenting as your spiritual walk. You’ve only THOUGHT you needed wisdom before. Raising children will take you to your knees like nothing else. Patience, discernment, direction, peace – yep, you’ll need everything God can give. And trusting God hits a whole new level when you place your child in His hands.

While most people know that having children will affect you financially – they do have to eat and be clothed, after all – I’m not sure how many nonparents realize how different your social life will become once Junior is in the picture. Even beyond going out often and easily (either you are taking your children – that’s a whole new ballgame – or you’re arranging for a babysitter), unless all your friends have children or really love kids, there are going to be some that just don’t get your new situation in life. You most likely won’t have as much time or even interest in things you used to do often, and they probably won’t have the same excitement you have over your child’s latest milestones or in seeing all 557 pictures you took of your little one that morning at the park. You will be at different places in your life, and that’s okay. God has His own unique plan for each of us and our families. So be prepared to give them some grace, and do your best to keep in touch, even if you don’t spend as much time together as you used to.

 

#2. YOU WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH

I know. I KNOW. This isn’t what any of us want to hear. We want to think that we can rock this parenting thing if we just try hard enough, get super organized, stop comparing ourselves to other moms, embrace our own strengths, and so on. In fact, it’s kind of a thing among the mother and women’s community at large right now to loudly and repeatedly tell you that “You are enough!” There are blogs, t-shirts, memes, coffee mugs, and who knows what all else to remind you of your wonderful capabilities and awesome mom potential.

However, all of those well-meaning cheerleaders are setting you up for frustration, disappointment, and no end of discouragement because it’s simply not true.

You, in and of yourself, are not, and will never be, enough for your children. No amount of effort on your part is going to change that.

I’m not sure why we would want to fight so hard to prove we can do it by ourselves. Parenting is HARD, like, REALLY HARD.

I know I’m not the only mother who has those days when I can’t wait for my husband to get home- not because I’ve missed him or have something important to tell him, but simply because I NEED HIS HELP. I need a break from our boys, from their demands for my attention, from their fighting, from the constant giving and caring I’ve been doing since I woke up that morning. Tagging out when Brad is ready to take over can be such a relief.

In those moments, if I believed I was supposed to be enough for them, I would feel like such a complete failure.

Thankfully, I KNOW that I’m not. And I know that Brad’s not enough as their dad. Even together, amazing parents that we are :), we aren’t enough for our precious boys.

And we’re glad about that.

Why?

Because we know that God did not design parenting (or much else in life) to be something you could do independent of Him. It’s something you can only do well WHEN you rely on Him.

Life in Lape Haven: 3 Things I Know about Becoming a Mother. With all the parents-wanting-to-be swooning over my baby belly lately, I find that there are a few things I want them to know about what it means to become a mommy or a daddy.

We are never enough, but He is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH. We will make mistakes and fail, but He is perfect and always faithful.

2 Corinthians 3:9 reminds us that His “’grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Yes, I “can do all things,” but it’s only “through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Being able to seek God’s guidance, strength, PATIENCE, wisdom, and power instead of relying on my own (very weak) human strength, allows me to be the mom that God called me to be to my children.

God planned for me to be their mother, and God has gifted me with talents and abilities that I can use in that calling, but I can’t do it without Him.

And my kids need to know that, too. I’m not my children’s source. It’s not my job to be their source of joy or of peace, of safety or of health, of goodness or of salvation. They need to rely on God as much as I do. But if I’m trying to be “enough” for them on my own, how will they realize their need for Him?

 

#3. YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO GO BACK

Parenting is hard, and it changes everything for you, but I can promise you that even despite that, you will NEVER want to go back to life before your children.

Not seriously, anyway.

There may be days that you reminisce about how easy and carefree life was when two or three kids weren’t fighting in the background, or how awesome it was to get a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep once upon a time. But honestly, in your heart of hearts, you will never, ever want to go back to not being a parent.

And perhaps this is the part that longing-to-be-mommies and – daddies see in us that makes them swoon and sigh over our sweet new little ones, our precocious preschoolers, or our growing grade-schoolers. They see that overwhelming, straight-from-heaven love that softens the difficult days and cements the really great ones into our memories forever. They hear the pride and joy in our voices (or read it in our social media posts) when our kids do something adorable or impressive. They may not have faced the struggles of parenting yet, but they see the rewards in our relationship with our children, these amazing, inspiring, precious gifts from God.

When those young, naïve parents-wanting-to-be start talking about how awesome it will be to a mom or dad someday, I find myself smiling at their innocence with a “you have no idea” knowing that only comes from very cherished experience. 🙂


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My First Blogiversary

August 6, 2016
2 Comments
Life in Lape Haven: My First Blogiversary: Thoughts of My 1st Year of Blogging. As I celebrate the first anniversary of my blog, I'm sharing how much this unexpected path has blessed me.

Last year on August 7, I hit “Publish” on what would be my first official post of my blog. While I had been adding content for a few weeks, it was the first day that my blog would actually “go live,” the day that I would share it on Facebook and other social media, and the day that I officially became a blogger.

I remember my hands were actually shaking for a while after I hit that button and shared the post. My boys and I watched the “Real Time” stats on my WordPress Dashboard, so we could see how many people were clicking on the link and checking out my site. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

As I shared in my initial post, I never wanted to write a blog. Be an author, sure. Blogger, not so much. But as I look back over the past year, I’m glad that I stepped out and followed God’s leading. If nothing else, it’s been a test of faith and obedience.

But of course, God’s plans are always bigger than ours, so this blog has proven to be a blessing in many more ways than I expected.

First of all, it has given this stay-at-home mom a creative outlet, and a confirmation that God’s purpose never lets any of our talents or gifts go to waste when we trust Him with them. As someone who grew up scribbling stories and ideas into notebook after notebook, followed by high school classes in journalism and Honors English, and then having my first job be a position at the local newspaper, writing was just a part of who I was. Even once I moved into different jobs outside of newspaper, I still wrote often for work and at home, up until I got married and became a mommy. Children tend to require a good bit of time and attention, and writing fell by the wayside until God asked me to pick it up again.

Life in Lape Haven: My First Blogiversary: Thoughts of My 1st Year of Blogging. As I celebrate the first anniversary of my blog, I'm sharing how much this unexpected path has blessed me.

But this type of writing is different and much more personal. I’m not reporting on events or typing emails and memos to other employees or company contacts. I’m sharing my heart with the world (Although, let’s be honest, it’s mostly a handful of people at a time.).

One of the biggest blessings, though, in writing this blog has been seeing how my vulnerability and sharing my life’s little moments and revelations have encouraged, challenged, and helped others. I suddenly have a reach far beyond my little staying-at-home-most-every-day cocoon. I can minister to people I will never meet in person, whether it’s sharing comfort that God has given me (For Such a Time as This), telling my stories of everyday life (Going “Naked” at the Water Park) or my experiences growing up (Confessions of a Preacher’s Kid), finding profound lessons in what my boys say and do (Out of the Mouth of Babes), or even trying out recipes and simple household solutions and letting you know what works (Grease stains? I know how to treat them!).

While there have been many frustrating and/or tiring days and nights as I found (and am still finding) fringe moments to write, set up, and share my posts, I’m looking back over this year with a deep sense of accomplishment and gratitude for God planning this for me and staying with me every step of the way.

Also along for the ride have been my two biggest helpers and fans – my husband and my mother. They have both believed in me from my first hesitant suggestions that this was something God might possibly, maybe, want me to do. Not only has Brad been my technical support (he built the server my blog is on), but he’s definitely my biggest cheerleader. He has stayed up with me countless nights to help me proof those last minute posts, simply because he didn’t want me to be alone, and he proudly shares every one of them on social media.

My mom is always quick to help me out, proofing and reading any post drafts that I email her and helping me with titles and providing a good sounding board so I know that I’m saying what I want to be saying. 🙂

I’m also overwhelmingly thankful for the support I’ve had on this journey so far from all of my readers, especially those of you who have followed me from the beginning, as well as the many blogging friends I have made along the way. Hopefully I have been able to bless or encourage you all in some way over the last 12 months.

When I started this adventure last August, I couldn’t’ have imagined how much I’d learn and how I’d grow in so many areas of my life just by sharing bits and pieces of it with others. (There’s a lesson there…)

Looking ahead to the next year, it’s hard to imagine what God will do through my writing on this blog, but He’s already proven Himself more than faithful to help me accomplish what He’s called me to do and to bless me abundantly in the process.