Life in Lape Haven

Category - Family

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

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God's Great Commission: A Review of The Whole World Needs Jesus by Ann Dunagan. This delightful children's book is full of whimsical illustrations and a message encouraging kids to share Jesus's love with everyone.

I was ten-years-old when God first sparked a heart for a mission trip in me. While I knew that we needed to share the gospel with others all over the world, being a missionary, in my young mind, was only for someone who spent their life preaching in a remote village somewhere.

I didn’t know you could do short-term missions until a group of teenagers with Teen Mania visited our church. They ministered with a drama and gave testimonies of what God had done on their recent one-month mission trip.

From the moment I heard them sharing their experiences, I knew that one day, I would be going somewhere on a mission trip, too. In fact, I began looking forward to turning 16, not so that I could drive, but because that was how old I had to be to go with Teen Mania on a trip.

As it turned out, I waited 7 years for that dream’s fulfillment, but it was worth it. My senior year in high school, my youth pastor announced that our youth group would be going with Teen Mania to Mexico that summer. Everyone knew that this was “my” trip.

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God's Great Commission: A Review of The Whole World Needs Jesus by Ann Dunagan. This delightful children's book is full of whimsical illustrations and a message encouraging kids to share Jesus's love with the everyone.

While God didn’t call me to be a full-time missionary, those weeks in Mexico deepened the passion I already had for ministering in my own city and gave me a better understanding of how to pray for and support those serving around the world as missionaries. It also gave me the desire to go on more short-term missions at some point.

Elijah’s heart for the world started even earlier than mine. His was spurred on by a number of things, including a special offering project during his first year at vacation Bible school, Mommy sharing videos with him of how people in other countries live, and by being surrounded by mission-minded family members.  (Both my dad and Brad’s dad have been on multiple mission trips each, and Brad has been on several trips himself.  I’m actually the least traveled of our family “missionaries,” although Brad and I would like to go on a trip together and eventually take our boys, too.)

However, even when we aren’t flying out of the country, our family is still passionate about reaching the world with the love of Jesus.

So when I saw Ann Dunagan’s posts about her children’s book, The Whole World Needs Jesus, I knew it was a book I wanted to read with our boys. When she requested volunteers to review the book, I signed up as soon as I could. (So, yes, I received a copy of the book for free, but as always, all opinions are my honest thoughts.)

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God's Great Commission: A Review of The Whole World Needs Jesus by Ann Dunagan. This delightful children's book is full of whimsical illustrations and a message encouraging kids to share Jesus's love with the everyone.

In case you aren’t familiar with Ann and her family’s ministry, she and her husband, Jon, founded Harvest Ministry in 1987, and they have traveled with their family and shared the love of Jesus in about 100 countries and on every continent, starting new churches and caring for orphans.

As parents of 7 children and now grandparents as well, part of the Dunagans’ ministry is encouraging Christian families to become strategic for God’s Great Commission, and they offer mission-minded books and resources for families on their website, MissionMindedFamilies.org.

The Whole World Needs Jesus is Ann’s newest book, an adorable hardcover children’s story with a fun rhyming style; engaging, colorful illustrations (drawn by the Dunagans’ daughter, Caela); and most importantly, a message that focuses on fulfilling the Great Commission no matter where we are, how old we are, or how different the people are to whom God sends us.

As a Christian mom and a children’s church teacher, I’ve read my fair share of children’s books over the years. And while there are some books that you read to your kids just because they like them, this book definitely falls into the category of “books you ALL actually enjoy reading together.”

The first time my boys read it, I had my 7-year-old read it out loud, so I could have the fun of watching their expressions as they heard the story and reacted to it (especially the surprising or funny parts) and delighted in exploring all the drawings.

And since this IS a children’s book, I wanted to get my kids’ thoughts on it, so we read it a few more times over the next couple of weeks before I asked them for their opinions.

Here’s what they had to say:

Elijah (7): “I like the illustrations because they are funny. The book tells you that you need to tell people about God. That everyone needs to know about Jesus. People have sinned, and we need to share that Jesus loves you.”

Josiah (4): “I like it because it tells Jesus around the whole world. I like it because they get them to listen to good stuff. They tell people who live in igloos and shacks.”

Kishona (n/a) 😉 :  “One of the main themes in the book is that no matter how different someone is from us (where they live, what they look like, what they live in, what they eat, what language they speak, or how old they are) – God loves them and has given us a part to play in letting them know that. My boys were giggling over the different foods suggested, but they were also fascinated at this tiny glimpse into the different cultures and peoples around the world. That’s a great conversation starter and an opportunity to talk about compassion and thinking of others, as well as being grateful for all that we often take for granted in our own country.

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God's Great Commission: A Review of The Whole World Needs Jesus by Ann Dunagan. This delightful children's book is full of whimsical illustrations and a message encouraging kids to share Jesus's love with the everyone.

The book also reminds the children that every believer has a job to do to reach the lost, whether it’s actually ‘taking the Good News to all those far away’ or being among those ‘who will help, who will give, who will kneel down and pray.’”

It’s so important that we instill into the next generation the very foundational Biblical call to share the gospel with everyone they can, fulfilling God’s Great Commission – whether it’s kids in their school or someone on the other side of the globe – and this book is a wonderful, engaging, and memorable tool to help us do that.

A Fun Way to Teach Your Children About God's Great Commission: A Review of The Whole World Needs Jesus by Ann Dunagan. This delightful children's book is full of whimsical illustrations and a message encouraging kids to share Jesus's love with the everyone.

If you would like to get your own copy of The Whole World Needs Jesus, you can visit Ann’s site, MissionMindedFamilies.org. (This would be a great Christmas gift for your kids or grandkids or as a donation to your church’s children’s ministry).

I’m also very pleased to offer a copy of The Whole World Needs Jesus for one of my readers via my giveaway below! (I’m keeping our copy, though. Haha!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for entering! This contest is open to residents of the U.S. only and runs from Friday, October 13 (12:00 a.m.) through Thursday, October 19, 2017, at 11:59pm EST (I know, specific.).  The winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of the contest ending. Winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected.

 

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Elijah and the Clean Water

Why Our Child Goes to Public School

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Growing Up on Manna: How Your Struggles Can Build a Legacy of Faith for Your Children

 

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

I know I’ve mentioned a few times in the past how much our family likes doing costumes (see Elijah & the Ninja Skills, for example).

My boys love playing dress up on any given day, which is why they have a costume box in their room and why I have face paints in the bathroom (I’ve done quite a few spontaneous face painting sessions with them “just because”). But they especially like costumes for birthday parties and our church’s annual Fall Fun Fest, and they LOVE it when we all dress up with a family theme.

In looking for a fresh idea for this year’s family costume for the Fall Fun Fest, I began to think about all the different ways we’ve dressed up with our boys in the last 5 years (we didn’t really do much as a family until Elijah caught the “costume birthday bug” from his cousins’ party when he was 2).

So far our family has done 10 different costume themes…in 5 years. 🙂

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Before we had kids, I had my own stash of costume items from years of teaching children’s church (we did a costume day to match our lesson theme at the end of every unit), working with youth groups (one group had 4 theme nights one year, complete with costumes), and of course, Christmas plays and drama skits, so I’m usually pretty prepared for almost any character I need.

Now that stash has expanded quite a bit to include costumes for all my guys.

And lest you think that we spend a fortune on our fun, let me reassure you – we do this as inexpensively as possible. Most of our outfits are pieced together from what we have on-hand, then supplemented with thrift store finds, Dollar Store deals, and LOTS of creativity. (Again, I save everything we use so that we can repurpose it down the road.)

Since I know that this time of a year is kind of the peak of costume season (my own search started this post, after all), I thought perhaps you all would like to see our repertoire of family costumes in case you need some ideas for your own.

 

PIRATES

Elijah’s life would never be the same once he learned that you could have costumes at a birthday party.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Little Pirate: For Elijah, I took a white t-shirt and black pants and cut them jagged on the edges. On the shirt, I cut a slit at the neck then added a few holes to thread a strip of red rawhide through it. A black vest, bare feet, a red polka-dotted tie for his bandana, and a lucky find of a pirate hat, then all he needed was a parrot.

Lady Pirate: One of my most fun pieces in my stash is that crazy multi-color satiny skirt. It makes a great pirate skirt, and with all those layers, you can definitely hide a dagger in those granny boots. I added a ruffled white shirt, some dangly jewelry, a silky bandana, a few braids, and a colorful belt.

Captain Hook: The most elaborate of the costumes was Brad’s, but again, it was mostly thrift store stuff, including the Jack Sparrow wig and Captain Hook hat (both awesome finds!). For his lacy cuffs and cravat, I used the trim off a set of old curtains, and stitched the trim onto sock ends for his arms and a strip of fabric to tie around his neck. His hook was made using a pop bottle bottom, a black sock, and a Dollar Store toy hook. 

 

PEANUTS

As a HUGE fan of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts, no other party theme would do for our 3-year-old Elijah, whose one real request was that everyone come in costume.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Sally: I actually had a “Lucy” style blue dress and wig in my stash thanks to a recent Charlie Brown Christmas play at church, but as I was nursing 3-month-old Josiah and still losing pregnancy weight, that dress didn’t fit. Thankfully, I found a workable pink dress at the thrift store to add black dots to so that I could be “Sally.” I added some pink shorts for bloomers and wore black flats since I didn’t have any saddle shoes.

Snoopy: Brad’s costume is courtesy of my mom’s genius: a white t-shirt with a black “spot” on the back, white sweatpants with a tail added, a white hat with black felt ears, and a nose made from a pop bottle covered in white fabric.

Woodstock: Our little “Woodstock” came together with a yellow onesie, some yellows feathers on fabric, yellow feathers on a hair clip, and a touch of orange makeup on his nose.

Elijah also used his “Charlie Brown” t-shirt later that year for our church’s fall fest. By then Josiah had outgrown his Woodstock, so we put a red striped shirt on him and let him carry his blanket. Boom! “Linus”!

Two fall fest’s later, we all wore our Peanuts outfits for the church’s event.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

 

NEWSIES/TURN OF THE CENTURY

For Josiah’s first birthday, I wanted a costume idea that he would tolerate (since he wasn’t as into costumes as much as Elijah yet), so we did a Newsies party.  Little boys in suspenders, knickers, and caps = adorable!

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Boys: The caps had to be ordered, but the knickers were just cut off pants with buttons added at the knees. Their suspenders were blue elastic pinned on the front and back of their pants.

Me: The hardest part of my costume was my hair – I could have used a lady’s maid. Long black skirt, puffy white shirt (something my mother-in-law found), a pretty pin from my grandma used as a broach at my throat, and an apron.

Brad: Cap and suspenders from the…yep, thrift store.

 

CIRCUS

Elijah’s 4th birthday party theme was “Circus” because we knew it provided fun decorations and lots of different costume options for our family and friends. Also, my dad used to be a professional clown, so we knew we’d have an awesome clown (or 2) at the party.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Clown: My mom did Elijah’s makeup since my dad has the real clown make up. His costume was again a mix and match of his closet and the thrift store. Recognize those suspenders from his Newsie outfit? His hat and silver honking horn were from the Dollar Store. And that face in this picture? I don’t know, but it made him look like a creepy clown rather than the sweet cute clown he was!

Ringmaster: All I needed was a top hat from the discount store and a red jacket from the thrift store. Ruffley white shirt, black pants, black knee boots.

Lion Tamer: Josiah had a cute little overall set with safari animals on it and a khaki sun hat. We called our big Labradoodle, Vinny, his lion.

Human Cannonball: Brad’s old paintball pants, a motorcycle helmet from his dad, and a black long-sleeved t-shirt striped with reflective duct tape. Yep.

**Oh, and PARTY BACKDROP TIP**  Grab a few plastic tablecloths from the Dollar Store in the colors of your party theme. Make a “hem” on one end of each tablecloth by folding it over and taping it. Slip a rope through and hang it. It worked really well for my circus tent.

 

THE WIZARD OF OZ

Having enjoyed his birthday costumes so much, Elijah had a very ambitious idea for what he wanted to be for our church’s next Fall Fun Fest: The Tinman.

This one took some research for the face paint, but it was really fun to do. And when I found a lion costume at the thrift store for Josiah, it was perfect! Brad and I weren’t actually going to dress up, but the afternoon of the event, I decided it would be fun. That scarecrow and very minimalistic Dorothy came together in about 2 hours. Haha.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Tinman: The face paint really makes this character, so I watched a couple of YouTube videos to plan it out, and we tested it a few days ahead of time. (I just used a cheap eye shadow palette with lots of grays, silvers, and blues at the Dollar Store.) His chest piece is a puffy winter vest spray painted silver.

Lion: Again, face paint makes it so much better, and again I used cheap makeup and YouTube videos. Haha.

Scarecrow: Since this was thrown together quickly, I used what we had: a flannel shirt, scrap fabric for patches, embroidery floss for the patch stitches, and a few makeup accents. The straw-like fringe at his neck and cuffs came from a pair of tan socks that I could spare.

Dorothy: The only thing I didn’t have was red shoes, so I spray painted a cheap pair of white tennis shoes with red, then added glitter. They did get a little stiff from the paint, but it was only for the evening, so I survived.

 

NURSERY RHYME CHARACTERS

It can be tricky to find costume-friendly party themes for little ones, but the Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes for Josiah’s 2nd birthday was perfect.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Jack & Jill: Brad and I just had to look as though we’d fallen down the hill, so we cut some tears in our thrift store pieces, then added some “dirt,” some bandages, and a pail for our water.

Little Boy Blue: Overalls, straw hat, horn, and a sheep. Done.

Humpty Dumpty: This may be one of my favorite costumes ever (along with the Tinman). Again, face makeup helped. The egg was cut out of white foam board, and then I glue straps on the back so Elijah could wear it. I stuffed a small pair of tights and added some of Josiah’s baby shoes to make Humpty’s legs, and Elijah wore those around his waist. For Elijah’s brick wall pants, I used a sponge to paint bricks onto a pair of red pants. So fun.

 

SUPER HEROES

Elijah’s 5th birthday wasn’t your typical Super Hero birthday. Nope. Elijah specifically asked that it not be any KNOWN super heroes. He wanted to make up his own and have everyone else come as original super heroes, too. (I love my creative boy!)

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Aaaand I blinked! Super.

Line Power Guy: Elijah came up with his character, named him, and helped me design Line Power Guy’s logo – the lightning bolt with a line. I used adhesive-backed felt to create the insignia and stuck it to one of Elijah’s athletic shirts. His used his gray gloves from Humpty Dumpty, a belt from Mommy, his snow boots, and my mom and I had made the capes several years before. Add a cheap mask, and you’re done.

Star Power Kid: Line Power Guy’s sidekick (Josiah) had felt insignia like Elijah. I just stuck his to a pair of his pajamas.

While my costume was easy and I got to be a good guy, we had a little fun and made Brad our villain. Using those paintball pants and that once-duct-tape-striped black t-shirt, we added some of his random paintball gear and a water gun.

 

KING, QUEEN, & KNIGHTS

My nephews who started us off with the pirate party once again had a costume birthday that year, only my boys didn’t decide until the day before that they wanted to do a NEW costume idea for the gathering.

Can you believe our royal family was put together in less than 24 hours?

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Knights: I found a table runner at the thrift store for the boys’ tunics. I cut it in half, then folded each length in half and added a hole for their head. With gray or black turtle necks and dark pants underneath, the tunics were belted with rawhide string. For their armor, I bought generic Storm Trooper pieces from the Dollar Store, cut off the bottom of the mask to make it a helmet, got out the gray spray paint, and strapped them on. And the snow boots came back into play for their feet.

Queen: I had that awesome gown hanging in my closet, so all I had to add was some clearance jewelry from Walmart (including my dangly headpiece – it’s a necklace!)

King: We recycled the shirt, lacy collar and cuffs, and knicker-pants and stockings from Captain Hook, but changed out the robes and added a spray painted headband for a simple crown. (Hey, I only had so much time!)

 

STAR WARS

A Star Wars party was inevitable for our household, and Josiah claimed it first.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

Luke Skywalker:  Josiah wore an adult-sized tan hoodie as his robe, a cream color shirt/tunic, and tan pants with his white socks pulled up over them (Luke wears some kind of tall boot thing). Bubble wand sticks make easy light sabers.

Finn: Found this costume on clearance at Kohl’s and snatched it up. Easiest costume of the day.

Leia: I went with Princess Leia when she was on Hoth because the long white dress that we all usually think of was way NOT practical for a mom hosting a 3-year-olds birthday party. So, we went white turtle neck, white pants, white puffy vest, grey snow boots, braided hair, and a Dollar Store blaster gun. Pew- pew!

Han Solo: Of course Brad had to be the Han to my Leia, so I found a black vest that looked more utilitarian, a cream color shirt, put a red-tape stripe down his jean legs, and made a cardboard belt buckle.

Chewbacca: Even our dog Vinny got to dress up. I was looking for a way to make a gun belt for him when I noticed that some shelf liner that we had had an interesting texture to it. I looped it over and pinned it together in a circle. He loved it. Hahahaha.

Since I was too pregnant to be Princess Leia from Hoth by the time the fall festival came around, I switched up my costume a tad. I found this silly “That’s No Moon” Star Wars Maternity t-shirt, and my boys stayed with their original costumes.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

This is the only family picture we got that night.


 

PJ MASKS

Our most recent costume party was Josiah’s PJ Masks birthday. He was super excited to be CatBoy.

10 Homemade Family Costume Ideas & How We Made Them - Life in Lape Haven. Our family has done theme birthday parties and dress up a lot in the last 5 years. Here are ten fairly easy, inexpensive, and fun family theme costumes for parents and children.

CatBoy: We found his mask on Etsy, and it was adorable and the same price as a hard plastic one from the stores. For his costume, he had a pair of pajamas from Christmas that you can draw on, so I drew the CatBoy emblem and a few stripes.

Gekko: For Elijah’s Gekko costume, I used felt and some spray adhesive for the logo, and then we added some green spray to his hair.

Owlette: Hello, red cape! You’ve been around a while. 🙂 I also used my red super hero mask and glued it to a red feather mask I’ve had forever.

Romeo: Brad got to be our villain again, and the boys thought it was especially fitting since Daddy already had the streaks of gray in his hair like the cartoon bad guy. We purchased a lab coat (that Brad later used at our Maker Fun Factory VBS), and I pulled some cleaning gloves out from under the kitchen sink.

Ninjalino: Since Isaiah was so tiny, Josiah decided that he should be one of the small Ninjalinos that work with the Night Ninja. Thankfully, we had a long-sleeve romper with a hoodie with some navy blue on it.

 

So, there you go. Ten costume themes from our family in the last 5 years. 

UPDATE

Here’s what we decided for our Fall Fun Fest theme. We actually opted to take part in the Trunk or Treat this year, so of course, our costumes had to match. Our theme was Peter Pan, with our vehicle being transformed into Captain Hook’s pirate ship. With the help of my mom, we created a boat end out of cardboard boxes, with a PVC pipe mast with plastic tablecloths as our sails.

Our cast of characters included:

Captain Hook: Recycled from our pirate party costumes

Peter Pan: A large green t-shirt cut jagged, with the neckline adjusted a bit became an easy tunic, which we paired with some green leggings (surprisingly hard to find when we wanted them). I picked up a pair of brown ankle boots at the thrift store, and we used felt and feathers to make his hat.

Wendy Darling: All of the Darling children are pretty simple costumes since they headed to Neverland in their pajamas! I found a blue nightgown at the thrift store, but added a blue robe and some white leggings to the ensemble because October in Ohio can be cold. And it was cold the night of our church event. A simple blue bow on my ponytail, and some black flats as slippers, and I was done.

John Darling: Josiah was so proud of his top hat and glasses! I ordered his hat online, and we found a pair of cheap black sunglasses at the Dollar Store and popped out the lenses. I put him in a large white button down to mimic an old-fashioned nightshirt (with some pants underneath) and picked up a robe for him at the thrift store. And he was adorable!

Michael Darling: This was the easiest costume of all! Isaiah in some footie pajamas with a blanket and teddy bear.

Tiger Lily & Smee: My mom made these costumes for my dad and herself, with lots of creativity and a little more sewing (especially the fringe on hers).

So now to plan for next year…

Get more ideas & encouragement from this real-life mom as I experience God’s faithfulness through the joy and chaos of motherhood.

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Tried It Tuesday: How to Dye Dry Pasta

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday - How to Dye Dry Pasta. Colored pasta noodles are great for kids' crafts, art projects, and sensory bins. Here is how I dyed dry pasta using food coloring for our vacation Bible school Maker Fun Factory and the tips I learned through the experience.

This year our church’s Vacation Bible School was one of my favorite themes ever.

“Maker Fun Factory” was a very hands-on curriculum all about how we’ve been “created by God and built for a purpose.” Throughout the week, the kids were encouraged to be creative and inventive as they learned Bible points and stories focused on knowing God has a plan for each of us. 

As a member of the VBS Preschool Team, I helped in the planning and preparations, and in the process I got to try out something I’ve wanted to do with my boys for a while: DYING DRY PASTA.

(And I got to try it out thoroughly as I dyed 6 boxes worth of pasta! :))

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday - How to Dye Dry Pasta. Colored pasta noodles are great for kids' crafts, art projects, and sensory bins. Here is how I dyed dry pasta using food coloring and the tips I learned through the experience.

This dyed pasta was used for crafts, such as bracelets and picture frames and robot decorations, but you can also use the pasta for fun sensory bins or boxes, too. And while we only needed wheel-shapes that mimicked gears for our Maker Fun Factory theme, you can dye any size or shape of pasta that you want, all with this same simple technique.

Having never dyed pasta before I volunteered to do it, I had to get my Pinterest research on, and then make sure that I didn’t mess it up.

What I found was that there are lots of pins about dying pasta, but not many of them give you very specific details on how to do it. So, as I was undertaking this task, I made sure to get the details for you. (You’re welcome.)

HOW TO DYE DRY PASTA
What You Need:

Life in Lape Haven: Tried It Tuesday - How to Dye Dry Pasta. Colored pasta noodles are great for kids' crafts, art projects, and sensory bins. Here is how I dyed dry pasta using food coloring for our vacation Bible school Maker Fun Factory and the tips I learned through the experience.

Pasta – As I mentioned, you can use any type, size, or shape of pasta. Larger pasta noodles might require a little more liquid & coloring, though.

Food Coloring – For ours, I did 9 (yes, 9) different colors. We had a rainbow of options. I used your standard food colorings of red, yellow, blue, and green, in addition to the neon options of bright pink, purple, teal, and neon green. Then I also combined red & yellow for a fun orange.

Distilled Vinegar – You can also use Rubbing Alcohol, but since little kids like to put things in their mouths, I went with vinegar.

Plastic zip-top bags – Since I was going to be making so many batches of pasta, I designated a bag for each color. If you are only doing a few, you could try to use one bag for similar colors (For example, do yellow, then orange).

Baking sheets or trays – You’ll need to let the pasta dry after you dye it, so make sure you have enough trays ready to spread out the pasta.

Parchment paper or wax paper (optional) – You can line your baking sheets with parchment or wax paper. This just helps with clean up and transferring the dried, dyed pasta into storage bags.

 

What You Do:

1.  Mix Up Your Coloring.

Put 2 Tbsp. of Vinegar into you zip-top bag. *TIP: I used our napkin holder to support the bag so it was easier to add each item.

Add in at least 10 drops of your color. I found that for a brighter color, especially with the darker shades, I used up to 30-40 drops. (If I used 30 drops or more of color, I also used an additional tablespoon of vinegar to help get the pasta covered well.)

2. Add Your Pasta

I used 2 cups of pasta for each color. Pour that in on top of your coloring in the bag.

3. Mix It All Together

Seal up the bag, making sure to get most of the air out of it. Then shake, squish (lightly), and massage pasta in the bag to thoroughly coat it in the color. This can take a little while, especially if your pasta has some nooks and crannies. This is a great job to allow your little helpers to do.

4. Let It Set

Lay out the bag of pasta as flat as possible, and let it set for about 10 minutes or so. Be careful of letting it set TOO LONG – pasta sitting in liquid will start to get gummy and soft after a while. Flip it over a time or two during that time so that the liquid isn’t just on one part of the pasta.

5. Dry It Out

Carefully pour your pasta out onto the parchment –lined baking sheet(s), spreading it out into one layer. This part can take some time, as you want to avoid having the pasta pieces touching. Then set the baking sheets up and out of the way or outside to dry. Depending on how warm or humid the day is, your pasta should dry within 20-30 minutes. Give the trays a little shake every so often to help keep the pasta from sticking to the paper. *CAUTION: Beware of curious pets eating your pasta if you have it where they can get to it…such as outside on the ground. I speak from experience and from having lost half of my blue and pink pasta batches to a curious Labradoodle.

6. Store It /Use It

Once it is COMPLETELY dry, you can transfer the pasta to a zip-top bag or a lidded container until you are ready to use it. Store it somewhere cool and dry. (One of the ladies at church stored some in her car for a few hours…in the middle of summer…and it got really soft and squishy.)

Need ideas for what to do with your pretty dyed pasta? Honestly, your kids will probably come up with some amazing ideas on their own, but if you need a place to start, here are some fun pasta projects:

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE WITH YOUR DYED PASTA?


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A Simple Change That May Keep You Safer in a Parking Lot

Life in Lape Haven: The Simple Change That May Keep You Safer in a Parking Lot. The end of a rough grocery shopping day with my boys ended up with a bit of a scare when I was caught off-guard in the parking lot. That's when I realized that a simple choice earlier made the incident even more dangerous for me and my children.

The incident happened quickly, and even though I’ve read all the tips, I was caught off-guard. Thankfully nothing bad happened to any of us, but those split seconds and that moment stayed with me. I realized that one different choice earlier that morning might have left my children and me less vulnerable, and I resolved to change my habits for the future. Months later, I was glad I did.

It had been one of those rough days.

My boys were tired after a morning of grocery shopping, and 4-year-old Josiah was in an especially nasty mood since he didn’t like his temporary seat in the last row of our SUV. We were still praying and looking for a new vehicle that would fit all three car seats better. But as it was, he was relegated to the far back, and he hated it.

So the entire time I loaded the car, he was throwing an epic fit. It continued, gaining intensity and volume while I stood half-in and half-out of the SUV, trying to cinch his straps, leaning over the middle seats and Isaiah’s car seat to do so.

Isaiah had been easier since he was barely 3-months-old and still staying in his infant carrier. All I had to do was click it in. Thankfully.

In the midst of threatening Josiah with punishment if he didn’t settle down, I heard,

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

Whirling around, I saw him.

The man was only a few feet away, standing near the back of our vehicle.

And I was immediately on alert (and praying).

Where had he come from? What did he want? Was he dangerous? Why was he bothering me when CLEARLY I was busy (Josiah was still crying in the background)?

In a split second, my mind was assessing everything from where my keys were (in my hand) to his size and build (my height or shorter, slim) to noticing if anyone else was nearby (not that I could see).

And that’s when I realized how I had made this situation even more dangerous for myself.

(Besides being completely distracted from my surroundings by my squalling child)

It was in how I had parked in the parking lot.

Even though I had a parking space fairly close to the store, I had parked so that my driver’s side, the side where I would be putting my kids into their seats, and therefore spending the most time, was facing AWAY from the store entrance.

No one could see me from the store.

My big, tall SUV with darkened windows was between me and my most likely source of help in a bad situation.  It was something I’d never thought of before.

When I didn’t say anything, the man continued talking, “I’m sorry. I hate to bother you, but my girlfriend and I are trying to get to Canal (a town about 30-40 minutes away), and our gas light is on.”

I mentally wondered where the girlfriend and car were. (While the small town we were in is relatively safe, it has a tragically big issue with drugs. Having served Grand Jury duty in the county a few years ago, I learned just how huge the problem is.)

So, yes, I was suspicious. Plus I had two little ones to consider, not just myself. I wasn’t leaving them to go verify a story, and I wasn’t inviting this man any closer for our own safety. (Had Brad been with me, we might have offered to have the guy follow us to a gas station, but by myself, I just didn’t feel that was the wisest choice. Of course, had God prompted me to do something, I would have.)

“Sorry, I don’t have any cash on me,” I replied honestly.

The man started to back away, “Alright, well, thanks, anyway.”

Watching him as he walked away, I was entirely aware of where he was headed as I closed the side door, climbed into the driver’s seat, and locked the door.

He ended up a few aisles over, talking to a couple coming out of the store. I watched as he walked around the parking lot, stopping when he found a person to talk to. I never saw him go to “his” car, even though that particular parking lot isn’t that big.

And I sat there, thanking God for His protection.

I decided to change my parking habits from that day on.

Life in Lape Haven: The Simple Change That May Keep You Safer in a Parking Lot. The end of a rough grocery shopping day with my boys ended up with a bit of a scare when I was caught off-guard in the parking lot. That's when I realized that a simple choice earlier made the incident even more dangerous for me and my children.

FAST FORWARD 5 MONTHS…

Last week, I had all three of my boys with me for a quick stop into the store, and as I pulled into the parking lot, I specifically thought about my encounter with the guy there. In fact, it was a rather STRONG nudging, the kind that come from God.

And I parked differently because of it.

I made sure that my side of our new-to-us minivan was facing the storefront. With Isaiah all but walking now, he rides in the cart, and we have the challenge of strapping his wiggly, grabbing-onto-everything-self back into his seat (behind the driver’s seat) when we’re leaving. It takes a lot longer than it used to.

Life in Lape Haven: The Simple Change That May Keep You Safer in a Parking Lot. The end of a rough grocery shopping day with my boys ended up with a bit of a scare when I was caught off-guard in the parking lot. That's when I realized that a simple choice earlier made the incident even more dangerous for me and my children.

While no one was having a tantrum as we got back into the car to  go, it was still a very déjà vu feeling when I was tightening up Isaiah’s straps, and I heard,

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

It was the same guy. Standing the same distance away. And he told me the EXACT same story (which even my 7-year-old, who wasn’t with us before, remembered me sharing about. It lent some credence to my prior suspicions that this guy probably wasn’t really looking for gas money, sadly.)

Only this time, I felt safer because I knew that he hadn’t been a real threat last time and also because I could clearly see people going in and coming out of the store – and they could see me.

All I could think of was, “I’m so glad that I listened to God’s reminder about our previous meeting with this man and parked differently.”

After sending him on his way yet again, I got back in my van, feeling much more in control than I had the last time I’d met that man.

I know that the simple change of how I parked (and having felt God’s reminder to do so) is what made the difference.

Now I know that we don’t want to live in fear or distrust of people around us, but the truth is that we live in a fallen world. Not everyone CAN be trusted, unfortunately, and we need to be wise in every situation, for us and our children.

As moms, it’s especially easy for us to be distracted or have our hands full at pretty much any given moment, but perhaps implementing this little tip will give you a little more security in at least one part of your hectic day.

For more tips on being safe in parking lots and public garages, check out these sites: Parking Lot Safety and Staying Safe in Parking Lots.

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The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher

Life in Lape Haven: The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher & How It Challenged Me as a Mom. Some lessons are more valuable than reading, writing, and arithematic. My son's teacher definitely had the right priority when it came to what she wanted her class to remember most.

And How It Challenged Me As A Mom

It was Elijah’s last day of first grade. He came home, excited for summer and with creative plans for using up all his leftover school supplies (no way, kid – those glue sticks are unopened! You can take them to second grade!).

 He also had a letter for us from his teacher.

While it was mostly a summary of the year and appreciation to parents for working with her to help their child excel, one of the paragraphs near the end absolutely gripped my heart.

“On my board at school I have a sentence written. It’s simple, only a few words, and reads, “She loved me.” I’ve kept this on my board for years as a reminder to myself of my top priority – that they would know how much I loved them.”

Maybe it was because I was already emotional thanks to life with a young infant and all the sleepless nights and hormonal fun that brings.

Maybe it was realizing that my first baby was growing so quickly and already preparing to head into the second grade.

Or maybe, and most likely, I was blinking back tears because not only did Elijah know that his teacher loved him, I KNEW that she did as well.

(We mamas know when someone loves our children. And it blesses us.)

Life in Lape Haven: The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher & How It Challenged Me as a Mom. Some lessons are more valuable than reading, writing, and arithematic. My son's teacher definitely had the right priority when it came to what she wanted her class to remember most.

Even if I gave you a play-by-play of the year, I don’t think I could list all the times and ways this teacher went above and beyond just teaching my child reading, writing, and arithmetic; all the times she helped him through a tough morning (he had some anxious moments as we got closer to Isaiah’s due date and those days when Mommy was at the hospital); all the special smiley faces she put on his schoolwork when he referenced God, Jesus, a Bible verse, or church, encouraging him in his bold faith; and all the extra hugs and prayers she sent our entire family as we all adjusted to our new normal after Isaiah was born.

And I know that Elijah wasn’t an exception. She poured her heart out for all her students (or as she calls them, “her little buddies”).

Often. And joyfully.

As I looked at that note from his teacher, I was challenged.

Because my top priority as a mother is pretty much the same, and then some – that beyond everything else that my children know about me, they’ll know without a doubt that I love them.

That they are the most important people in my life (along with God and Daddy ;)).

That I will pour my heart out for them always. And joyfully.

But some days that message may not be as clear, when I’m frustrated, or exhausted, or overwhelmed. Those moments when my patience is wearing thin from answering yet another question, or refereeing yet another argument, or having to repeat myself and threaten punishment when they just aren’t listening. Those can be hard days for a mommy

Life in Lape Haven: The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher & How It Challenged Me as a Mom. Some lessons are more valuable than reading, writing, and arithematic. My son's teacher definitely had the right priority when it came to what she wanted her class to remember most.

So, I let those three little words from his teacher’s board – “she loved me”- be not only a challenge to make sure that they KNOW my love, but also to inspire a prayer to the One Who is Love.

A prayer that God would help my words, actions, responses, and body language to continually remind my boys of how much I love them.

A prayer that my energy, time, and focus would be spent where it has the most eternal impact (on my family & others) and not be so easily diverted to distractions (social media, television, random projects).

A prayer that, even when they are being disciplined, my children would always know that it is out of love (and that it would never be out of irritation or for my convenience).

A prayer that they realize that they are treasured by Mommy for exactly who they are – unique, precious gifts from God.

And that in those moments when it’s hard to find the joy or hard to continue to pour myself out, a prayer that I would rely on God alone as my source of strength and let His love flow through me even more.

A prayer that my love would, most importantly, point them to His love and be the reason that they can easily understand what it means when the Bible says that nothing can separate us from His love.

Life in Lape Haven: The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher & How It Challenged Me as a Mom. Some lessons are more valuable than reading, writing, and arithematic. My son's teacher definitely had the right priority when it came to what she wanted her class to remember most.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  – Romans 8: 38 & 39


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

Life in Lape Haven: 10 Items that Helped Us to Adjust to Life with a New Baby. Preparing for all the changes and transitions that come with newborns and infants can be overwhelming, but we've found a few products and ideas that have helped make the adjustment a little easier.

Somehow our littlest guy, Isaiah, turned 7-months-old this week. Seriously, time has FLOWN by.

And yet, it’s still gone slowly enough to remind me that life with a newborn or infant can be challenging. What was once normal and routine gets thrown out the window as everyone in the family adjusts to all the transitions.

Preparing for all the changes in addition to planning to care for a new baby can be overwhelming, whether you’re welcoming your very first baby or you’re an experienced parent.

While I’ve shared with you a few new tips and tricks we learned with Isaiah, I realized that there are some products and ideas that we have been using over the last seven years  – and for all three babies – that also helped make the adjustment to life with a little one a bit easier.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you use the link.)

 

SLEEPING

One thing that EVERYONE knows, whether they have children or not, is that babies and sleep don’t always go together. Sure, some parents are blessed with better sleepers than others, but all babies will, at some point in their infancy, have Mommy, Daddy, or both of you up in the middle of the night.

While we’ve never had horrible sleepers – Isaiah’s been our toughest night owl – we’ve also never had babies that easily slept through the night from a young age. (For tips on that, you might want to check out this post from my friend Denise Renae: How I Got All 5 of My Babies to Sleep Through the Night)

Life in Lape Haven: 10 Items that Helped Us to Adjust to Life with a New Baby. Preparing for all the changes and transitions that come with newborns and infants can be overwhelming, but we've found a few products and ideas that have helped make the adjustment a little easier.

However, we have found a few things that helped our little guys sleep better and longer when they finally did go to sleep.

1. HALO Sleepsack Microfleece Swaddler

For starters, as I mentioned in the tips and tricks we’ve learned with our third baby, a good sleep sack can make an amazing difference. We always thought that any sleep sack was as good as another…until we learned differently with Isaiah.

He slept fine in the handed-down ones we had from our first two boys, but he was a bit smaller than they had been, so I ordered a new HALO Sleepsack Microfleece Swaddler in the newborn size. The difference was notable and impressive, and all those other sleep sacks were left in the drawer while our little guy slept longer in his Halo than he had since coming home from the hospital. Hallelujah!

 

2. Nightime Soothers

The other thing that all of our boys have had is some type of musical nightlight soother. For Elijah it was a Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Seahorse , which played a lullaby and glowed. He used it until he was at least 2 years old. (He liked it so well that we also gave a couple as baby shower gifts.)

Josiah had a similar cuddly animal, a Fisher-Price My Little Snugamonkey, but it alternated playing soothing nature sounds as well as a couple classical songs. After years of listening to the seahorse’s lullaby over the baby monitor, rainforest ambiance was a welcome change!

For Isaiah, we took my brother’s recommendation for a plug-in night time soother from Skip Hop (the Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother Elephant ) that is very customizable. It projects a starscape on the ceiling (also adjustable), plays either nature sounds or lullabies, and has a nightlight feature as well.

My brother had purchased one for his older boy, and the family liked it so much, that his little brother wanted one, too. Since both my nephews had the owl version, we opted to get Isaiah the elephant. We love it, and I especially love that I can crank up the volume on the sounds during nap time to drown out Isaiah’s noisy brothers playing downstairs. 

 

BATH TIME

It seems that when it comes to baths and water, either baby loves it or he hates it.

Thankfully, with all three of our boys, it’s been a love affair from their very first times in the tub (even though Elijah didn’t really enjoy getting water in his face.)

3. Bath Cozy Cover

I think part of our bath time success was due to an awesome baby shower gift: a bath cozy cover.

I’d never heard of one, but my cousin found it at the store and went off-registry, and we have been very glad she did.

The cozy cover is kind of like a giant washcloth that you dip in the warm water and cover your baby with during his bath. It keeps him warm and soothed, so that bath time becomes a calm, fun experience.

You can always use an actual washcloth or maybe a hand towel in a pinch, but I did find something similar to ours (which is, again, over 7 years old) online.

 

4. Clear Shower Curtain & Double Curved Shower Curtain Rod 

The other thing you quickly learn about baths and life with a newborn is that as a new mom (or dad), it can be difficult to get that spare minute to get *YOUR* bath or shower.

One of the best pieces of advice I found online when preparing for our first baby was to buy and put up a clear shower curtain for your shower. This allows you to have the baby in their bassinet or swing in the bathroom with you. You can see them, and they can see you, and you can get all clean and refreshed without the stress of worrying if baby will wake in his crib before you finish.

We also installed a double shower curtain rod so we could have a cloth curtain and a clear curtain. I chose a curved curtain rod because that gives you a little more room in the shower in those last months of pregnancy or when you inevitably end up showering with your baby or toddler.

(And when you need to clean that shower quickly and easily, save time and money by using this safe 2-ingredient homemade tub & shower cleaner. I love it!)

 

NURSING

It’s probably no surprise that the mom who chose to give birth to all three of her babies as “naturally” as possible without pain medications (although Isaiah’s story was a little off my birth plan) also chose/chooses to breastfeed those babies. In fact, we’ve rarely had to use bottles (Isaiah just plain refuses them.)

5. Nursing-Friendly Tops & Dresses 

For me, I’ve needed things that make breastfeeding easier, such as good nursing-friendly tops and dresses, nursing bras, which are not always so easy to find. Sure, you can look for button-down shirts or tops with elastic necklines, but sometimes you want something easier.

Since it had been a few years between babies, I was in need of replacing a lot of my nursing wardrobe when Isaiah arrived. Two of the new companies I found were Latched Mama and Milk Nursingwear.

Latched Mama: They have a fun selection of more casual style tops, dresses, and pajama sets. I especially love my Latched Mama nursing hoodie sweatshirt! (They were available on Amazon, which was great for our Amazon Prime free 2-day shipping, but they don’t currently have anything listed.) Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Milk Nursingwear: They have more varied styles for how you access the nursing areas of their clothes, and they have more selection in dressier styles. While they can be a bit pricier, when you shop directly through their site, you can earn 5% back on each order, plus you can check out their sales. Or you can go through my Amazon link below and use your Prime shipping. 🙂

 

6. Kindred Bravely Nursing Bras

Of course, a good foundation is also important, especially when you’re nursing, so I had to replenish my stash of nursing bras and tanks, too. That’s when I found Kindred BravelyNursing bras and tanks are their specialty. They also sell maternity/nursing pajamas, nightgowns, and panties. You can use the Amazon link below or use this referral link directly at Kindred Bravely and get $10 off you first order of $50 or more.

 

Life in Lape Haven: 10 Items that Helped Us to Adjust to Life with a New Baby. Preparing for all the changes and transitions that come with newborns and infants can be overwhelming, but we've found a few products and ideas that have helped make the adjustment a little easier.

7. Udder Covers Nursing Cover

For nursing in public, I’ve always used a cover from Udder Covers  (because they sent me a coupon for a FREE one, and I just had to pay shipping). I love the special stiffened neckline that allows me to see my baby – and him to see me – easily.

(And despite what you might read about nursing in public, I’ve never gotten any bad reactions. Actually it’s been quite the opposite, whether I’m at a restaurant, church, or at the park with my boys)

—>PLUS: I have a coupon code for you to get yours FREE ($35 off!), just pay shipping & handling. <—
Use coupon code: EAEBF0

 

8. Bamboobies Washable Nursing Pads 

Of course, if you’re nursing, you need nursing pads, and my absolute favorite ones are Bamboobies Washable Nursing Pads. With Elijah, I used the regular disposable kind from the store, and they were uncomfortable. I had all kinds of issue, including clogged ducts – OUCH! When I was pregnant with Josiah, I heard about Bamboobies from a post online, and I was determined to try them out. The difference was amazing. They are incredibly comfortable, don’t leak, are washable (saves $$$), and I haven’t had another issue with clogged ducts or the like since.

(They were also one of things that were a must in my hospital bag!)

 

OTHER HELPFUL ITEMS FOR LIFE WITH A NEW BABY
9. Baby K’tan Carriers 

With Josiah, I discovered the joy of baby wearing, but my carrier was more heavy duty, for outdoor adventuring and Life in Lape Haven: 10 Items that Helped Us to Adjust to Life with a New Baby. Preparing for all the changes and transitions that come with newborns and infants can be overwhelming, but we've found a few products and ideas that have helped make the adjustment a little easier.walks. Plus, I had a horrible time getting it on without someone to help snap the back clasp.

So, for Isaiah I knew I needed something lightweight that I could get on quickly and without help. That’s why I went with a Baby K’tan Original Carrier. It was easy and quick to put on, whether it was for just around the house, a trip to the grocery store, or a hiking outing with our whole family.

 

10. Baby Care Tracking App

One other thing that has helped us keep up with life with a baby has been a Baby Care Tracking App. These apps work like a daily log for baby’s sleeping, feeding, diaper changes, and more.

With both Josiah and Isaiah, I’ve used the iBaby app on my Android, but there are quite a few options, most of them free, out there.

 

What items did/do you find helpful with your newborn/infant?

 

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