Out of all the themed birthday parties we did over the years, one of the most original and interesting was a Cops and Robbers themed party! We had so much fun gathering costumes from thrift shops and yard sales. One of the costumes was a gangster outfit. Another was a policeman costume. We also had a prison outfit. We made a jail out of a large cardboard box painted black, with bars across a window.
We also created cardboard cars for the car chase. We used computer paper boxes, and we painted one of them green. The other one we wrapped in black butcher paper that I had left over from another project. The top was cut off completely, and the bottom had a circle hole for the kids to fit over their bodies. we hot glued a makeshift steering wheel by placing a Pringles can first against the box, and then attaching a Wii steering wheel to the Pringles can that was hot glued to the front of the box car.
We decorated the dining room with silver and black helium balloons, which we tied to the back of each chair, along with a Happy Birthday sign.
We made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with sprinkles. Then we created a white frosting star in the middle of the festive cake, adding small marshmallows to the ends of each of the points of the star. Finally, we added a sherrif badge to the middle. We got a package of sheriff badges from a local party store.
We placed a black sheet over the table and sprinkled silver stars over the cloth, along with the remaining sheriff badges. We also had various other snacks.
After cake and presents, the kids went downstairs to play cops and robbers with their costumes, cardboard cars, cardboard jail, and secret hideout in a closet under the stairs. The kids chased each other for hours and had a great time.
We attached a piece of cardboard painted with chalkboard paint against the wall of the secret hideout under the stairs, to write with chalk all the secret plans. I was inspired with this unique idea from the Wile E Coyote cartoons that I watched when I was a child.
The kids had a hilarious time with this Cops and Robbers themed party!
For more themed birthday ideas we’ve done over the years, check out our 31 Days of Themed Cakes.
One of the highlights of 2022 was the 25th anniversary of my marriage. We had professional photos taken, and Alan did something romantic with my ring. A couple of years ago, the diamond fell out of my wedding ring, and I lost it. I saw the moment it happened, so I knew the diamond was somewhere around the cushioned chair where I was sitting. I called out for Alan to come help me look. I shook out my clothes and took out the seat cushion, and we finally found it. The experience reminded me of the Scripture from Luke 15, where the woman lost a valuable coin, and she swept her entire house until she found it, and there was much joy.
The ring really needed to be resized as well, and we didn’t have the money. Now, two years later, he had a better-paying job, and while I was on a road trip, Alan decided to take the ring and get each of my children’s birth stones placed into the ring.
Meanwhile Alan’s wedding ring didn’t fit either, so I decided to get him a new one. I had raised money by selling odds and ends, and I had presented him a ring on his birthday, but he didn’t like it. So I told him we could return the ring and pick out another one together.
Out of the blue, He calls me in the middle of a week day, which is odd, and tells me to come to him so we can pick out his ring. So we go to the jewelry store to pick out his ring, and we narrow it down until he found the one he wanted. Then he told me that we should look for a ring for me. I told him he didn’t need to get me a new ring–we just needed to re-attach the diamond. He said, “Let’s look at rings.”
I started looking, and I saw a ring that looked very similar to mine behind the glass, except that it had other gemstones in it. I pointed to it and said, “That looks similar to my ring…” He blurted out, “That’s your ring!”
I was definitely surprised, and I love it! I feel like royalty, and like it’s a crown of beauty. I feel like I’m carrying around my family everywhere I go. I told Alan that each stone represented one of our children, and that the diamond represented him.
Alan stopped and said, “No, it doesn’t represent me, it represents us.”
I’ve recently noticed many places in Scripture that mention rocks and minerals. Years ago we purchased The Geology of Israel andRocks and Minerals of the Bible from Northwest Treasures, which is a set of rocks and minerals that is specific to the Scriptures and to Israel, along with a binder with information about the rocks contained in the set. My kids gathered around to look at each rock and mineral to better understand, in a tangible way, the rocks referred to in Scripture.
Today I’m going to show you my two favorite rocks and minerals passages in Scripture: the precious stones in the Levitical priest’s garments and the precious stones referred to in the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven in the book of Revelation.
Precious Stones of Levitical Priest
I’ve always been fascinated by the precious stones in the high priest’s breastplate, which is described in Exodus 28:17-20. These stones were to be put into the beautiful woven garment that was for Aaron, the high priest. Each one of these rocks represents a different tribe of Israel, starting with Ruben (the oldest), all the way down to Benjamin (the youngest.)
We are going to look at some of these rocks and minerals today:
You can also do a craft for the breastplate of the high priest with shiny bronze paper and plastic gems to represent each color of the precious stones listed in Scripture. I give instructions on how to do this craft here:
My other favorite Scripture passage for the study of rocks and minerals is the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven in Revelation 21:10-21.
The New Jerusalem is in the shape of a square, with three gates on each of the four sides. Each gate is an enormous pearl, and under each gate is a foundation stone. Each foundation stone is decorated with every kind of precious stone. These stones are mentioned: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst. Let me show you:
The length and width of the New Jerusalem is 1,500 miles across, so you have 500 miles for each foundation stone! Those are enormous foundation stones, one huge rock under each gate, holding up the walls of the New Jerusalem. The foundation stones are adorned with beautiful designs (maybe mosaics!) with only precious stones that glitter and sparkle in the light. God will be the Light of the city. You can see the precious stones adorning each foundation stone because the ground is transparent gold like glass! So the streets are clear, but they are shimmering because they are made from gold rather than sand, which is what window glass is made of. WOW.
Once again, I have teamed up with some generous bloggers for the 9th annual Christmas Blessings Giveaway to bless FIVE families this year. In the past we have had two winners for this giveaway, but this year we wanted to give to even more families – we are giving away $200 gift cards to 5 families! Each winner will get a $200 gift card to wherever they choose – a restaurant, clothing store, grocery store, online retailer – any place that offers gift cards!
There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning! I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $200 worth it? I think it is! Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money towards the prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them. I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.
The giveaway will run from Monday, November 14th through Wednesday, November 23rd (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.
Today I’m going to show you how to declutter your wardrobe to make more space for what you truly wear and love. Getting rid of everything that you don’t wear and don’t like will eliminate so many clothing choices, so that you have fewer clothing choices in the morning, but all of them are your favorites.
I will also give you a glimpse into my clothing style, which is mostly Boho. I discovered that my favorite way to dress is Bohemian style, which includes flowy feminine tops and dresses that may remind you of the 1960’s. When I was in my early 20’s, I loved this style and had forgotten about it when I became a mother and focused all my attention on raising my family. It was not until my kids reached their teen years that I realized that I didn’t like the way I looked in many of my clothes. By going through this process that I’m showing you today, I came to find out that I feel most myself when I wear Boho style.
If you have a different style, go ahead and look up online what clothing styles are out there, and see which ones suit your personality the best. My daughter loves vintage style. She likes, for example, dresses from the 1920’s, along with a variety of hats. She wears these to church, to square dancing, and to any other function where a dress would be appropriate. But then she also wears classic style clothing whenever she is hanging out with friends.
So if you open your closet doors and remove all of your clothing, throw all the hanging clothes onto your bed, and go through each one. I tried on each one, realizing that some were scratchy or didn’t fit any more. I got rid of anything that wasn’t beautiful and comfortable. That left me with about 33 pieces in total, which is what fashion designers call a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is the essential pieces that you wear all the time, but for me, they are the only pieces I have, aside from a couple of Christmas sweaters I found later in a cupboard. Whenever I get a new piece of clothing, I get rid of one that has stains or isn’t as nice as the new piece. This way I always have a reasonable amount of clothing.
You don’t have to whittle down to only 33 pieces, but if you go through these steps, you will find that you have clothing that intermatches. Your favorite colors are probaby seen multiple times in your wardrobe. If not, you can build a wardrobe that includes more of the colors that you love.
Look at what your main colors are in your wardrobe, and see what pieces you would like to buy to help you wear what you love more often. You can get clothing inexpensively at resale shops, where I’ve gotten most of my clothing over the years. You will be glad to wear what you love more often with accessories that intermatch what you already have.
Finally, when you hang up everything you love in your wardrobe, you will see that your life is simplified, and you feel better about yourself. Because your style is what makes you feel more yourself, you will feel better about how you look, which will help you to take better care of your body in general.
I hope you enjoy my runway-style video, showing you how you can intermatch your clothing, using basic colors like blue, gray, or black as a blank canvas for your brighter splashes of color. Have fun with it!
Hi! I'm Susan Evans. I speak at homeschool conferences about hands-on learning and run a huge unit study membership site. I also speak at women's retreats on the topic of prayer.
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