Last November I read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excessby Jen Hatmaker, and I loved it. I highly recommend that you all read it. However, it is not the kind of book one can read without acting on it. Shortly thereafter I was watching The Muppet Christmas Carolwith my kids (a family favorite from my […]
Archive for the ‘Gift Giving’ Category
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Handmade by Kayla Holmes
May 21st, 2013 
Jessica As many of you know, my husband is an Area Director for Young Life. Through Young Life, we have many friends. So when word got out that I was pregnant with our third child, Kayla Holmes asked my husband if she could make me a car seat cover. Kayla asked me to look at her […]
De-Cluttering: Trash It, Sell It, or Donate It
November 28th, 2012 Jessica Recently I read Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider, and I really enjoyed it. I love to purge, simplify, and organize. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that keeping a home clean and organized is an endless job–especially when you have children! I keep our home clear by classifying clutter as “trash,” “sell,” or […]
Celebrating Birthdays on a Budget
August 30th, 2012 Jessica Most of the birthdays in Brad’s and my families are during the winter or summer months. This means that we are buying a lot of gifts from June to August and December to February. When you’re trying to “live like no one else,” it can be difficult feeling like you cannot give gifts or throw […]
Happy Mother’s Day! DIY Handprint Flowers
May 10th, 2012 Jessica For Mother’s Day this year, I decided to try some of the adorable crafts that I’ve been seeing on Pinterest. I put both kids in aprons, covered the table in newspaper, and painted their hands with acrylic paint. I made three prints of each child’s hand, and some were definitely better looking than others! I […]
Toddler Tuesday: Orange Tree Painting (Thank You Note)
March 20th, 2012 Jessica Recently our next door neighbor, Mr. Parker, showed up at our door with a very large bag full of oranges. The vast amount of fresh fruit (citrus and otherwise) and vegetables is one of our favorite things about living in Northern California. I decided that as a thank you, Naomi and I would revisit the […]
Tithing Through the Hard Times
January 14th, 2012 Jessica “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first-fruits of all your produce.” Proverbs 3:9 When I was a child, my parents decided to give us a weekly allowance. Five dollars seemed like a lot back then! But my parents had some stipulations. A dollar must be placed in a “Savings” envelope, a dollar […]
Toddler Tuesday: Homemade Christmas Cards
January 3rd, 2012 Jessica One of the ways I often like to personalize things is with a homemade card. For Christmas, we sent home two large flat-rate boxes filled with wrapped gifts. Each gift had a free gift tag attached. Inside each box I also included a homemade card with a short poem inside (written by yours truly). Since […]
Birthday Pancakes
December 22nd, 2011 Jessica Last week we celebrated a very special day in our household. Yes, it was Oliver’s FIRST birthday! It seems like only yesterday we were speeding through the driving snow and praying we’d make it to the hospital in time. But, I digress… To celebrate Oliver’s birthday, I decided to make birthday pancakes. I’d spotted these […]
Congratulations to the Winner of the Necklace and Earring Set Giveaway!
November 30th, 2011 Jessica There were 53 entries in last week’s necklace and earring set Sparrow Fund giveaway. The winner was Jerusha of Hands Full on Purpose. I was delighted to see that she, like Kelly, has recently adopted a child from China! When Brad and I lived in China, we spent at least one Saturday each month at […]
