A year and a half ago, my husband Brad was laid off from his job in Minnesota. We had only lived in Minnesota for a year, so we had no other job prospects in the area or history of family, friends, and church to support us. So we reluctantly packed up our apartment and storage […]
Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category
Book Review: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America
March 31st, 2012 
Jessica 
Posted in Reading, Unemployment 
Comments Off on Book Review: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America5 Inexpensive Ways I’ve Updated Our Bathroom
March 29th, 2012 Jessica We’ve been living in our rental for 6 months now, and our house is finally beginning to look more like a home. One of the places that shows marked improvement is our bathroom. Here are a few ways I was able to update the bathroom cheaply: 1. Window Treatments: I was able to get inexpensive […]
Getting to the Wedding (Or How We’re Trying to Raise $1200 in 5 Months)
March 24th, 2012 Jessica If you know a little about me, then you know that I am the oldest of six children. Four girls and two boys, to be exact. My sister Kristy is the fourth child in our family, and the third to get married. Below is a photograph of Kristy, and her fiancee Zach (taken by my […]
5 Cheap Date Ideas for You and Your Spouse
March 22nd, 2012 Jessica If you’re anything like Brad and I, you and your spouse are trying to live abundantly on less, without shortchanging your relationship with one another. We all know that dating one’s spouse is healthy for any marriage, but it’s difficult to find the money for dinners, movies, and babysitters on a tight budget. So here […]
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 […]
My Surprise Birthday & Valentine’s Day Gift
March 11th, 2012 Jessica When I recently wrote about how Brad surprised me for my birthday and Valentine’s Day, some of you asked to see photographs of his work. So here they are! These are the kitchen cabinets he and Roah rehung and repainted: They also rehung and repainted the pantry cabinets behind me, but you can’t see them […]
The Abundant Blog
February 24th, 2012 Jessica Dear Readers, Thank you for your patience with me over the past 6 weeks of sabbatical. For me it has been a welcome time of rest from the Internet. That is not to say that I was doing much resting otherwise! I spent a month visiting the East Coast, and then spent the last two […]
Blogging Sabbatical
February 18th, 2012 Jessica Dear Readers, As you may, or may not, have noticed…I have not been posting regularly on my blog. In fact, I have written one blog post in the last month. There are many reasons for this absence, but most you can probably guess…because the same things are happening in your life too. I’m just…busy. I […]
Toddler Tuesday: Entertaining Your Toddler(s) on an Airplane
January 17th, 2012 Jessica After all my years of traveling, perhaps I should just start writing a series on “How to Survive” various travel scenarios. But today, I turn my lens on air travel with your toddler(s). Whenever you travel by air, safety and obedience to regulations should be your top priority. But beyond that, here are a few […]
Posted in Toddler Tuesdays, Traveling Comments Off on Toddler Tuesday: Entertaining Your Toddler(s) on an AirplaneTithing 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 […]
