One of the sad parts about Christmas is that after the holiday is over, the decorations must come down. I love decorating, but I can never justify spending a lot of money on decorations since they spend most of the year in a box. So here are a few frugal decorating choices I made: I […]
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Frugal Decorating Tip: Display Seasonal Library Books
December 29th, 2011 
Jessica If you are like me and looking to decorate your home inexpensively for each season, one way you can do that is with library books. When we go to the library for story-time, I always try to check out books that have to do with upcoming events or seasons of interest to our kids. We […]
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 […]
Get Your Home Guest-Ready in 30 Minutes or Less
December 21st, 2011 Jessica During the holidays, one of the biggest stresses can be the arrival of guests. Whether it’s for a play-date or overnight, guests can bring on anxiety! Here are ten tips for getting your house read in 30 minutes or less, depending on how much you already have done on any given day: Make Your Bed–to […]
The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Book Review
December 19th, 2011 Jessica If you have followed my blog or facebook over the last couple years, then you know that I am a big fan of Crystal Paine and her website, MoneySavingMom.com. So I was thrilled when Crytal offered a free copy of her book to bloggers who were willing to review her new book! The Money Saving […]
Cross-Country Holiday Air Travel on a Tight Budget
December 5th, 2011 Jessica Cross-country air travel is not exactly cheap these days. Here is how we were able to afford to fly our family of four home for Thanksgiving on a tight budget: We asked for help with travel expenses as a Christmas gift. We made our presence a present. (We spent our Christmas gift money on airfare.) […]
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 […]
Necklace & Earring Set Giveaway Deadline Extended Through Cyber Monday!
November 26th, 2011 Jessica Have you entered my Sparrow Fund Necklace & Earring Set Giveaway yet? If not, hurry up and post your comment at the bottom of this post or last Monday’s post by Kelly Raudenbush. Tell me which design you like the best on The Sparrow Fund’s Etsy page. That’s it! Easy peasy. If you want to […]
Guest Post: The Sparrow Fund (And A Giveaway!)
November 21st, 2011 Jessica I was simply searching for an African doll. That’s all. After adopting our daughter from China, we felt called to do something specifically to give support to adoptive families. So, in the spring of 2011, we launched The Sparrow Fund to give grants to adoptive families specifically for pre-adoption counsel, medical reviews of their referral, […]
Q & A Wednesday: What can I do with all these free magazines?
November 9th, 2011 Jessica After reading my Freebie Friday! posts, you’re all starting to wonder: What does she do with all of those free magazines? Does she really read all of them? First of all, as a former art teacher, I never pass up free magazines unless they have inappropriate pictures in them. You can do all kinds of […]
