Our Home Altar + Inspiration for Your Own

Our Home Altar + Inspiration for Your Own

+J.M.J.+ Once Ethan had a surprise waiting for me when I returned home with Philomena from a visit to see my parents. He had secretly commissioned a friend to build us a custom home altar. It's simple but perfect for our current stage in life. We had utilized a bookshelf for this purpose in the [...]

Our Screen-Free Kids Used Screens – Here Is What Happened

Our Screen-Free Kids Used Screens – Here Is What Happened

+J.M.J.+ A year and a half ago I published one of my most viewed posts ever: My Little Kids Don't Use Screens. Ever. Here's why. (You may enjoy giving that a read then coming back here.) I explained how studies show that the more little kids' brains are hyper stimulated by screens, the more it [...]

A Day in My Life {Stay at Home Mom with Two Kids}

A Day in My Life {Stay at Home Mom with Two Kids}

+J.M.J.+ When I shared about our general daily routine and my rule of life in this post earlier this month, a lot of you wanted to know what a day in the life looked like with a bit more detail. Every day with a family has lots of variation, but the following is what a [...]

42 Tips to Eat Real Food on a Tight Budget

42 Tips to Eat Real Food on a Tight Budget

+J.M.J.+ Nourishing food and tight budgets are really hard to reconcile. I know, because I'm constantly balancing what we're eating with our small income all of the time. People often times want a magical solution to feed their families a beautiful, organic, locally grown diet for "cheap". While my tips below and other ideas out [...]

3 Ways to Communicate Better with your Spouse

3 Ways to Communicate Better with your Spouse

+J.M.J.+ I feel more than slightly under-qualified after just 5.5 years of marriage to be giving tips on the topic. However, since I was asked about it and do think that since this is one of Ethan and I's strong points, I'm presenting 3 ways you can better communicate with your spouse. Know Each Other [...]

My Daily Routine / Schedule and Rule of Life

My Daily Routine / Schedule and Rule of Life

+J.M.J.+ In confession a few months ago, the priest asked me if I knew what a mother's rule of life was. I had brought before him the sin of wasting time online and thereby neglecting some of my duties as a wife and mother. I wish I could have told him that the idea was [...]