Wedding dresses are supposed to be the first major expense when you’re planning a wedding (unless you have to pay for the venue in advance). This is the funny but true story of how I made money on my wedding dress instead of spending it. Wedding dresses don’t have to break the bank. I found my dream wedding dress from a…
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I grew up in the South, to a dad from South Arkansas and a mom from North Minnesota. That makes me the strange mix of redneck squirrel-mulligan-eater and ja-sure-ya-betcha Scandinavian farm girl. My last name, Hartley, was solidly English. The only time it ever caused me problems was between-countries in Central America. “Ana ElisaBET!” was what I answered to when…
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“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12, NIV Those words from Paul should be my life’s theme verse. Not because…
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If you read my bilingual baby post, you know that we are attempting to raise Baby J in a bilingual home. (Even though my husband and I are both native English speakers, and I am only an intermediate Spanish speaker.) How successful we will be remains to be seen! The most important element of our strategy will be me persevering in speaking…
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My husband and I are both native English speakers. I also speak Spanish on an intermediate level, so I can fairly easily have a conversation about most topics but often make grammatical errors. However, I have a strong desire to provide my child (and any children-to-be) with something I did not have: a bilingual or multilingual environment. I’d like for J…
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