Snuffly Quotes

Posted on July 10, 2014 by justeeni

Last night, after Lydia was all tucked into bed, I heard her crying, “I don’t want to be snuffly. I don’t want to be snuffly!”. This morning she assured me that she was no longer “snuffly” because she was only snuffly when she was sleeping.

In case you don’t speak “Lydia”, allow me to translate. We’re sick. Snuffly-gooby-runny-nose-sick. So, rather than write an Abby update today, I’ll postpone that for when she’s looking a little less…snuffly. But in the meantime, I’ll share some encouraging and though-provoking quotes that I’ve read lately on the topic of difficult circumstances.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
Helen Keller

“If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.”
Charles Spurgeon

“God’s ways of answering His people’s prayers is not by removing the pressure, but by increasing their strength to bear it.”
DL Moody

“O Lord, by all thy dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought to thee. Let us value no treatment of thy grace simply because it makes us happy or because it makes us sad, because it gives us or denies us what we want; but may all that thou sendest us bring us to thee, that, knowing thy perfectness, we may be sure in every disappointment that thou art still loving us, and in every darkness that thou are still enlightening us, and in every enforced idleness that thou art still using us; yea, in every death that thou art still giving us life, as in his death thou didst give life to thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Phillip Brooks

When Mom Snapped

Posted on February 13, 2014 by justeeni

Sunday afternoon when we were all tired and sick
Mom suddenly snapped when she let out a, “That’s it!”
She was tired, then sniffly, then suddenly mad
And then she would get all frustrated then sad.

She slumped off to the couch and curled up in a ball
Then earnestly, silently for help she did call,
Sincerely she asked, “Oh what shall I do?”
“I know, Lord, I am not being pleasing to You.”

And so patiently, faithfully, the voice from above
Came to her aid with some words full of love,
“Clean the kitchen”, He told her, that well-known voice said
So she made her resolution and lifted her head.

Then off to the kitchen she headed quite quickly
Still flustered, still tired, and still very sickly.
She turned on the faucet, water poured out
And she washed all those dishes stuck under the spout.

Then on to the counter, then on to the ledge
So set in her mission, so set in her pledge
Every crumb, every splatter, she cleaned them all up
She cleaned every platter, she cleaned every cup.

Still flustered and sickly, on to the next room
When she’d straightened that up she brought in the broom
She swept and she vacuumed, she tackled that floor
Then she looked around, ready for more.

Her husband and daughters looked on in alarm
They snatched up their belongings to keep then from harm
“Mom’s lost it!” Dan said. He warned Lydia too,
“Better watch out, she might throw away you!”

“The TRASH!” she remembered was crowding the floor
She hauled it all out to the hall by the door.
She piled the books, she threw away paper
And when all looked neat her frenzy, it started to taper.

And just as she finished her straightening huff
Her husband announced, “I think that’s enough”
Mom stopped her mission and looked at everyone
With a soft happy smile she said, “I’m done.”

Half a week has now passed since Mom got so mean
but clues from her snapping can still be seen.
And the lesson to be learned from Mom’s flustered huff
It that when Mom gets overwhelmed, hang on to your stuff.

Changes…for the Better

Posted on January 23, 2014 by justeeni

When I was a little girl, I remember coming home from church and promptly going to our rooms as we announced, “I’m going to change”. We, of course, meant that we were going to change our clothes. But my dad would often respond, “Change for the better!” Well there have been changes happening around here lately, and they have all been for the better.

First of all, I know all parents think their babies are the cutest, as they ought to think. So I know I am completely biased, but, isn’t that the most adorable picture you’ve ever seen?

Abigail has been sleeping through the night all week. The first morning we wondered if something might be wrong with her. Lydia, despite half a million attempts to get her to sleep through the night, continued to get up once a night until she was almost two. Abby has been sleeping from about 10 until about 6 or 7. Lydia doesn’t know the difference. Mommy is thrilled. And Daddy might be just a little bit concerned (will she keep gaining weight now?). Abby is over nine pounds now, and continuing to grow at a satisfying rate.

This kid is getting bigger and bigger, and her hair is (finally) getting longer and longer. The big change for her, though, is that we’re going to be attempting potty training starting on Monday. Our first potty training attempt didn’t work out, but we are hoping the past few months have prepared Lydia a little more. We’re stocking up on “potty books” from the library and we’ve been spending a little time each day this week praying that all will go well.

And now that Abby is sleeping through the night and we’re settling into our routine, I’ve actually been able to start getting things done. After calculating that I have about half an hour extra each day to do something profitable, I made a list of all the tasks that need to get done and asked Dan to prioritize them. We prayed about it but didn’t feel any one thing was more important than another, so I’m tackling them each one day of the week. It’s only half an hour a day, but it sure makes me feel great to make some progress on long-awaited projects.

Along with tackling those projects, I’ve begun my post-baby tradition of training for a 5K. After Lydia was born I actually trained and ran a 5K, but this year I’m just doing the training. Since the whole point is to give me a workout plan and get back in shape from months and months of sitting around, I didn’t feel it necessary to spend extra money on the race part this time.

So that’s us: sleeping through the night, potty training, exercising, and getting things done.

Why I’m not a Swaggernaut

Posted on January 21, 2014 by justeeni

Perhaps you’ve never heard of SwagBucks. Perhaps you’ve heard, but never checked into it. Or, perhaps, you are an avid Swaggernaut yourself. I’ve read a lot of homemaking and money-saving blogs that rave about how much they love websites like swagbucks.com or inboxdollars.com (there are a number of other ones as well). But today I’m going to tell you why I don’t.

Edit: This post is intended to serve as a helpful resource for anyone who is looking for ways to earn some extra income, and who is considering doing so using money making sites such as SwagBucks or InboxDollars.

What is it?

For any who are not familiar, swagbucks.com is a website where you can make money by doing things like watching videos, searching the internet, or signing up for special offers. Some of this costs you money, but a lot of it is free. The first questions I had was, “Is this a scam?” The answer is: no, it’s actually not. You really can earn money just by clicking around on the swagbucks website. It works because it’s all a bunch of advertising. Videos, games, and emails are interspersed with tons of advertisements. Special offers allow you to earn “swagbucks” while signing up for free trials, e-newsletters, or taking surveys. Swagbucks is paid by the numerous advertisers, and users (or Swaggernauts) get a small portion of that cash. As you earn Swagbucks, you can trade them in for gift cards.

How I Heard about Swagbucks

A couple of years ago Dan and I were living on a tight budget. We had alloted a whopping $35 a week per groceries. However, once a week we hosted about eight teenage to mid-twenty year old guys who ate like…well teenage to mid-twenty year old guys! That meal alone took up almost a third of the week’s budget. So, I spent some time searching the internet, trying to find frugal recipes and ways to save money.

A couple of the recipes I found we still enjoy today. For a while, we were eating lentil shepherd’s pie once a week, and we often enjoy lentil tacos as well. Anyway…

In my searching I stumbled across the many blog posts explaining the wonders of swagbucks, and I thought I would try it out. Along with Swagbucks, I signed up for a handful of other similar websites. That lasted a few days before I gave up. I was earning money, but only a few pennies a day and it just felt like a waste of time.

Last summer I decided to try it again. I was hoping to earn money for Abby’s quilt and thought, if I could just make a dollar a day using a couple of different sites, I could earn the money before she was born. I chose Swagbucks.com and Inboxdollars.com.

How I used the Sites

At first I enjoyed the earning. It was fun to watch the bucks slowly build up toward my goal. I always started with the easy bucks: check in to the website, answer the daily poll, click through the no-obligation special offers. I automatically got a swagbuck every day for using the free toolbar. I’d click through videos throughout the day. I would do about five searches in between every few videos to be randomly awarded more swagbucks. I would try to qualify for one survey per day and I would search the special offers for easy free things I could complete.

My email began to fill up with junk. The toolbar was slowing down the whole computer. I struggled to qualify for the surveys. I got headaches from spending so much time staring at the computer screen. I realized I was spending less time with Lydia as I tried to get my whopping $1 a day. Some days I could reach it in half and hour. Other days, I still hadn’t reached it after a whole hour.

Then one day I thought a little. One swagbuck is equivalent to about one cent. I was torturing myself and neglecting my real responsibilities to earn less than $1 an hour. It was ridiculous. I persevered just long enough to get my first check from inbox dollars: $27.

Not Worth It

I know I’m probably going against the grain here, but I strongly believe being a Swaggernaut is not worth it. My husband whole-heartedly agrees. Time is too precious to squander it just to earn a few cents. There are dishes to wash, clothes to fold, books to read out loud, toys to play with, toddlers to snuggle, verses to memorize, songs to sing, and a million other things that are far more valuable than the change you can earn by doing (as they put it) “practically nothing”.

But We Need the Money

I know what it’s like to want just a few more dollars a week. I know what it’s like to think, “Oh, it would be so nice to have thirty extra dollars for Christmas presents”. Or to hope, “If I earn a gift card we could actually afford to go on a date!” But SwagBucks is not the answer.

May I recommend, investing a little of your time and resources in developing some other skill or trade? Learn to sew, make homemade cards, soap, or something else you can sell from home. Or, don’t make anything. Clean your cupboards, shelves, and storage spaces and sell all the things you don’t use. You will probably make more money, waste less time, and feel more accomplished.

When I gave up on SwagBucks, I used the bucks already saved to buy two violin books to start giving Dan violin lessons. At the time, I was hoping to start giving violin lessons from home after Abby was no longer a newborn. Since Abby is still a newborn (in size, at least) and since she still eats roughly every hour and a half, we’re waiting to reevaluate the violin lesson idea. The point is, if you are absolutely desperate, it’s not worth it to waste your time earning money on SwagBucks, but you could use it to get some seed money and then invest in something more profitable.

An Inbox Alternative

While I did quit SwagBucks and inbox dollars, for the most part, there’s one money-making tool I still use. Inbox dollars sends members “paid emails” a couple to a few times a day. When you view the email there’s a button at the bottom you click to confirm that you actually viewed it.

Now, it’s no fun clogging your email inbox with junk, so I let these emails go straight to my spam. Every few days I return to the inbox dollars website where there is an “inbox” just for the paid emails. So I let the emails build up for a short while, then I spend a little time clicking through the emails. If you wait too long, they’ll expire, so I just check back about once a week.

For the sake of this blog post I checked earlier than usual this week. It took me 26 seconds to go through 4 emails and earn 8 cents. Most of that time was getting to the website, so if I had waited (like I usually do) until I had more emails I would have earned more money in less time.

8 cents earned in 26 seconds comes out to earning just over $11 an hour. Someone earning $11 an hour and working 40 hours a week would be bringing in a little over $22,000 a year. That’s not too bad, but remember that under normal circumstances I would wait until I had about 14 emails and I imagine that rate would have been more than double.

So, if you would like some extra money and aren’t in a hurry (save it up for Christmas), this is an option.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

Edit: I realize that, for someone who enjoys SwagBucks, this post may come across offensive. That is not my intent. I wrote this post from the perspective of someone who is already busy with two kiddos and who once viewed SwagBucks solely as a way to earn extra money. SwagBucks just isn’t a second income. I found it was easy to get distracted on the site and neglect Lydia, and I did not earn very much extra money in the process. For those who do have the extra time or who enjoy SwagBucks as a hobby that also happens to earn some extra change, I hope you won’t be offended by these thoughts.

Bedtime Moments

Posted on January 6, 2014 by justeeni

I had no idea what a major transition it would be to move Lydia into a “big girl bed”. It’s not that she gets out of bed now. We were pleasantly surprised when Lydia learned her very first night that she can’t just get out of bed whenever she wants. No, the major transition is that Lydia is becoming a very big girl.

One of the perks to tucking Lydia in at night now is that one of us can lie down with her for a while. Usually Dan stays with her for a few songs on the cd we play for her as she falls asleep. A few nights ago, however, Dan told me I could stay with her.

“Mommy come? No room?” Lydia would ask and I said, “Nope, I’m going to lay down with you for a while.” She snuggled up next to me, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and grabbed onto my hair with her free hand. She asked me to put the “baseball blanket” on her and the “pink one” on myself. We sang and hummed some songs. Then we started chatting.

When Abby was in the hospital a couple of different people from church would stay at our house some nights while Lydia slept. Even though we tucked her in before we left, she still knew that we were leaving. By December she was no longer happy when Mommy and Daddy left. So after Abby came home Lydia would often ask at bedtime, “Mommy, Daddy stay?” with excitement in her voice. Sometimes she still does.

As we lay in her big girl bed she asked me again, “No leaving? Mommy stay?”.

“Yep, we’re staying here tonight. We’re not leaving.”

Lydia smiled a satisfied smile and stuck her thumb back in her mouth. “Mommy tired?”, she asked me.

“No, but Mommy has a headache.”

We had a short conversation about my headache and what I was planning to do after I left Lydia’s room. One of the things I told her was that Dan would probably rub my shoulders, because that helps my head stop hurting. I showed her what it meant to rub someone’s shoulders. Lydia listened intently, all the while holding my hair and sucking her thumb. When I’d finished, she reached up with both hands and started to rub my shoulders.

After I left the room I couldn’t help thinking that, when Lydia grows up and moves out, these are going to be the moments I miss the most.

My Flock

Posted on August 5, 2013 by justeeni

The only signs that are left from Leslie’s Bridal shower this weekend are a vase full of flowers and a “wall of streamers” that we put up to hide our packed boxes in the stairwell. As I look back, this whole shower, and the planning process that led up to it, all feel like one big whirlwind.

I remember lying in bed one night, very shortly after Bob proposed to Leslie, thinking about this great idea I had for a Bridal shower talk. That’s probably how it all started. It was one of the many ideas I propose to Dan, and then brace myself as I expect him to tell me why it’s actually not a good idea (usually the case, sad but true). This was one of those ideas. However, this was one of the few that Dan approved, which led us to the Bridal shower that happened this weekend. I’m planning to tell all about the shower on Wednesday, so those who are interested will have to stop on by later to hear more about that.

This post is about the talk I gave at the shower, and even more so, it’s about the aftermath of that talk. As one of the hostesses of this shower, I was given the go-ahead to share a little talk on “How to be a good wife”. This was based on the Bible, and not just my own experience, because I really don’t have that much experience! (Three years at the end of the month, but that’s nothing compared to some of the other ladies in the room) In my talk I had the chance to tell some of my own stories, share advice from other wives, read a couple Bible verses, and even explain the Gospel message as an example of the beauty of submission (Jesus’ submission to the Father). I think it went really well.

After spending so much time preparing, praying, and finally giving a talk like this, I can totally understand why so many stay-at-home-moms seek more ministry opportunities. However, after my own little ministry experience, I feel content and assured of the flock that God has given me.

Let me back up a little. A few weeks ago, at Hope Group (which is what our church calls its Bible studies which happen throughout the week), our Pastor was reading to us from a book called Signs of a Healthy Church. There was a bit of an aside in the book in which the author addressed pastors. He was warning against a common desire for pastors to have a bigger or more important ministry. He told of a nineteenth-century pastor named John Brown, who had a young friend that had recently begun to pastor a small congregation. In a letter to his friend, John Brown said,

“I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ at his judgment seat, you will think you have had enough.”

Even though John Brown and the author of this book were talking to pastors, the parallel to my role as a stay-at-home-mom was clear in my mind. How easy it is for a mom to look at her kids, and the daily grind that she goes through, and long for a different ministry. How many other people could she reach if she wasn’t busy all day changing diapers and potty training, homeschooling and preparing snacks, disrupting sibling arguments and teaching her toddlers not to say “no” to Mommy?

In fact, I wrestled through this myself not too long ago. I emailed a few other Christian ladies, asked for book suggestions, and had long talks with my husband. Was I really doing everything God wanted me to, or was I settling for a simpler, easier, more comfortable, and certainly more “normal” Christian life? I would read about missionaries from long ago, and missionaries who are still living, and wonder if I could have reached more people if I wasn’t “just a stay-at-home-mom”. And then, to make things worse, many of my resources seemed to imply that toddler-raising is a season, after which we women are freed up for more meaningful ministry. But that’s wrong. It is noble to be a stay-at-home-mom, and not just so that your kids can grow up to be missionaries.

What finally ended the search for me was when I realized that family is God’s primary method for ministry, and it is (I do believe) the most effective. Before I go any further, I better explain that I do support missionaries, and I do believe God calls different men and women to serve in alternative ways, and that is a good thing. However, the discipleship relationship that very many Christians wish they could have is really just an imitation of what a parent-child relationship was designed to be.

So, while I am happy for any opportunities that God gives me to minister to others, I am also happy with my own little flock: Lydia (and soon Baby #2). Together with Dan, I am content to spend my time, my prayers, my experiences (and hopefully wisdom!) and Bible knowledge with our precious little Munchkin who still can’t understand most of what I’m telling her.

Maybe the days aren’t always exciting. Maybe potty training is really unpleasant. But when I comfort Lydia because she scraped her knees on the sidewalk and “it hurts!” (pronounced in a very touching, tear-filled toddler voice and also without the ‘r’, which is still to difficult for her to pronounce, so it sounds a bit like she has an English accent), I am demonstrating God’s love to her. After all, is it so different? Our little problems, our temper tantrums, our anxieties must seem so small in His eyes. And yet, He tells the children to come.

So, I can honestly say that I am happy with my little flock. It doesn’t feel like too much for me, but I know that it is. Yet, I know and can stand confidently on the truth that this is the assignment God has given me and He can give me what I need to do a faithful job. So this is my ministry. This is my flock. And on judgment day I know that it will have been more than enough.

Home, Sweet Home

Posted on July 19, 2013 by justeeni

This week has been a full one. It started with the church picnic last Saturday, where we stayed from 12:30 until about 10:30. Sundays are always full, because we usually don’t get home from church until after 2:30. This week we didn’t even get “lunch” finished until close to 5:00 and we ended up just calling it dinner!

Monday I had a prenatal appointment and then I spent the whole day with Lydia at Camp Tikva, our church’s Vacation Bible School. Tuesday was a day at home, but Wednesday I went back to Camp Tikva and spent the rest of the afternoon at a friend’s house. We had our evening Bible study there and didn’t get home until after 10:00 that night.

Some people can go like this all of the time. In fact, I know a lot of people who look forward to these busy times. I suppose that I did too, when I was a kid. But now, I like to be home.

My typical day at home involves sending Dan off to work, meals with the Munchkin, a walk or two outside, a phone call to my Mom and occasionally some others, at least half an hour to spend reading my Bible and praying alone, teaching Lydia new things, and the lovely mid-afternoon nap. I mix in some cleaning, planning, budgeting, laundry, and other miscellaneous to-dos. But, as simple as the day sounds, I love it.

I love having my quiet time each morning, even if I don’t get it in until just before lunch sometimes.
I love having the time to let Lydia “help” in the kitchen, or to show her how to “go get your hairbrush” or “come” when Mommy calls.
I love the freedom that I have to play the “Seep Game” when and for however long Lydia wants.
I love that, when I feel like going to the playground, we go, and when I feel like I need to take it easy, we stay home and relax.
I love laying down in our cool room for a mid-afternoon nap, knowing the Munchkin will probably sleep for at least another hour.
I love looking forward to the moment when Dan comes home.

I love the low-key, stress-free, peaceful world of our little home, even if it’s the fourth home we’ve had in less than three years of marriage and even if we’re only half unpacked, and even if we’re moving out in another few weeks.

So I guess, after all of my childhood mission-trips, vacations, and travels, I’m really just a homebody.

One of my goals in starting this Blog was to learn a little more about my job, what parts of it I really like. Sometimes I get restless and want a little “adventure”. Sometimes I wish we had our own house, instead of moving every year (or month, lately!). And sometimes I get lonely at home with just a little toddler. At times I have thought that maybe I’m just not a good person to be a stay-at-home mom, because maybe I don’t really like the job that much…but I’m learning that I do love this job. I wouldn’t want to do anything else!

MI Taylor Family

We live in Michigan.

Category Archives: Mommyhood