Windy Sunsets

Posted on October 15, 2015 by justeeni

Ok. I finally finished going through pictures from our trip, but some of the best ones turned out terrible because I was using Dan’s phone. I’m including them anyway because the memories behind them are just too good to leave out.

Where to begin? The views, the views. I wouldn’t normally use the word “delicious” to describe a sight, but that’s what kept coming to my mind as we drove along the peninsula, stood outside our room to watch the whitecaps, or played on a playground overlooking the beach. The wind was cold, but we just soaked up the Northern Michigan beauty.

On our first day up North someone mentioned something about apple cider and it became a quest throughout our week to buy some. Sadly, we were just a bit early for apple season and we couldn’t find the cider anywhere. Not a day went by when someone didn’t mention hot apple cider. And each day we failed to find any.

I took Dan along one of my favorite trails in all of Northern Michigan, close to the house where I grew up. The girls were baffled as to why we wouldn’t let them in the freezing water, but we sat on a bench and enjoyed the view for a while despite their protests.

We didn’t actually get to Northport until Tuesday, although we enjoyed some visits on our way out for the first part of the week. Once we made it to our vacation-home, the fun really began.

We packed most of our food for the trip, special meals we don’t get to eat very often. Then we splurged with little treats here and there.

Wednesday morning we treated the girls to a normally against-the-rules sort of treat: doughnuts from the famous local bakery. If you ever make it up to Northport and you want a sugary treat, you must try a baked cinnamon twist from Barb’s. Take Abby’s word for it.

A quick outing in the morning, and then we make our way back to home-base for lunch and naps. Yes, naps. Every day. It was one of my stipulations for making it a successful vacation. I insisted on naps; Dan insisted on treats, and the whole gang was happier than ever.

In the afternoon we took it easy and played with bubbles. As simple as it may sound, bubbles really made the day with our munchkins.

Then bath time, and another special treat: baseball in bed. After the kiddos were in their pajamas we snuggled together for a couple of innings on Lydia’s giant bed.

Then it was early to bed for another early day. Dan tried sneaking Lydia off for a Daddy-Daughter doughnut date, but Abby woke up and Lydia invited the rest of us to come along too. Despite the very cold wind, we stuck to our plan to visit the marina. It was one of the things we just had to do so I could get a picture to go along with the one of us walking the marina on our honeymoon. 🙂 We walked the whole marina, although it wasn’t actually fun because it was so cold. We stubbornly enjoyed it anyway before rushing back to shore and letting the girls play on the playground for a while.

We enjoyed another day of bubbles, yummy meals, traveling around Northport, enjoying the views, and naps. Yes, I loved nap time. Afterward I stayed in the warm room while the girls played outside with Dan.

Our last night in Northport we came up with a Grand Finale activity. We ate an early dinner than bundled everyone up in their pajamas and drove to an overlook to watch the sunset. This turned out to be pretty hilarious. Everyone was freezing and it felt like the sun took forever to set. When it finally did there wasn’t much to it. No pretty colors, just a big, blinding ball of fire sinking below the horizon. But it made a great memory that we can already laugh about.

Friday was the day we had to leave Northport, which was sad for everyone. But, not to rush things. We wanted to enjoy every moment of our trip so we planned a grand outing for Friday as well. We hung out in our old stomping grounds, letting the girls run around on the train playground at F and M park. Then we walked the downtown stretch, stopping to sample goodies at Cherry Republic (where we also received free apples in honor of “Apple Days” weekend, but alas, no cider), and stopping again to eat at the supposed best pizza place in town.

As you can see, this was a special treat. Lydia was practically in awe of her own personal pizza which was twice as big as her stomach and much bigger than her face. Before the night was up we made one last grocery store stop to find…

Apple Cider! And at that moment the trip officially became a success.

We had a wonderful week. Every memory is pleasant. We have never seen the girls, especially Abby, so happy ALL the time. Paul was as cooperative as ever. And Dan and I got to revisit our honeymoon location. As we were about to leave I was feeling a little sentimental as I looked out over the bay and thought about how crazy it is that we hadn’t been there in so long. Five years and three Munchkins later…Dan came up behind me and just started praying, thanking God for the past years and committing the next ones to Him again. Maybe that, and not the cider, was my favorite moment of the trip. 🙂

Our Abby-Girl

Posted on October 9, 2015 by justeeni

Our family had a wonderful vacation last week, our last hurrah before I finally submitted to Fall’s arrival. I’m excited to share some memories from our trip, but first I need to sort through all my pictures. In the meantime, I’ll give you all an update on our two-year-old.

Abby is an enthusiastic, all-or-nothing sort of girl (gets it from her daddy). When she’s happy, her smile beams from ear to ear. When she’s tired she snuggles up with Dan or me and holds her hair while she sucks her thumb. When she’s mad, she lets everyone know it (and despite her early arrival two years ago, those lungs of hers work very well). When she plays pretend, it’s just adorable. When she wrestles she never gives up. You get the idea.

She is very much her Daddy’s girl. When Dan comes home from work she runs through the house yelling “Daddy! Daddy!” Sometimes she realizes part way through a weekday morning that Dan is gone and she will cry and pout, “Daddy?” I think half the reason Abby loved our vacation so much was that Dan never left us. But, I can’t really blame her since I am very much the same way. 🙂
When Dan brought Abby her birthday flower, she was smitten with it. She carried it around the house for twenty minutes refusing to put it down. It was precious.

And if the pictures don’t make it clear, yes, she is our little red-head. She’s a little blue-eyed-red-head with a huge smile and even bigger personality. She is very much a homebody who prefers spending time with Mom and Dad above anyone else, and when she does get out it takes her quite a while to open up and be her charming self. But if you do get the privilege of winning Abby’s affections you will be sharing in a sweet treasure indeed.

Back to Northport

Posted on September 22, 2015 by justeeni

“Hey Paul,” Lydia said as she lay on the floor looking at her baby brother, “we’re going up North next week. We’re going to see Grandma and Grandpa and go to Nana and Papa’s, and Daddy’s not going to work for a whole week but Ford is still going to pay him!”

That’s Lydia’s explanation of why I won’t be posting next week. We’re busy down here getting ready for our first family vacation on our own. We’ve gone “up North” many times to visit family but this year we’re taking a few days to revisit our honeymoon town, this time with the Munchkins. We’re planning some fun times relaxing, visiting the beach, and maybe watching a sunset or two. I’m excited to go back up where we had our honeymoon and, like Lydia, spend a whole week with Dan.

See you when we get back!

Our Hearts Are Breaking

Posted on September 16, 2015 by justeeni

Dan and I recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. As we pass the five-year mark, several of our friends and acquaintances are starting families of their own. Some of them have cute little kiddos running around already, and I love to watch them grow up through the Facebook pictures and posts. But as time goes on, more of our friends are also losing their precious babies. It’s so hard to watch. I don’t know what to say or do, and my heart just breaks over their losses. It’s hard to understand, and hard not to ask, “why?”. No parent should have to say goodbye. No parent should have to bury a child. All we can do is pray and trust and let our hearts break for them.

Our hearts are breaking. What’s more is that we’re losing children too. According to the most conservative numbers I could find, more than two babies are being aborted every minute. Some of you are right here with me. You’re hearts are breaking too. The numbers make you sick to your stomach, and you don’t understand how this is being allowed to go on. Others of you are thinking about closing this page or skimming the rest of this post. “Oh, she’s just talking about abortion. That’s different.”

Is it different?

What’s the difference between the loss of my friends’ babies (anywhere from just a few weeks along in the pregnancy to several days old) and the loss of an aborted baby, really?

I see abortion from a slightly different perspective than many. My first two children were born several weeks early and had to spend weeks on the neonatal intensive care unit. They couldn’t breathe on their own. They couldn’t eat or keep themselves warm. They couldn’t even cry. When I see images of a tiny little baby in the womb, I see my baby girls after they were born and learning to survive. When I hear about some of these late-term abortions I think, “That could have been my baby”.

Did you know a baby has a heart beat just four weeks after conception? Think of it! Four weeks and the little guy already has a beating heart! My babies had heart beats before I even knew I was pregnant. Nine week old babies have been observed swallowing, sucking their tiny little fingers, and yawning. Ten weeks into the pregnancy a baby’s vital organs are already starting to function and the baby will respond to touch. Although doctors and scientists disagree about when, at some point between 8 and 20 weeks (gestations at which abortion is still legal), babies start to feel pain.

The question that begs answering is this: are these little ones human beings? At what point do their lives deserve the right to be protected by the laws of our nation?

I know there are horrible situations everyone wants to consider first. What about rape? What about incest? What if the mother’s life is in danger? But before you can figure out what to do in those terrible situations, you must answer the question: is that little one a human being? (And perhaps it would be helpful to mention that the vast majority of abortions are NOT being done in situations of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother).

Why isn’t that little nine-weeker who can suck his thumb considered a human? Why aren’t we protecting the life of the ten-weeker whose organs are all functioning and who can react to touch and, yes, feel pain. You see, again I come at this from an interesting perspective. My daughters couldn’t survive outside of me after they were born without drastic and immediate medical help. Were they human? And what about Paul? He was 35 weeks and was even able to come home with us, but some 35 week babies still need time in the NICU. Are they human? The youngest preemie on record to survive was born at just 21 weeks and 6 days. Was she human?

Did you know that whether a child can survive outside of mom, or the moment a mom first feels Baby move are very dependent on things like race, gender, and birth-order? Should your race, gender, or birth-order play in to the time when we start protecting a human’s life? Maybe simply being born is what makes someone a human with rights, but how does it make any sense at all that a person’s location determines their humanity? One moment the baby can be legally aborted and two centimeters later the baby becomes a human life worth saving?

You see, it doesn’t work. We can’t take a baby at one point and declare him or her as non-human or without rights and one moment later declare that he or she suddenly is human and has rights. Ultrasounds have allowed us to see too much, to know that the little babies who are legally allowed to be aborted are not so different before they are born as we might have previously thought. Maybe by declaring one baby as human and another as “just a fetus” we are stepping into a role far too important, too sacred for us to fill. And by allowing that baby to be killed, to step aside and let this continue to happen, maybe we are covering our own hands with the blood of helpless and vulnerable victims who themselves have done nothing wrong.

It’s easy to talk about abortion as a medical procedure involving the removal of some tissue, but when you actually stop and consider what’s happening the picture isn’t so pretty. Take a moment and think about the little baby with fingers and eyes and a beating heart, developing safely in his Mommy’s womb and then let the reality of what abortion is really sink in. There are two general types of abortion: at-home (medical) abortions and in-clinic (surgical) abortions.

For an at-home abortion, medicine is given which causes the lining of the uterus wall to break down, essentially causing the baby to suffocate or starve to death. Then a second pill is given which causes contractions and forces the baby out of the uterus in a process that can take anywhere from a few hours to several days. This method can only be used in pregnancies less than nine weeks along.

For pregnancies that are further along, there are several different methods. The two most common are aspiration and D&E (dilation and evacuation). Aspiration is when a small tube is inserted into the uterus and sucks the baby out of the uterus. Dilation and evacuation is usually performed in pregnancies past the first trimester. The cervix is dilated and then a combination of tools are used to cut apart and remove the baby with suction and/or forceps.

You see, abortions aren’t pretty. Our society tries to make them look that way by using big medical terms or vague language. The truth is, abortions involve a lot of cramping, blood, bones, and body parts. It’s because the “embryonic tissue” that is being “removed” is not just a clump of cells but a living human being. That “pregnancy” is really a baby.

Over the past several weeks The Center for Medical Progress has been releasing videos revealing that women’s health care and abortion provider, Planned Parenthood has been illegally selling body parts of aborted babies.

I encourage you to watch these videos. They are available in both edited and unedited versions.

If you choose not to watch the videos, here is a brief overview of the ones that have been released so far:

#1: National leader of Planned Parenthood discusses the sale of aborted baby organs and tissue

#2: Planned Parenthood official haggles over the prices for aborted baby body parts and at one point appears to be suggesting that the abortion procedure could be altered to preserve organs and tissue

#3: Graphic footage of a Planned Parenthood technician sorting through baby body parts collected after an abortion

#4: Doctor negotiates sale of body parts and suggests ways to avoid legal consequences

#5: Another graphic scene sorting through aborted baby parts, director of research for a Planned Parenthood in Houston affirms that abortion procedures can be modified to get more intact tissue and organs

#6: A former technician reveals that patients were encouraged to sign fetal consent forms but sometimes the aborted baby organs were sold without the consent of the mother

#7: Includes story of harvesting an intact brain from a late-term male baby whose heart was still beating after the abortion procedure

#8: StemExpress (which buys and resells aborted baby parts from Planned Parenthood) admits that Planned Parenthood sells fully intact aborted babies

#9: Again admits that sometimes Planned Parenthood sells fully intact aborted babies

#10: Planned Parenthood leaders discuss the lengths they would go to hide their selling of baby body parts and the public relations nightmare that would occur if the information was leaked

Whether you watch the videos or not, I urge you to again consider the question: when does a baby become “human”?

When should a human’s “right to life” be protected by law?

Should our tax dollars be going to a company that has been selling aborted baby body parts and bodies?

Unplanned pregnancy can be scary. Having a baby is hard. Most of the pregnancies in our country are unplanned. But, if you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, or know someone who is, you have options. Even if you can’t care for the little baby growing inside of you, families all over America are eagerly waiting for a baby they can adopt. I literally know a church full of families that would welcome your baby into their home. Your baby may not have been planned, but your baby is loved and wanted and needed in this world. Find and visit or call your nearest pregnancy care center. Please feel free to contact me as well.

Maybe you are one who would never personally choose abortion, but you don’t feel you can impose that belief on others. I recently heard one of the presidential nominees share how he used to hold that view, but he went on to say this: “I began to think if abolitionists a long time ago began to think that ‘I don’t believe in slavery, but anybody else can do it if they want to,’ where would we be today? So that changed my opinion of a lot of things.”

Maybe, as you read this and other information about abortion in our country today, you are thinking, “What can I do about this?” Know that no matter what situation you are in, there are several things you can do to help.

The first thing you can do is PRAY. Pray that abortion will end in our nation. Pray for women in crisis situations, that they will choose life for their unborn babies. Pray that our country will start to value life at all stages. Often as I pray for our country, I read the repentant prayer of Daniel for his own nation. It’s remarkable how well this prayer fits the state of our own country if you just change the Israel’s to America’s. The big difference is that Daniel’s nation had already fallen under God’s judgement.

You can also sign the petition to defund Planned Parenthood. Did you know that your tax dollars are going to support Planned Parenthood? That doesn’t have to be the case. Sign the petition, or, better yet, write your representative an email (good), give them a phone call (better), or send them a letter (best, bonus points if it’s hand written) explaining why you don’t want your money going to support an organization that is responsible for providing one-third of the abortions in our country and has been exposed to be selling the aborted babies’ body parts.

You can also volunteer your time at a local Pregnancy Resource Center, show love to a single mom, or donate to programs like Option Ultrasound (providing ultrasound machines to Pregnancy Resource Centers to encourage women to choose life).

I recently learned about a biannual event called 40 Days for Life, a community-based campaign to end abortions. The next 40 Days for Life campaign starts on September 23 (that’s next week). There are a few ways you can get involved. First you can commit to pray and fast. Second, you can sign up to go and pray outside your local Planned Parenthood. For 40 days, this organization tries to have a round-the-clock presence outside of Planned Parenthood constantly praying. Third, you can participate in their neighborhood outreach.

Since I’m still nursing Paul, I’m not really up for fasting for 40 days, but I’m planning to fast from a couple of my favorite staples as I pray with my family during the campaign. I encourage you to look up your nearest 40 Days for Life campaign location and get involved in the coming weeks (some are having a kick-off prior to the actual start of the campaign, so don’t wait until the last minute if you want to get involved).

May I make one request? I would be so encouraged to hear what others are doing, whether it’s praying, volunteering, donating, fasting, or contacting a representative. Or maybe there’s something I haven’t even listed. Leave a comment below and let me know. That would really make my day.

William Wilberforce was a key leader in the movement to end Slavery in England. He presented his Abolitionist Bill to the House of Commons for the first time by speaking on the horrors of slave trade for three hours. He ended the speech by telling the crowd, “having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say that you did not know”. As many others have, I want to echo that statement today.

If you’ve made it this far in a very lengthy post (or if you’re just skipping to see how it ends), I urge you one last time to consider the questions,

Are these little ones human beings?

At what point do their lives deserve the right to be protected by the laws of our nation?

And what are you going to do about it now?

All of the photos used in this post are of my own daughters, except for the last one. The final picture is a screen shot taken from the fifth Planned Parenthood video. It is the hand of an aborted baby held up by a pair of tweezers.

Almost Two

Posted on September 10, 2015 by justeeni

Tomorrow our little Red-haired Munchkin turns two! In honor of two years together, we filmed a short video to show you all how adorable she’s gotten along with a few of her latest learning accomplishments. Happy early birthday Big Girl. We love you!

Just for fun, go ahead and watch the video again paying attention to Lydia instead of Abby. And then once more watching me, just to see how I rub my nose when I’m thinking. 🙂

Lydia’s Top Twelve

Posted on September 1, 2015 by justeeni

A few years ago, my Grandpa sent out an email to his grandchildren including his version of the 12 most important verses in the Bible. Of course, all verses are important, but based on the ones that have influenced him the most, he made this list. Since Lydia has been working through memorizing Bible verses over the past couple of years, I decided to work out way through my Grandpa’s “top twelve”. As of last week, she has memorized them all. I share this post and encourage you to watch the videos for three reasons.

1. To celebrate Lydia’s Bible memory accomplishments.

2. To be encouraged by the verses themselves and inspired to read and memorize Scripture on your own.

3. Abby makes an appearance in several of these videos. It’s cute.

(Some of these verses actually include more than just one verse to maintain the context of the passage. The Bible didn’t even have verses or chapters when it was written, so don’t let this bother you).

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Matthew 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

John 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Tummy Lovin’

Posted on August 18, 2015 by justeeni

Would you believe it if I told you Paul weighs over 15 pounds already? We love having such a big boy, well, big for us at least. Paul is about the size that Lydia and Abby were around one year old, but he’s only five months old. Although, it’s hard to believe we’ve had him in our home for almost half of a year already. This month Paul started showing more of his personality and preferences.

First of all, I mentioned last month that Paul had rolled from his tummy to his back. A few days later, Paul rolled from his back to his tummy and he’s been all-tummy-all-the-time ever since. No matter where you put him, he immediately flips over onto his tummy and holds his head up. When we lay him down for a nap or at bedtime he flops onto his belly and goes to sleep. On top of tummy-loving, Paul is a finger-loving baby. He loves to suck and chew on his chubby little fingers and hands. Sometimes it’s a thumb, sometimes a middle and ring finger, sometimes a whole fist. Paul doesn’t seem to have a favorite finger-sucking combo, or even a preference for his right or left hand, but he does love to suck.

He’s still our happy Little Man. Paul is the most content of our babies so far. He spends a lot of his days on a blanket on the floor, or in a bouncy seat, or his jungle (when he’s not napping) and he’s usually just fine with that. BUT, if someone will hold Paul and talk to him a little, his whole face will just beam with delight. He’ll “talk” your ear off, carry on long conversations with coos and squeals, and get anyone laughing with his cute little chuckles. At nighttime, while he doesn’t always go to bed as early as we’d like, he sleeps like a champ all night long. When he does wake up before morning, he’ll just suck on his pacifier and go back to sleep. I usually get him up at 7 to feed him and he’ll keep his two-hour nap routine, but he doesn’t always want to eat at the two-hour mark anymore. During the evenings he’ll stretch out the schedule, because that’s when he gets held the most and, if he’s being held, he’s extremely content and will hold off on eating for hours. Sometimes lately he’ll get into a “chill” mood where he just wants to sit with Mommy, not eat, just sit and look around and relax.

Last night I tucked Paul in for the night and came back downstairs only to hear him cry and cry. Finally I went up to get him. He wouldn’t eat, so I just held him in my arms and he just stayed there quietly staring at me for several minutes. I soaked it up, knowing my days of snuggling him might be limited…I’m not sure he’s going to wait until 21 months to walk like his sisters! But part of me thinks (and hopes) he might just always be a snuggler and that’s ok with me! With his big eyes and charming smile Paul is overwhelmingly cute and delightfully sweet. We just love our Little Man.

A Glimpse of Our Garden

Posted on August 13, 2015 by justeeni

Well, the week is rapidly winding down, and I’ve been really busy with our Munchkins, but thought I’d share a little glimpse with you all of our family’s first attempt at gardening. We’ve wanted a garden for several summers now but it’s never worked out until this year. It’s been far more work than I anticipated, but we’re enjoying the fruits of our labor. The picture above was taken just after a lettuce and kale harvest so the greens are looking a little pathetic. They usually look much nicer: bigger and fuller. We’ve gotten a lot of salads out of this garden.

On our deck are some flower boxes that we filled instead with dill and baby greens this year. They’ve done amazingly well and we’ve gotten three harvests out of the baby greens already.

Green beans have been our easiest and most rewarding endeavor. I pick them three times a week now and we’ve been enjoying lots of cooked and raw green beans. I’ve even made some baby food for Paul…for when he’s ready.

This is my favorite part of the garden. Back in the spring we were given several organic bell peppers. I pulled out some seeds, just for fun, and planted seeds from red, yellow, orange, and green peppers. And just look, they’ve done beautifully. This picture is about a week old and this morning I counted at least eight little baby peppers going strong. Now we’ll just see if they change colors. 🙂

That’s about it, other than Lydia’s sunflower patch. But, as I hardly have enough time and energy to keep up with weeding the vegetable garden, I’ve let that go. Surprisingly, the first flower bloomed this week, and was on a mammoth sunflower that had fallen down during a storm. Lydia and I propped it back up and are hoping that’ll be the biggest flower of the summer. If they do well, maybe I’ll put up a picture for you all in a few weeks.

These Little Munchkins

Posted on August 7, 2015 by justeeni

Remember these little munchkins? It’s been a while since I’ve shared any of their adorable antics. One of the favorite activities in our house is, believe it or not, wrestling with Daddy. Often in the evenings Dan will “tackle” Abby and throw her into a fit of giggles. Then Lydia will come running in yelling, “I think I’m tough! I think I’m tough!” So Dan will “tackle” her as well asking, “You think you’re tough?” It’s a great time all around. And if the girls turn on Mommy (as they sometimes do), Daddy takes them both on at once.

Lydia has been practically begging me to teach her to read for months. She’ll point to letters and ask, “What makes this one?” (meaning, what sound does this make?) So we’ve finally started learning letters and making some fun crafts to go with them. Crafters, as Lydia used to call them, are one of Lydia’s favorite activities. She also loves riding her tricycle, playing in the sprinkler, and blowing bubbles.

Abby is at a really fun age, learning new words almost every day. Some words are only decipherable by me, but other words are quite clear, “No”, “Ball”, and “Daddy”. Some of our favorites are “Diapah!” (diaper), and “Ah Boo!” (I love you).

Lydia says some pretty cute things herself. She is terrified of fireworks and thunder, so, as you might imagine, the Fourth of July was a rough night at our house. For the next several nights there were all sorts of loud sounds coming from the neighborhood. One night, Lydia asked me if there would be anymore fireworks and I told her there wouldn’t be. There weren’t any, so the next morning she came downstairs pretty happy.

“Mom, you said there wouldn’t be any fireworks and there weren’t any fireworks.”

I smiled at her and she exclaimed, “And God said, ‘Let there be quiet!’ and there was quiet!”

As for Abby’s favorite activities lately, she loves to eat. We can plop her down anywhere with a plate of food and she will sit there and eat until the food is gone, no matter what else is going on around her. The down side is, she’ll eat anything: grass, rocks, trash, plum pits…you name it, she’ll eat it.

These girls usually get along pretty well, although they have their rough moments. Abby is tougher than Lydia, so there have been times when I couldn’t come right away and I’ve had to tell Lydia, “Just run away from Abby and she won’t hurt you!” They love playing outside in the sand where our pool used to be and they love pretending to be mommies. I just have to make sure we have two baby dolls so they’re not fighting over the baby! Neither of these girls like going to bed at night but it is sweet to snuggle up with Lydia and ask them both about their days. Abby lays in her crib and watches as she sucks her thumb and Lydia holds my hair. They really are little munchkins and they really are very sweet.

“Mommy, Will You Snuggle Me?”

Posted on July 28, 2015 by justeeni

For several weeks now, Lydia has wanted me to snuggle with her at night. After we tuck her in and say goodnight she cries out earnestly, “Mommy, will you snuggle me?”. It’s often late and there is always much to do. I need to go downstairs, wash dishes, clean the dining room, pack Dan’s lunch, wash diapers, feed Paul, sometimes go for a run, and on a good night, spend a little time with Dan. Oh, and we try to get to bed early ourselves. The members of this family need their sleep.

But I usually try to rest with Lydia for just a little while. It’s never long enough for her, but at least it’s a little time with Mommy before the last “goodnight”. Saying, “goodnight” is always a challenge for Lydia.

A couple of weeks ago I had a hard day. It was the sort of day that leaves me worn out before lunch time, and ready to cry by nap time. By the time Dan came home from work we were all a mess, Mommy, the worst, was tired and emotional. I had already given myself a time-out earlier in the day to take a few minutes alone in my room to pray and think and try to be calm and practical instead of irritable and emotional.

Something happened, I don’t remember what, but I timed myself out again, after sending Lydia to her room to wait for me. She must have done something wrong and it sure seemed like a big deal at the time, but it must not have been anything too serious or surely I would remember what it was today.

Well I was a mess. I was frustrated with Lydia, frustrated with myself, and crying like a three-year-old having a temper tantrum. It is not good when you act younger than your children and you’re trying to parent! So I took my time-out and prayed, “God help! I’m a mess! What should I do?”. And the answer came:

“Ask for forgiveness”.

So I did. I went into Lydia’s room and told her I was sorry for getting frustrated and emotional, asking her to forgive me. We talked for a while. I cried. She told me she loved me. I asked for a hug.

I needed a hug.

She gave me a hug and then waited while I held on. After a short while she asked, “Mommy, why are you still hugging me?”

That caught me by surprise. I needed a snuggle and Lydia always wants snuggling, so I told her, “Mommy needs to snuggle right now. Will you snuggle me?”

“Ok, but only for a little while”.

“What?” My little girl didn’t want to snuggle? “Why only for a little while?”

“We have to go eat dinner soon”.

In that moment, I saw what I’d been doing to my daughter. As emotional and worn out as I was, I really felt like I needed to be held and loved by my daughter. How many nights had she expressed the same urgent need to be loved and snuggled by me, and I had said, “Ok, but only for a little while”? How many times had she graciously agreed to “just a little” snuggling so I could hurry off and do my chores.

That day, Lydia snuggled me, probably for longer than “just a little while”. And that night, I snuggled her back. Now I make it a bigger priority to snuggle with her at night for more than “just a little while”. I try not to rush off too soon. And if Lydia falls asleep before I get to snuggle her, I sneak into her room and give her a short snuggle. Not because she asks for it, and not because she’ll even know I came. Just because I love her.

MI Taylor Family

We live in Michigan.