My New Business Venture

I have never been someone who was interested in the direct sales route.  To be quite honest, I never really liked the idea of having to be a saleswoman and begging my friends to host parties to help me sell my products.  I know some people who do this very well, but I have also known people who have done this extremely poorly (and yes, I have hidden a few people on Facebook for filling up my newsfeed with their incessant posts).

Welp, I am here to announce that I have recently signed on to be a Younique Independent Presenter.  I am kind of surprised at myself, but the decision to sign up up seemed like a good fit and something I could absolutely do. What is Younique?  Basically, tt is a direct sales cosmetic company.  We are most known for our 3D Lash Fiber Mascara--the stuff is pretty much amazing.  However, we also have blush, eye pigments, concealer, moisturizers, etc.  

Being a stay at home mom is a job I feel very blessed to have, however there are days I wish I could do more to contribute to the family financially. I have a small crochet business that has helped, but it seems that it takes me a good 9-12 months after having a baby for me to get back into the groove of making hats and playing with yarn.  I love to crochet, but at the end of the day my hands just don't want to be busy anymore.

I had been seeing things for 3D Fiber Lash Mascara parties in my Facebook newsfeed, and after being invited to one by a friend I decided to take the plunge and purchase this miracle stuff.  Once on the web page I began to read more about Younique, their mission, and their products.  I LOVED that their sales approach was very social media driven.  As many of you know, I love me some Facebook!  I could TOTALLY get into that. 

Direct sales has never appealed to me before because it required home parties, which meant time away from my family.  Paul and I are already insanely busy and I didn't want to start taking multiple nights away from each other. After speaking with Paul that I was interested in Younique he was encouraging and told me to go for it.  That was all I needed.  I signed on that night after speaking with another presenter about the requirements. The funny thing is that I still hadn't tried a single product!  

I waited anxiously for my presenter kit to arrive. I was a nervous. What if I just spent $99 to sell some stuff that I hated???  I couldn't possibly try to sell products to my friends if I felt like I couldn't stand behind it.  Besides, they'd probably keep wondering why I wasn't using it myself. Thankfully, the kit came and I gave it a whirl. I was more than thrilled with the 3D Fiber Lash Mascara. Thank goodness!  It truly is an amazing product, and the pictures all over the internet really live up to the hype! My next favorite product were the eye pigments. I've always loved to play around with shadows, but for some reason they would always clump in my crease or blend awfully. Not Younique's pigments!  I actually feel like I have some shadow applying skills when I finish my eyes!

This business stuff is all kind of awkward for me, but I am giving it a whirl.  I really like the Younique products and look forward to having my own "thing" to help the family out (as well as the discount!).  I hope to not bog up any one's Facebook newsfeed too much, but you might see a post from me here and there.  I've created this Facebook business page if you want to check it out.

PLEASE don't assume that this is just another salesperson trying to make a buck.  Based off of my experience with the Younique products I am impressed and totally stand behind them. I'm not out looking to hound people.  I am excited about helping add to the family cash flow, but I also think this stuff is pretty awesome.  I hope I can convey that.

If you're interested in purchasing any products, you can do so by shopping here.

If you'd like to earn free product, then I'd LOVE to help you host a Virtual Facebook Party.  It's really easy and you can do so here.  I help you out every step of the way.

In the meantime, let me answer any questions you might have!  And, obviously, this post wouldn't be complete without a lovely tutorial of the 3D Fiber Lash mascara and some before and after pics.  Enjoy!

Samuel John: 5 AND 6 Months

So, I am certain this is the plight of being the 3rd child, but I forgot to write an update at 5 months.  Therefore, this is going to be a combined update!

At 5 months you proved to us that you are a versatile sleeper.  We stayed in a hotel and you slept like a champ!  You also had your first camping experience and slept fairly good for that too!  I am thankful that you are pretty easy going when it comes to where you will fall asleep.  During this month you napped great, but the nights were still rough.

You took your first trip to the annual Huizinga vacation to Traverse City.  Unfortunately, you weren't the happiest baby while we were there (which we have since learned is because you have reflux).

Here we are at 6 months and I am amazed at how much you've changed!  You are constantly rolling over to you belly and have now become a stomach sleeper.  Who knew??  As soon as we put you to bed, you roll to your belly, put your thumb in your mouth and you zonk out.  I love it.  You are sleeping MUCH MUCH MUCH better at night now.  Thank the Lord!!  You have also shown that you do a great job sleeping in the Ergo.  We are able to go on outings during your nap time and you will fall asleep while I'm carrying you.  I love it!

We finally figured out that you have reflux.  We started you on Zantac early this month and you became a new baby.  The mom guilt in me was bad for waiting so long to get you relief, but I am thankful there was a reason for how crabby you have been the past 6 months.  Poor buddy.  You were in pain!

You just weaned a couple of weeks ago.  I think we were both ready to be done.  You were being supplemented more and more by formula.  You were becoming fussy when you nursed (which may be due to the reflux now that I think about it), and there was a part of me ready to have my body back.  I always thinking that ending nursing is bittersweet.  So far you haven't skipped a beat to being solely bottle fed!

This past month we started some solids and you are doing great with them.  You seem to like them and the girls love to try to help feed you.

Speaking of your sisters, they are becoming more and more intrigued by you.  They love that you are becoming more interactive.  You laugh and smile at them often.

At your 6 month well child visit you were 18 lbs, and ended up being 75th percentile for both height and weight.  At your 4 month you were 50th for height and weight so you are getting bigger faster!  Your head size is in the 97th percentile, but that's not surprising at all :-)

Can't believe you have already been here half a year.  It's going so quick!

Samuel John: 4 Months

I am late in posting this, but figured late was better than never!

It is amazing how much a month can change things!  You have finally decided that since you can't go back into the womb, that you might as well be happier about life!  We are getting so many more smiles and tons of laughs.  You are able to stay awake for longer stretches of time, which has been a huge help.

Nights are still hit or miss.  You might give me a good 5 hour stretch one night, but the next night you are up 3-5 times a night.  At least you are now falling asleep after I nurse you, rather than getting mad and screaming for 20 minutes.

You have officially found your voice and you love to screech and chat while hanging out.  Belle has started to copy you, and I think it's adorable.  In fact, Belle is your favorite person ever.  She can get you to laugh even when you are exhausted, and she is a HUGE help.  She loves to give you a bottle, and the girls fight over who gets to bounce you.

Evie seems to forget that you are a fragile baby.  She bounces you too hard, or pokes your face.  She can't keep her hands off of you in the car, and I have to often shield her from you to protect you from a french fry being shoved in your mouth.

You are still into your thumb, and I LOVE to watch you when you find it.  It helps keep you napping longer and soothes you often when you need it.  You aren't completely pacifier free, as you like to have it in the car or when other people are snuggling you, but I am more than okay with that!

You are proving to be more and more of a "mama's boy."  I have a love/hate feeling toward this.  I love that you like to snuggle on me, but hate that sometimes it means I can't get much done.  I am trying to remind myself that you are only little once and the laundry can wait.

You are still a champ nurser, which makes me so happy!  Neither of your sisters lasted this long, so I am hoping we can get through at least another couple of months.  I am shocked, however, at how much you can eat.  You will finish a nursing session, and then down a 6-8oz bottle before bed!

Your hair is a HOT mess.  You're going bald on the sides and have this crazy mohawk thing in the middle.  Sorry, bud, it's pretty terrible.

You have started grabbing for toys and have found your hands.  You often go cross eyed trying to focus on them, and I laugh every time.  You have rolled over from front to back once, but I can tell you keep trying to do it more often.  No hurry on the movement, buddy!  I am fine with you sitting VERY still for a long time :-)

Love watching you grow, sweet boy.

Done Living In The EVENTUALLY

I am awful at prayer and devotions.  It's terrible, but it's truth.  I mean, I pray with my kids, and I might throw up a "Thank you for this day" prayer before I fall asleep, but all in all I have been going through the motions.

For awhile I have felt frustrated with this area of my life.  Frankly, I would feel a tinge of annoyance every time someone Instagrammed a picture of their coffee cup with their Bible opened with some sort of caption like "Soaking in God's Word today."  I am certain you could have caught me rolling my eyes many a time.

If I'm to be honest, my REAL annoyance was not with the person who posted, but rather with myself.  Seeing others pursuing God made me utterly aware of how much I lack in this area.  It made me realize that I pretty much could never take a picture like that because it wasn't happening.  This girl was not drinking her morning cup of joe with the Bible open.  I was drinking my coffee, but it was with a baby on the boob, two little girls glued to the latest episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and catching up on all the latest social media I may have missed out on during the last 8 hours I was sleeping.

For the past year or so I have felt an uneasiness in my personal faith walk.  I have felt lazy and full of excuses.  I attend church weekly, I feel I am using the talents God has given me to serve Him, I pray with my kids, but when it comes down to the "heart and soul" of my faith I find that it is severely lacking.  I find that my pursuit of Him is only in the areas that interest me.  I love to sing, therefore singing and using my voice to praise Him is enjoyable and comes easy.  I love my church, so showing up every week is something I love to do and look forward to.  When it comes to taking my own personal time to spend in prayer and study I just don't do it.  It's not the "fun" part of faith for me.  I don't like to study, and in all honesty, perusing Target.com gets me more excited than reading my Bible app.

What's interesting to me is that my love language is quality time, yet I don't want to give some good ol' QT to my Creator.  I think about how much I love sitting and just talking with Paul.  I love hanging out with him and learning more about each other--even after being together for 12 years.  Why don't I have this same desire and enjoyment with time spent with God?  I have tried, and I get bored.  I have always liked to blame it on my ADD.  I tell myself, "Ya know, I can't sit in quiet and pray because my my mind wanders.  I can't sit and read the Bible, because I don't understand parts of it, so I find by the time I read a passage I have already forgotten what I read a minute earlier."  Excuses, excuses, right?

I find that I have been making excuses for along time.  I find myself telling myself that EVENTUALLY I will be more disciplined.  EVENTUALLY I will have more time for myself when my kids aren't so needy.  EVENTUALLY I'll have a more mature approach to time spent with God.  EVENTUALLY I will have time to join a Bible study where I can better focus on how to read the Bible.  However, there is another side of me that wishes I was the wife that diligently prayed for her husband as he headed out the door for work.  I yearn to be the mother that prays verses over her children as they fall asleep.  I want to be a woman within my home that pursues her relationship with God as much as she pursues one with her spouse and kids.  If I truly want to be this kind of woman then why do I keep saying the word "EVENTUALLY."

Often times I feel that in order to make my faith worth something it needs to be big and earth shattering.  I think in order for my own journey to be impactful, then I need to be standing on stage preaching or getting books published.   I need to have amazing words that change the hearts of other people.  I am not saying this isn't a good thing, but it definitely paralyzes me from moving forward.

Recently my grandma passed away.  During her funeral my uncle read a eulogy written by my aunt, and it resonated with my soul so much.  My aunt wrote that there will never be buildings with Wilma Huizinga's name on them.  You won't find her name in history books.  Her life is not one that people all over the world will speak about.  However, Wilma Huizinga was faithful and stored the word of God in her heart.  I listened as I learned about how my grandma prayed with my grandpa, how her children remember her studying her Bible, and how she was quietly faithful.  She didn't bring droves of people to Christ, but she taught her children how to love God and what obedience looked like.  She exemplified faithful discipline.  My grandma's quiet faithful obedience has produced children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who love the Lord.  Wilma Huizinga didn't bring masses of people all at once, but through my grandma and grandpa's legacy there are generations who have been saved by their choice to be obedient.

Last night I attended IF: Local.  Simply, it is a Christian event where women gather to learn how to live out our purpose (Click here to learn more about the IF: Gathering).  Since I have been wrestling with all of these thoughts about my own faith walk, I feel that last night's event really made me decide to get serious and quit living in the EVENTUALLY mindset.  Between last night and this morning I have been working through loads of thoughts and emotions and I know I need to stop waiting around to give God that quality time, and I need to start now.  If I want to start hearing God in my life, then I need to start seeking Him.  My marriage, my kids, and my life depends on it.

So here I sit.  I am ready to dive in deeper (although scared at the same time).  I think I am hesitant because I assume I'll get myself on a spiritual high and be disciplined for awhile, and then I'll come down and let things fall by the wayside with more excuses as to why I just can't keep it up.  Thinking through my personality and how I process things, I have decided to try a study on my own.  Why do I always think I need to be part of a Bible study group in order to actually go through a study?!  I am committing to begin the book "A Time for Everything" by Margaret Feinberg.  It is all about the seasons of our lives and embracing each one.  I am in a tough season of life right now with my kids so young, and I need some encouragement, and I really need to see what God has to say to me.  It isn't a long study, but I figure that it is a good start that isn't too daunting.

So now it is out there.  I have publicly stated my goal and my desire to become disciplined in how I pursue my relationship with God.  I feel like telling everyone helps me stay accountable.  If you remember I made a commitment a couple years ago to run a 5k (which was crazy talk for me at the time), and half the reason I was able to stick with it was because I knew others were expecting me to follow through.  I ask for your prayers.  I don't tend to be a disciplined person in any area of my life, so this is going to be tough, but I know I won't regret it.

I'm excited.  I crave to have a closer and more personal relationship with God.  I desire to know when I feel God's prompting.  I look forward to taking God off the back burner of my life and placing him in the forefront where I can't ignore him anymore.  It may not end up with me on a stage preaching to thousands, but I sure hope it means I become that woman that leaves a legacy for generations to come through her faithful obedience.

And who knows--I might even be able to take my own Instagram photo with my coffee and Bible "soaking up God's word!"

Slice of Heaven

There are many days I post about my rough "mom days," but today I just want to talk about how full my heart is.  Today was not extraordinary, but for some reason while I watched my little family I sat back and enjoyed this tough stage of life.  This stage can be exhausting, but there are so many pieces of it I want to bottle up and take with me into the next stage so I don't forget.

Today I watched my oldest master the skill of riding a bike without training wheels.  I was inside nursing Sam watching out the window as Paul worked with Belle.  I am certain the smile on her face as she zoomed by the house on those two wheels will forever remain in my memory.  

Today we laughed at Evie (shocking, right?)  We sat eating dinner and as Paul talked she looked at him, pointed at his plate, and said "keep eating!"  Think she has heard that a time or two?!?!

Today I snuggled on Sam as he fought his first cold.  There is something so sad hearing a baby cry with such a raspy voice.  He surprisingly has handled feeling sick rather well!  It might be harder on me that it has been on him.

Today I played a game of "Go Fish" with Paul and Belle.  We laughed at Belle who still had to be told how to play the game with every turn and had to comment on the picture on each card.   

Today I watched Evie figure out how to FINALLY get those pedals moving on her bike.  The girl worked so hard that by 6:30 she was exhausted and more than ready for bed.  When we brought her in she just kept, "I want to go outside!  I want to ride bike!"

Today I laughed as Sam would go back and forth from a cry to a smile within seconds.  It's as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to be happy or sad.  One thing is certain--he has a pouty lip that pulls on this mama's heart strings!

Today we celebrated as Belle worked hard to avoid an accident.  We are STILL struggling with her, and there are days it seems like a lost cause, but today we celebrated.

Today I cracked up as Evie and I had a "dance off."  I would do a dance move, and then she would mimic it.  Surprisingly, she is pretty good at the Shopping Cart--although, not so good at the Macarena.

Today I grinned each time I saw Sam put his thumb in his mouth.  I just can't get over how stinking cute it is to watch him suck on his thumb.  We are so used to pacifiers over her, so this is a fun change!

Today as I headed out to Meijer I had to pry Belle off of me who so badly wanted me to stay. I had hung out with the girl ALL morning, but for some reason she just didn't want me to leave.  I was annoyed at the time, but think I should take in every moment she wants to spend with me NOW, because eventually hanging with her mom might not be so cool to her.

Today I told myself I that I have to record Evie some nap time. Without fail her routine is to pray, to kiss me, to hug me, and then she says "Goodbye Mommy, I love you, muah!"

Today I got excited about the clothes Sam is starting to fit into as he gets bigger, but lamented a bit the clothes he has grown out of.  Getting so big, so fast.

Today I helped Belle write a story about Barbie, Stacy, and Chelsea.  It was all about some race where the medals were lost and they had to go on a mission to find them.  In the meantime, Barbie broke her leg, and then two of them got sick.  Perfect sense, right?!?

Today I watched Evie trying to lay on her sister while watching a movie.  Belle wasn't so into it, but my Evie tried her hardest. That girl LOVES to snuggle, or as she says "sungle."

Today I gave Sam's dimples hundreds of kisses.  I cannot get enough of that sweet smile of his.

Today was a day to take joy in the small things and to not let the day in and day out of this stage get me down.  There are so many sweet moments that I don't want to miss because I am too busy worrying about the not-so-sweet moments.  This little family of mine is the only one I have and I want to enjoy this slice of Heaven God has given me.