Thrifty Thursday: Boots & Tutus

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My goodness, I love a good tutu, don’t you? I love it even more when it costs about $3. And I REALLY love it when it’s something Mr. Right picks out all by himself. Who would have ever thought that guy I spotted across my church parking lot for the first time would be picking out a pink tutu for my daughter five years later?

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You know what else I love? Pink cowboy boots. (Hello… we live in Texas! Everybody has to have cowboy boots!) I also love this adorable “big girl” monogrammed backpack. Little Wrenn is SO PROUD to carry it all by herself (although she can barely walk with it on her back – it tips her over if there’s anything more than a sippy cup in there). And I’m so happy to not have to lug a giant baby bag around anymore. Yea for me! (Not pictured: her adorable matching lunch box… swoon!)

Sources:
Backpack – sold out (similar here)
Lunchbox – sold out (similar here)
Denim Jacket

I’m linking up to The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday post.pleated poppy

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photo 1 (31)For prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
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God of Hope

God of Hope

Doesn’t this verse just encourage your soul? Whether you’re in the midst of a major trial or enjoying a time of peace, you can celebrate that we worship a God of HOPE, who wants US to overflow with hope. He wants to give us joy and peace… not just a little, but ALL joy and peace!

If you need a little reminding of that this week, I hope you’ll enjoy a free download of this print I designed. Blessings, my friend!

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be strong and courageousFor prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
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Baylor Quilt

It has been awhile since I’ve posted a quilt update. Or any update, for that matter. I’m still trying to find the right time to practice my beloved hobby in between work and spending time with that darling family of mine, and writing, and well… you know, living life!

And hand-washing sippy cups. OH MY WORD I DO SO MUCH HAND-WASHING THESE DAYS!

But, I managed to pull this quilt top together over the past few months as I listened to books on tape (this one featured John Grisham’s Gray Mountain, which was pretty lousy), and ALMOST had it done in time to give it to my sister for Christmas. I had it done enough to present her with the quilt top for Christmas, and then with my week off of work, I managed to quilt and (machine) bind it the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

I am in love with how this one turned out. I guess my quilts are like my children… I love all equally (in theory anyway, since I currently only have one child), but each one has its unique personality that is worth celebrating.

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This one was birthed completely from my stash. I got the kelly green fabric from the vintage fabric stash we purchased from one of Mr. Right’s elderly clients, and the yellows all came from my stash. I have had a thing with yellow since forever (it was prominently featured in my wedding) and when I was looking for inspiration for a new project and found that gorgeous green fabric, I just knew I had to make a Baylor quilt!

I have been wanting to make a simple triangle quilt where half of the triangles are the same, and the other half are different, ever since I spotted a similar pattern at an old antique mall. There’s something so vintage and wonderful about the regularity of this pattern. And, well, you know I have an affinity for half square triangles. And my Baylor Bears.

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And since I prefer not to quilt from a pattern (it’s the one place in life where I break all the rules) I simply cut out what seemed like a million triangles and started a-sewing. And then I sat down to lay out my quilt, thinking I’d have enough leftover to make a doll quilt with the extras… and instead, I had the tiniest baby quilt you’ve ever seen. Those darn half square triangles (which are about 3 inches) didn’t take up as much space as I originally thought.

And so I added in some white sashing to let the squares “breathe,” and I’m so happy with the finished product!

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For the backing, I bought new fabric that had a vintage feel. Can’t you just imagine this same fabric on some 1960s housewife’s ruffled apron? I bound it with a green striped fabric from my stash (yea for my giant stash!) and presented it to my sister just a week after Christmas.

I wish you could feel how soft this quilt is, and how wonderful the 100% cotton batting turned out (typically I use a poly blend, but went with something new this time and am totally hooked). I hope every time she sees this quilt she will know I love her, and feel compelled to give a rousing “SIC EM BEARS!”

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be strong and courageousFor prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
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Six ways a budget can change your life

I hate math. Like, out of 7.5 years of undergrad + grad school, I took exactly one math class. So if I can learn to love budgeting, well, anybody can.

Mr. Right and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University back when we were engaged, and it was one of the greatest investments we have made in our marriage. That first year of marriage, we owned two houses (so two mortgages), paid for Mr. Right’s grad school, had to replace an air conditioning unit after our second house was broken into, and paid off all of our debt except our house. It was actually fun, and taught us that we could live a very full life without spending a ton of money. It also taught me how to watch our budget like a hawk.

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(Source: Dave Ramsey)

Four years later, I have learned several lessons when it comes to budgeting:

1. It’s not going to work for the first three months. And that’s okay. But if you continue tweaking it, then I promise that eventually it will become almost a no-brainer.

2. Having a budget reduces stress. Knowing exactly where your money is going, and whether you’re ahead or behind on your budget, reduces that stress of the unknown.

3. Having a budget makes you feel like you have more money. It’s so easy to spend $8 on lunch here, $4 on coffee there, and next thing you know, you’ve dropped $100 and you don’t know where it went! That’s $100 you could have used on clothes, or date nights, or something fun… or for paying bills.

4. Having a budget doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun. We make room in our budget for clothes, and entertainment, and eating out… for gifts and our anniversary get-aways. We also give ourselves “fun money” each month to do whatever we want with it.

5. Having a budget will help your marriage. Forcing yourself to talk about your budget and your long-term family goals helps reduce fights over money, and helps you to feel like you’re on the same team, with the same goals.

6. Having a budget reduces your feelings of guilt. When we first got married, I always felt guilty spending money on myself. Money was so tight, and every dollar I spent on things like makeup felt like I was taking money from something important. But once we created a budget and built all of our needs into it, I no longer felt guilty about spending money on myself, because it was MY money.
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I have found that when something is simply/clean/cute, I’m much more likely to use it. And so, I designed a budget spreadsheet that can help you meet your goals, know exactly how much money you need to have in your account at any given time to cover all of your expenses, and give you a great starting point. It’s available for instant download in my shop here.

Friends… how do you feel about budgets? Any tips you want to share with my readers? Leave them in the comments below!

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photo 1 (31)For prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

Cross Quilt

I bought this fabric ages ago… back when I was pregnant with Wrenn (she’s now 18 months old), and it sat on my shelf for the longest time as I waited for the inspiration to hit me.

And waited… and waited… and birthed a baby, and nursed a baby… you know, I had a lot going on.

Finally, over the summer, I got inspired by this gorgeous blogpost to make my first cross quilt. You know how much I love triangles… it was a rare treat to work with full squares for a change!

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The layout took almost no time. The sewing together took a little longer, seeing as everything had to be checked and double-checked so I didn’t end up with any wonky crosses. You can imagine me working on this quilt as I had a one-year-old running around, trying to touch the fabric, touch my machine, play with the cord, and LOOK AT ME MAMA! HOLD ME MAMA! I WANT A CRACKER MAMA!

I’ll admit… this quilt may or may not have been created with Sesame Street playing in the background. A mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do. Don’t judge.

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I decided to hand-bind this quilt, and I’m pretty sure that’s what caused my wrist tendonitis to flare up. Four months of wearing an immobilizing brace later, I managed to avoid surgery (for now), but I will probably not be hand-binding anymore quilts for awhile. Like, never again EVER.

But man, it turned out so beautifully, it was almost worth it. Who said quilting wasn’t dangerous?

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The finished size is 75 x 54 inches – the perfect size for a toddler bed or a throw for some great snuggling on the couch with your honey (or baby child). It took me four months, but I was decided to part with this beauty – it’s for sale in my Etsy shop here. Hurry up before I change my mind and keep it for myself… because I’m tempted!

P.S. – Baby not included.

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be strong and courageousFor prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

How God spoke to me

I always love to hear stories about how God speaks to people, because as with everything else he does, he is so creative when it comes to speaking to his children. I remember as a small child waiting for an audible voice to tell me something – anything – and I would never hear it, and be disappointed.

And then I realized that God can speak much more loudly than an audible voice. In fact, his words can be unmistakable.

2014 year was one of the worst years of my life. It just stunk. It was stressful, we all had some pretty big health problems, and it just felt like we couldn’t catch a break. I’ll admit – I got a little mad at God for awhile. Not like a “I’m never talking to you again” kind of mad… more like I sulked about how he wasn’t intervening in all of our troubles and making them all go away.

But I look back at 2014, and realize that God chose to speak to me so very clearly, so many times. As cliche as it sounds, during my hardest year, I heard him the loudest.

July 9 – We were in the midst of all of our health struggles, with more around the corner (like Mr. Right’s cancer scare and some super scary asthma attacks for Wrenn). We were tired, we were haggard, we were surviving on fumes. And during one of my quiet times, I came to this verse:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

And it was on this day, with this verse, I heard God speak so clearly in my soul, saying “Baby girl, I’ve got you. Do you think your stress is more than I can handle?”

And again I heard: “Just rest in my presence.”

I immediately wrote this down – because when you feel like God is speaking to you, you ALWAYS WRITE IT DOWN. And I clung to that promise during the roller coaster that followed over the next few months – of not sleeping, of medical test after medical test, ER visits, of holding my baby girl in the floor of our bathroom as I prayed that the steam from the shower would open up her lungs – during what turned out to be very dark months for me, I kept reminding myself, “God told me that he has me. He’s not surprised by this. He can handle ALL of my stress. Just rest in his presence.”

Nov. 22 – My birthday. Our stressful season was in full swing – we still didn’t have a good diagnosis for what Mr. Right was struggling with, and he was only a week away from leaving for India. Our baby girl had been horribly sick with asthma, and on the nights when I wasn’t up all night holding her as she had asthma attacks, I was lying in bed awake, waiting for the next asthma attack to hit. On Nov. 21 before I went to bed, I prayed that God would speak to me, to remind me that he was still there and that he loved me. Because sometimes I need that reassurance, and that’s okay. It’s okay to ask God to speak loudly to you. Because sometimes, that’s exactly what he wants to do.

I prayed that prayer on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, when I woke up, I had an email from a friend who said she felt compelled to encourage me. Turns out, she had walked a very similar path to the one I had walked, and not only did she bravely share her story, but then she shared the scripture and the truth that she clung to during that hard season. She wanted to share the things in God’s word that had gotten her through her hard season, so that I could get through mine.

You guys – that was God talking to me through her. When someone tells you they feel compelled to share something from scripture with you – and they would have had no real idea of how important it would be in that moment – there’s a very good chance that it’s a God thing.

This was a God thing. Not only did he answer my prayer before I woke up the following morning (on my birthday, no less) but I started thinking, and I realized that I had had several people contact me over the past few months sharing scripture that had helped them walk through difficult seasons. And I realized that GOD HAD ANSWERED MY PRAYER BEFORE I HAD EVEN PRAYED IT.

Yep. God blows my mind. Isn’t he so gracious?

Nov. 29 – Mr. Right was 48 hours from leaving for India, and I still hadn’t felt a peace about him going. My husband had felt a definite call from God that he was supposed to travel to India to teach local pastors, and after coming a little closer to begging him not to go than I’d like to admit, I finally just said, “I don’t have a peace about it, but if God has told you to go, then you need to go.” I’ve read the story of Jonah enough times to know that if God says go, you always go.

In the meantime, we were also praying that God would provide the funds to cover the trip. It was expensive, money was tight, not to mention that when a small business owner misses 2.5 weeks of work, it means you’re not going to make any money during that time. We prayed and prayed, and the money came in, but we still lacked $800, with two days to go before his trip.

That Saturday, Mr. Right couldn’t find his malaria medicine (a must when you go to India), and tore apart our bathroom searching for it. He found a stack of cards I had written him, and out fell an envelope with our name in it. Inside were 10 $100 bills. Exactly enough to cover the cost of the rest of the trip, plus $200 in travel money (which is the identical amount I had set aside for him to use in airports/emergencies).

Y’all… God provided the exact amount of money we needed, PLUS the exact amount of money we had set aside, with 48 hours to go before the trip. It was kind of like God lit up a neon sign that said, “BETHE, I TOLD YOU I WANTED HIM TO GO TO INDIA.”

Yes, God. I hear you loud and clear.

It was the sweetest gift he could have given me, because for the 16 days that Mr. Right was on the opposite side of the planet, I felt the greatest peace I have ever felt in my entire life. I had confidence that he was supposed to be in India. That we were following God’s will. And that’s exactly where I want to be – smack dab in the middle of God’s will, all the time. It was a GIFT.

Not only that, but God decided to just WOW me during Mr. Right’s trip to India. I have told people that I think my husband had to travel to the other side of the globe, so that God could do a work in my heart back here at home. On the second day he was gone, after I talked to him and he was still en route (it took 48 hours and three flights to get there), sick and exhausted, I reached into my jacket pocket – the jacket I wear every single day in the winter time – the jacket I have worn 50 times since last year – and there was a brochure for India. My church had hosted a luncheon more than a year before to promote trips to India, and I must have grabbed a brochure and stuck it in my pocket. The brochure featured all of the cities Mr. Right would travel to, with photos of the very people he would get to love on, and there it was in my jacket pocket. I hadn’t noticed it the other 50 times I had worn that jacket, because God wanted me to find that brochure at that divine moment, when I needed reminding that GOD WANTED MR. RIGHT IN INDIA.

I told everybody I could.

And then, one more cool thing – because our God, the God of the universe, likes to do things BIG. It wasn’t enough to provide the money, or provide pictures in my pocket of the people my husband was going to see. No, he decided to send me another love letter, in the form of scripture. You see, God has always used other people quoting his word to speak to me. It has happened more times than I could count.

First, God had a coworker send me this verse on the morning my husband left for India:

“May the God of hope fill you with ALL JOY AND PEACE as you TRUST in him, so that you may OVERFLOW WITH HOPE by the POWER of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

This verse became my mantra – my daily battle cry for the 16 days I was a single mom. You have to remember, my baby girl had battled horrible asthma attacks for months, leading up to about a week before this trip. It had been scary and exhausting. I hadn’t slept in forever. And now I was going to be a single, working mom, entirely responsible for the health and safety of my beloved child, with a husband two days away in an emergency.

I prayed this prayer and clung to it – it brought me so much peace. More peace than I had felt in all of 2014. Like, it was weird.  And God, in his pure awesomeness, put that verse in my daily Bible Study reading on the very last night before Mr. Right came home. There it was – bookending this trip. It was like, on either side, God reminding me that this promise is for me. No matter my circumstances, he wants to provide me with ALL JOY AND PEACE as I choose to TRUST in him.

And guess what… this promise is also FOR YOU.

Friend, I don’t know what you’re walking through. You may be in the midst of the worst year of your life, or you may be at a crossroads and desperately need to hear God speak. Whatever it is – don’t be afraid to flat out ASK HIM TO SPEAK TO YOU.

Note: A great book on this topic that changed my life was this one. Know that when God speaks, it is always in line with his scripture. He will never tell you something that conflicts with it. If you have questions, feel free to email me at bethe@texaslovely.com.

That year we met our $10,000 family deductible

photo (84)Well, my friends, 2014 has been a special one. And when I say special, what I really mean is that it has been the hardest year of my life. So yeah, special is code for kind of crappy.

But also filled with some really wonderful, joy-filled moments. That’s what happens when you spend your days and evenings (and lately, your nights) with a dancing, singing, laughing, big-eyed toddler who LOVES life. It’s contagious. And that’s what happens when you’re married to a man who can find adventure in the mundane, who can whip up a gourmet breakfast out of nowhere and surprise you while you dry your hair and try desperately to get yourself out the door to tackle another day. And another doctor appointment. And when you have coworkers who pray when you text them to say your daughter is having yet another asthma attack and you’re afraid you may have to take her to the hospital.

Here is our last six weeks, in a nutshell:

  • 9 doctor visits total for Mr. Right, Wrenn, and me
  • 9 diagnoses ruled out by the neurologist for Will’s facial pain. We know it’s not shingles, meningitis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, lime disease, inflammatory tissue disease, a bug bite, a spider bite, or a blocked sinus. We know because we have tested FOR ALL OF IT.
  • 1,000 asthma attacks for Wrenn (at least it seems like it – poor baby girl, we can’t seem to get it under control)
  • 1 ER visit for Wrenn’s asthma
  • 1 ER visit for another family member
  • Countless hours sitting with Wrenn on the floor of the bathroom, with the hot water running and the room filled with steam, trying to calm her asthma while entertaining her with Barney videos on my phone
  • 1 MRI (again)
  • 1 round of lab work (again)
  • 5 rounds of steroids
  • 1 double ear infection
  • 2 antibiotics
  • 1 case of the worst diaper rash I’ve ever seen thanks to those antibiotics
  • 2 new inhalers
  • 2 wrist braces
  • 2 possible surgeries (one for Mr. Right that has since been ruled out, and one for me if my brace and therapy don’t fix my wrist tendonitis)
  • 1 random bug
  • An average of just a few hours of sleep most nights (there have been many nights when we’re up with Wrenn’s asthma almost all night and I’m lucky to get two hours of sleep). On the other nights… insomnia. Because, stress.

And those are just the ones I’m willing to share. We have been stressed to the max, running on almost no sleep and pretty discouraged. Mr. Right and I have had to learn to be an advocate for our baby girl, as we push the doctors to find a plan of care that will decrease her asthma attacks as well as keep her safe during the scary ones. I have talked to the nurse at our doctor’s office so many times that we’re practically best friends. I have a careful, hand-written medication list on our fridge because there are so many medicines I have to give her every day. I have finally convinced them to start a preventative daily treatment to see if we can curb the attacks before they start. And between you and me, I’m tempted to never leave her out of my sight ever again. That’s not possible, what with working and life in general… but it has become an act of faith to leave her with anybody else.

Even the last two times I’ve taken her to the church nursery, they had to call me to come get her because she simply cried from feeling so bad, and couldn’t get it together.

It has been an overwhelming and discouraging time, made worse by sheer exhaustion from being up most nights. We are tired. And we are fighting to see and name the blessings we know we have been given, even during this stressful season. It’s just a season, I keep telling myself. Just a season.

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I know for a fact many of my friends have walked through similar seasons… filled with different challenges than the ones we’re facing, but hard nonetheless. Being a mom and a wife are so hard. Watching your loved ones hurt is so hard. Trying to do life when you’re really run down is SO HARD.

And in the midst of this crappy 2014, I have a daughter who waves “bye bye” to her books when I say “the end,” who leans in to give me kisses for no reason, who loves to chase around our poor dog and whole-heatedly scold him, “NO,” who says “moo!” when I ask “What does the cow say?” and “woof woof!” when I ask “What does the dog say?” Who loves to wrap her arms around me and nuzzle her face into my shoulder at bedtime as I rock her to sleep.

We are so blessed. I just have to keep reminding myself of this, over and over and over. Blessed. Please don’t let me forget.

A perspective on the Ebola outbreak from a former hospital spokesperson

It happened. The Ebola virus finally came to the United States and ended up in Dallas of all places, right in my backyard. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as the DFW area is a major hub for internationals coming from all over the world, including West Africa.

It was just a matter of time.

I’m a little worried, I’ll admit. Because I’m a worrier, it’s what I do, and it’s something I have to war against every day. So yes, I don’t love that there is a patient with Ebola 30 minutes from my house.

But y’all, we all need to take a deep breath {sigh} and keep things in perspective. The first thing you need to understand:

The media’s number one job is to sell newspapers/get TV ratings so they can sell commercials. Their main job is not just to keep me informed, make me feel better, help me to keep things in perspective. They want me to watch their station instead of that old West Wing rerun on Netflix.

The other thing you need to understand:

Every hospital, government organization, and politician has a public relations person who is employed to help his or her boss get media coverage. It’s what I did for 10 years. Was there an ice storm? I pitched a story about ice-storm related baby booms. West Nile Virus? I found an infectious disease physician to conduct TV interviews. Major Texas heat wave? I pitched stories about how to recognize symptoms of a heat stroke and hosted reporters in our ER.  Ebola? PR PROFESSIONALS ARE BRAINSTORMING WAYS FOR THEIR HOSPITAL/DOCTOR/COUNTY JUDGE/GOVERNOR TO GET A PIECE OF THE PUBLICITY PIE.

This combination of reporters who are HUNGRY for Ebola stories and PR folks like me who are happy to feed them stories means that there will be STORY AFTER STORY AFTER STORY this week about Ebola. Every single angle will be covered. No stone will be left unturned. Fear will be spread and spread and SPREAD.

It is going to make people nervous wrecks because it will be all we think about. Unless you understand what (and who) is feeding this frenzy. It’s just folks who are trying to do their jobs and support their families. They’re not bad people. But with 24/7 news coverage,there will be speculation, misinformation, and missed context.  There will be people who mean well but misspeak. Know this.

Instead of getting scared, get cynical. We have had one person diagnosed with Ebola, and 23,000+ people will die from complications of influenza this year. Which one brings better ratings?

As for me, I’m going to choose to turn most of this coverage off and go back to my reruns of West Wing and my copy of Gone Girl on audio book. And take a big, deep breath.

(PS – For a great article with basic, non-scary facts from an infectious disease physician, check out this article from a fellow Fort Worth Mom Blogger).

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be strong and courageousFor prints and baby dresses, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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Whatever you do mama, don’t forget…

Y’all, I woke up and my baby girl became a toddler! I swear a week ago she was giving me these adorable coos in her tiny baby voice, and now she’s singing in the back of my car in her “big girl” car seat. Woah. I love it.

There’s so much cuteness that I don’t want to forget, and yet life seems to be flying by, so this post is for me, so that when she’s a teenager I can go back and relive these precious baby moments.

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  • In the last two weeks, Wrenn has started using sign language! Y’all, this is a game changer, because my little one can now communicate what she wants. Think about how liberating that must be to be able to clearly communicate what you want for the first time. Right now she knows “more please,” “hungry,” “all done,” and “milk.” I’m also trying to teach her “water” and “diaper change.” Since most of her signs revolve around food, she is quite passionate when she uses them. I’m so proud.
  • She does know a few words, which she uses when it’s just us, but rarely performs on command. Her current words include mama, daddy, papa, puppy, hi, bye, and ball.
  • When we put her to bed for naps or overnight, we tuck her in tightly with the quilt I made her, and then hand her a stuffed bunny, which she snuggles up next to her face. She tends to go to sleep at night almost immediately, but her nap schedule is totally in flux. I think she’s in the process of dropping her morning nap, but she still lays down for about an hour every morning for “quiet time” (which usually involves laying down and singing), and then takes a decent nap in the afternoon.
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  • We bought her a new “big girl” car seat about a week ago. I pulled it out in our front entryway to try to figure out how to put it together, and Wrenn immediately came over and climbed in. I wish you could have seen the pride on her face – it was such a big moment for her. She practiced climbing in and out over and over. When we got it installed and she got to ride in it for the first time, she felt SO BIG. Moments like that make me so happy as a mama.
  •  My baby girl loves to dance. ALL THE TIME. If music comes on, even if it’s just a commercial, she will start wiggling her bootie, shaking her shoulders, and stomping her little foot. It’s hysterical. We went to dinner and sat on a patio and let her walk around (it wasn’t crowded), and she went from table to table dancing as the patrons cheered for her. A few days ago I taught her how to twirl in circles, and now she twirls and twirls and twirls until she gets so dizzy she falls down in a fit of giggles. IT IS THE BEST THING EVER.
  • She gives hugs. And kisses. Over and over. To me, to her daddy, to almost everybody she encounters. Especially to other children. And furniture, her books, her toys. Did I mention I caught her kissing an oscillating fan? And sometimes when she gives me a hug, she pats me on the back as she hugs me. I melt every time.
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  • Now that our hot Texas summer is over and we’re enjoying some slightly cooler temperatures, we’ve been taking Wrenn to the park almost every day. I let her lead me around and decide what she wants to do. At first she didn’t understand, but now she proudly walks around the playground, going from the swing to climbing the jungle gym to walking to the fence to look at the ducks (have I mentioned she is obsessed with animals?). She’ll point at what she wants to go on and I lift her up and help her on.  She has always loved being outside, and you combine that with the freedom to do whatever she wants to do and ALL THE OTHER KIDS that she can watch… and well, it’s her little version of heaven.

Having a 14-month-old is the greatest thing ever. I thank God every single day that he made me her mama, because it’s the greatest privilege I have ever had. That child brings me so much joy.

My life is like a Whac-a-Mole

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Does it ever feel like your life is like this old arcade game I used to play as a child? A problem pops up, you give it a whack, then as soon as you finish, a new one pops up?

This is what my life feels like. Just when I give a good WHACK to one problem, another pops up.

It all came to a head last Thursday. I had a baby who was very sick with asthma. We hadn’t slept in a week because she had been up every night with asthma attacks. Mr. Right had just found out through a blood test that he didn’t have shingles after all (he’s in the midst of what we thought was his second bout since June… four months of pain on his left eye/cheek). His pain was escalating. The docs recommended an MRI to rule out all manner of scary things that might be going on.

WHACK.

I left for work with our only carseat in the back of my car, so when the doctor called to say he needed to see her today, Mr. Right couldn’t take Wrenn to her doctor appointment. And of course, I had a day full of important meetings at work. WHACK. I scrambled to get to her doctor appointment, and while there we got a call that Mr. Right could be squeezed in for an MRI, but only if he could be there within the hour. Of course, we were at the other doctor’s office and in one car. WHACK. We rushed through Wrenn’s appointment, rushed Mr. Right home so he could rush to get his MRI done. WHACK.

Then we had to wait all night to get the test results. The waiting was the worst part. WHACK.

But we were distracted by Wrenn vomiting her medicine all over herself. And me. And our floor. And more asthma problems. WHACK.

We were all three so tired. So very tired. Everything seems worse when you haven’t been sleeping. I took a long bubble bath and then cried myself to sleep. It was the worst day I’ve had in a long time.

But God is so full of grace, isn’t he? I woke up the next morning with this sense of peace that can only come from him. I heard him say, “My mercies are new every morning.”

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”
-Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)

This week has been better. Life is still hard, but things are a little better. Miss Wrenn is feeling much better. We’re all sleeping. Mr. Right got a clear report on his MRI. We’re still dealing with his illness and the frustration of having to wait a month to see a specialist. It’s hard to watch your loved one hurt.

Friend, do you feel like you’re the only one out there juggling, and finding it impossible to keep all the balls in the air? You’re not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. In the meantime, someone hand me another mallet while I go run myself another bubble bath.

His mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness.