April 7, 2014April 8, 2014 by Bethe

The one where I hyperventilated on vacation

On our way home from our weekend getaway to Round Top Sunday (recap coming soon), we witnessed a horrible car wreck that left me hyperventilating with my head between my knees.

It had been raining off and on for hours, and the road was slick, the highway was curving, and we were on a bridge. Everybody was going 65+ miles an hour when a truck, just two cars in front of us, lost control, first swerving to the left, then quickly veering to the right and going straight into the guard rail, flipping on its side as it traveled up the guard rail, then crashing back down, landing upright, with the nose of the truck sticking out into the 2-lane highway at 90 degrees.

Smoke billowed out of the hood of the truck.

The rest of us slammed on our brakes and swerved to miss the wreckage, narrowly missing it as we came to a stop on the shoulder about 100 feet ahead. People started jumping out of their cars and running toward the truck.

Nobody got out of the truck.

It just sat there, still and smoking. We called 911 and gave them our location, and still… nobody got out of the truck.

“It’s really bad,” Mr. Right told the 911 operator. “Really bad.”

And that’s when I lost it. I started gasping for breath, shaking, crying hysterically. I put my head between my knees and just sobbed. We had just watched someone die. Oh my goodness. Mr. Right told me that he needed to go see if he could help, leaving us on the shoulder of the highway. I prayed and sobbed for the driver, for Mr. Right and the other good Samaritans who were surely seeing something that would forever change their lives, for Wrenn and I as we sat in the car, with cars still driving by, that nobody would get hit.

I just prayed and sobbed.

After a few minutes, Mr. Right walked back to the car with good news. The driver had walked away. We hadn’t seen him get out of his truck, but he was fine. No major injuries. And just like that, we got back in our car and kept driving. And you know what? I kept crying.

I wish I was one of those people who is strong during a crisis. Sometimes I am. Sometimes I’m not. Yesterday was not my day to be brave.

Thank you Jesus for protecting that driver, the others around us, and for protecting my little family. Life can change in just one moment, can’t it?

April 1, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

Every Day I Love You

Love is a funny thing, isn’t it? During some seasons it’s so EASY and driven by feelings and emotions and romance and pure giddiness. Love can just be so much FUN.

Love can also be hard. Like, when both of your are sleep deprived and juggling crazy schedules and trying to keep up with friendships and housework and jobs and babies and budgets and it feels like you just don’t have much left to give.

Or when you and your hubby both get the stomach bug, a few weeks apart, and the other is left doing ALL of the childcare and taking care of a sick spouse and trying to disinfect the whole house and take care of everyday responsibilities.

Love is messy. And wonderful. And so very hard. And yet, the most natural thing I’ve ever done.

Mr. Right… every single day I love you. More than the day before.

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March 30, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

Baby Shower

babies, parties, Wrenn
1 Comment

Over the weekend Andrea and I hosted a baby shower for our dear friend Katie. She’s doing a lamb theme for her nursery and decorating it in purples, grays, and whites, so we decorated the shower to match.

I spent weeks working on craft projects, and then when I set everything out, it seemed kind of… wimpy. So then I did some more crafts in the days leading up to the party, raided my house for decorations, and called Andrea who rescued me with some more filler. I’m so pleased with the result!

Mr. Right and I are on a mason jar kick right now. We have some gorgeous glassware from Pottery Barn, but it’s so delicate that I can’t wash it in the dishwasher, and it shows water spots like crazy, and, well… I don’t have time to hand wash and perfectly dry my glasses every single time I use them. Mason jars are cheap, hardy, and can be thrown in the dishwasher. And they’re cute! We have some larger ones for everyday use, and I invested in 18 smaller ones for parties (here they are on Amazon).

I made mini hash brown casseroles (here’s the recipe – next time I’ll add another egg or two to keep them from crumbling) and this fruit salad. Andrea brought those adorable lamb cupcakes, sausage balls, and mini muffins. I’ve found, over my decade of hosting showers, that it’s better to only offer a few food items – it’s so much easier to cook larger quantities of a few options (makes for a much smoother day!), and your guests still get plenty to eat. It meant that I didn’t have to stress and could enjoy the morning before the party (a plus, considering I was also corralling a crawling eight month old as I prepped).

Andrea and Katie were bridesmaids in my wedding… they have been such dear friends to me, and it’s fun to celebrate new life stages together. It was so fun to celebrate a new baby girl for my friend. Ever since I had Wrenn, I have had a new appreciation of what a treasure babies are!

And Wrenn’s dress… we don’t dress her in frilly things very often (my baby style is all about comfort/mobility and much less girlie than I ever would have predicted pre-baby ), but someone gave us this gorgeous pink polka-dotted dress at one of my baby showers, and it’s like a baby prom dress. I love it. Every girl has to dress up occasionally, right?

Can I just add that it’s so rare to get a picture of me with Wrenn that’s (1) not a selfie, (2) I’m wearing make-up and my hair is done. I’m trying really hard to have pictures of all three of us together, because I know in 30 years I will love looking back on this time of life, but man, it’s hard!

Happy Baby Shower Katie – I can’t wait to meet Baby Girl in a few months!

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March 27, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

Letter to my eight-month-old

Baby girl,

Oh, Wrennie Minnie, I swear you can’t be eight months old. Four, maybe. No more than that. I was holding you in the hospital just yesterday, so impressed when you could lift that newborn head of yours, watching you stare at the world wide-eyed, taking everything in.

And now you’re eight months old, staring at the world wide-eyed, taking everything in. And moving EVERYWHERE. And talking (although I have no idea what you’re saying). And laughing and smiling and squealing in delight. You live life FULLY, baby girl. It is an absolute joy to watch.

You LOVE to eat. It took you awhile to learn how to chew. And swallow. We joke that we got to practice our baby Heimlich Maneuver every single night at dinner. You have puked up your dinner on our table more times than I’d like to count. That chewing was just so hard to figure out. But that was your seven-month-old self. Now that you’re eight months, well, you rock at that whole eating thing. You love to eat off my plate (you love bread the most, just like your mama), and you also love puffs, yogurt bites, greek yogurt, and every vegetable in the book. The only thing you hate? Ketchup. Can you believe it? I didn’t think ANYBODY could dislike ketchup. I bet you learn to love it later. Oh, and you feel like such a big girl when we let you drink water from a straw.

Last week you learned to crawl FORWARD. This is a big deal. You’ve been rolling and scooting all over my living room floor since you were about six months old, and at seven months you could crawl backward like a pro. You’re really good at inching your way under furniture, you love tight spots (until you’re ready to get out, and then you don’t love it any more). But one day last week, I laid some puffs just out of your reach, and there you went… crawling FORWARD like a pro. Or not a pro, really, more like a clumsy baby deer. It was adorable. I was so proud. A week later and you’re getting GOOD at it.

You love to stand – all the time if you had your way – holding on to just a finger, or the edge of our coffee table, or the side of your crib. You don’t pull up yet, but you also don’t need very much help to stand up. And the funniest part – if I say “WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE!” and shake my head in excitement, baby girl, you start dancing – wiggling your hiney and smiling in delight. It’s the BEST. THING. EVER.

You are still a swaddle baby – even though you’ve tripled in size since you were born, you still love to be swaddled for your naps. At night we leave your arms out so you can roll around safely. You continue to sleep so well – usually from around 8:oo p.m. til 6:15 a.m. or so. Then you lie in bed and talk and sing and entertain yourself until we get you out out of bed closer to 7:00. You usually take a morning and an afternoon nap, (between 3-5 hours total) but lately you’ve been adding an additional, short evening nap between 5:30-6:30. Maybe you’re growing – then again, you’re always growing!

You have two teeth, and baby girl, you had to work HARD for them. The first came around 7.5 months, and you had a 101 degree fever for three days, threw up twice, and were just miserable. I thought you were sick, but after that third day, up popped your tooth and you went right back to normal. Your second tooth was easier, but you still cried HARD for three days. I don’t know if I can take this two dozen more times!

You love to be outside. You love your dog, Harley. You light up at the sound of your daddy’s voice – and are VERY close to being able to say his name. You say DA DA DA DA DA and MAMAMA and GAGAGA and PAPAPAPA. But you don’t really know what you’re say, it’s just babble. Your nursery teacher told me you’re one of the most verbal babies she’s ever seen. Looks like you’re going to be a talker like your mom and dad. Oh, and you LOVE people. It makes me so happy.

Baby girl, you have brought out a side of me that I didn’t know existed. I love getting to act like a big kid again, playing on the floor with you, reading you books, singing songs and making funny noises. It’s like this part of my life has been opened up that I didn’t know was missing. I was made to be your mama and it is SO. MUCH. FUN. You are a blessing to me and your daddy, and we love you dearly.

March 17, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

How to make an infinity scarf

As part of my Dream BIG goal for 2014, I’m trying to get out of my sewing comfort zone and learn to make new things. One of those things on my list was an infinity scarf. Seems simple enough – just a few straight edges – but thinking about how to have all of my seams on the inside and connecting the ends kind of makes my brain hurt. Geometry, math… these things are not my favorites.

But I did it… and I’m so happy with the outcome!

I picked out some gorgeous fabric from JoAnn’s – don’t you just love the navy background with those beautiful flowers? Reminds me of spring.

I wanted my scarf to be full, so I didn’t cut it down but instead used the natural width of the fabric. If you wanted a slightly thinner scarf, you could trim it down by about half(ish).

I read through a written tutorial and THOUGHT I had it figured out, but there was one step I wasn’t super sure of. I just kind of made it up as I went. You have to sew everything inside out, and leave a tiny hole to then flip your fabric right side out. While it was inside out, I had the PERFECT infinity scarf. Amazing.

When I flipped it right side out?

I had a giant pillowcase. Oops. No hole in the middle for your head. #infinityscarf #fail

So… I cut through one of the end seams and went with Plan B – a YouTube tutorial. (Thank goodness for YouTube.)

Ten minutes later, I had figured everything out and finished up my scarf. Total time for this project was less than an hour (it would have taken about 15 minutes if I had known what I was doing). I may never buy another scarf again – it’s way more fun to make my own!

Since then I’ve worn it twice. And I love it so much I may sleep in it.

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March 12, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

Baby leggings: An experiment

I only quilt. And make headbands. And pillows. But I do not EVER make clothes. I just don’t know how to.

Mr. Right says I’m a perfectionist who is scared to branch out and fail. I think he may be right. Or maybe it’s that I have a limited amount of sewing time, and I don’t want to waste it and my valuable fabric on failed projects.

But then Mr. Right found some pics of handmade baby leggings on Instagram, and I fell in love and knew I’d just have to figure it out. And that’s what I did, and I am so, SO proud!

I googled “baby legging tutorial” and found this super easy pattern. (Note to self – I want to try ALL of her tutorials.)

Then Mr. Right and I went on a date to the Fabric store and found some ADORABLE fabrics in spandex and jersey. I have found that busy, random patterns are the most forgiving because you don’t have to line up seams or worry about having something upside down (the same goes for the backings on quilts).

I learned a few lessons the hard way:

1. I need chalk to trace my patterns. You know, black fabric + ink pen doesn’t really work. I ended up pinning the paper pattern to my fabric and just cutting carefully around it, which was fine for forgiving, stretchy material, but for another project that needed to be more exact, that would have caused problems. I’ve found sewing requires PERFECT measurements and cutting.

2. You can’t iron spandex, which made pressing the seams and hemming harder, but I worked around that by doing a lot of pinning.

3. My machine sucked that light, stretchy material right up, jamming my machine so badly I had to call in reinforcements in the form of a hunky husband with his tool belt. He saved the day and had me up and running within about 15 minutes, but I found that I had to be very careful not to do that again. Quilting with cotton is so much easier.

Other than that, the project was fairly easy. It took me about two hours from start to finish (I completed it during Wrenn’s naptime) and I loved the instant gratification of being able to dress her in her new leggings that same day. Quilts take me about 30 hours to make, so it’s usually at least a month of sewing (and that was pre-baby) before I get to admire the finished product.

Wrenn LOVES her new leggings – she is fascinated with the shiny silver polka dots, and they’re so comfy. She may or may not have worn them Saturday night… and Sunday to church… and Monday to visit my office. And pooped on them twice (lot’s of laundry going on in this house).

I’m hooked, and have bought more fabric to make a few different pairs. And now I’m inspired to try some more baby clothes – I have a book of baby dress patterns that I’ve been avoiding, and I think I’m going to tackle it next and see what comes of it!

It feels good to try something new, doesn’t it?

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Looking for baby bows and other lovelies? Visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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March 11, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

I Heart Texas Lovely Babies

The only thing more fun than making lovely things is to see beautiful babies enjoying them! Every time one of my friends posts a photo, I squeal and do a little happy dance. In a completely professional way, of course (not really).

I just posted a new batch of baby bows in the shop last night. All of them can be custom-sized for a newborn all the way to an adult. I experimented with some new colors and textures – some of these are so delicate and exquisite – I’m really happy with the way they turned out! I’ve got a limited quantity and a number of people asking me about them, so get yourself a little lovely quickly (did I mention free shipping?).

If you follow me on Instagram (@texas_lovely), you know that I’ve also got some sparkles and sequins in the works. I’ll let you know when they hit the shop.

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Looking for baby bows and other lovelies? Visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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March 5, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

Life update

I realize it’s been awhile since I wrote about life. You know, the real stuff. Here’s a few updates.

1. We started a new semester of ESL. This is our sixth semester to teach at our church (fifth for me, because I took last fall off after Wrenn was born), and it continues to be one of the best things that Mr. Right and I do together. I usually walk into class tired and stressed and wondering if I should keep teaching, and then my students walk through the door and I fall in love all over again. I leave more energized, with my heart full, and full of happiness. Y’all, teaching ESL makes me… HAPPY.

This semester we have our most diverse group of students yet – with folks from North Korea, Iran, Congo, Angola, Ivory Coast, Bulgaria, South Korea, Indonesia, Honduras, and Mexico. There is nothing more beautiful than to have students from countries that hate each other, who sit shoulder to shoulder in a tiny little room at a Baptist church in Dallas/Fort Worth, and learn English. And through English, learn how much they have in common. That, my friends, is eye-opening joy.

2. Mr. Right and I are falling apart. Literally. Mr. Right continues to struggle with a stress fracture in his foot that first popped up at the end of 2012, and then recurred in late 2013. In February, I went to the doctor for what turned out to be a benign tumor in my back (praise the Lord), and this week had to see a hand specialist. I guess you’re a mama when you don’t even remember how you hurt your wrist, and you wait a month to go to the doctor because frankly, you don’t have time, and you don’t want to spend the money. But a month of self-treating and wearing a brace at home in private (and gritting my teeth in pain in public because I was too vain to let other see me wearing it) only made matters worse. Turns out I have tendinitis, which is common in new mamas. After a cortisone shot – which was more painful than my epidural – I should be fine.

It’s tough getting old.

3. God has blessed us so much with Mr. Right’s business. Like, wow. I didn’t tell you last fall, but he got an award for being one of the very top agents in his office. And this month he has been running 100 miles an hour, closing deals and selling houses and having the best time ever. It is so wonderful to see him love his job. Like, really love it. What’s even better, he has worked with some of my beloved blog readers – even folks I’ve never met in person but seem to know so well online – and it means so much to us that our friends and friends-of-friends trust him with such important matters. Thank you.

4. Wrenn gets more wonderful by the day. She takes my breath away. I will have to do a whole blog post about how wonderful having a seven month old is, because wow, it’s the best age. I feel like I have a new playmate and cuddle partner. I spent all afternoon Sunday on the floor playing with her, reading her books and having squealing contests (it’s our favorite thing… we are LOUD) and practicing important things like crawling and eating and laughing and well, being seven months old. That evening she fell asleep on my chest while I watched the Oscars, and it was one of the sweetest moments ever. I could never put her down.

5. After re-reading my list, it seems a bit too wonderful. Ha… life is anything but perfect. It’s filled with moments like Saturday, when Miss Wrenn had a meltdown while we were grocery shopping at Target – she cried non-stop while we checked out, screamed the whole way home, screamed even louder as I unloaded the car, and right as I went to go pick her up from her spot on the floor, she leaned over, put her head in her lap, and fell asleep. Some days, that’s how I feel too, baby girl.

Life is hard, but that part isn’t as much fun to put into writing.

6. I continue to struggle to find the right balance between being a good mama, wife, employee, Christ follower, friend… and an adventurous version of myself. Some days I feel like I’m rocking along, and then on others I feel exhausted and lacking in all areas. I’m learning that in this season of life, much grace is required. I’m working on giving myself a break.

7. I’m tired, y’all. Even though Miss Wrenn is back to sleeping like a champ (praise the Lord), working full-time with a seven month old leaves me exhausted by bedtime. But I’ve started waking up an extra hour early, at 5:00 a.m., to do my quiet time before anybody else in the house wakes up. I must say, even though I’m still tired, it sure does make a difference in how my morning goes. The structure is good for me, and so is the time in the Word. It also means that by 9:30, well, I’m ready for bed.

Someone pass me a cup of coffee.

8. I’ll post a shop update soon, but I’ve almost completely sold out of my baby headbands. Thank you to everybody who has supported our little family by making a purchase! I’ll be adding some new ones in the shop soon – stay tuned!

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Looking for baby bows and other lovelies? Visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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February 26, 2014February 23, 2014 by Bethe

Gems from around the web

The internet can be so fun sometimes! I love to share the wealth when I find little gems that are extra helpful, enjoyable, or affirming. Here you go (click on the picture for the original source):

I have thrown a lot of parties in my life. That’s what 10 years as an event planner will do. I have enjoyed some enormous decoration budgets, but when it comes to throwing parties on my own dime, at my own home, well, I’m more of a grocery store flower kind of girl. Which doesn’t have to be a bad thing at all – there are so many fun ways to fool your guests into thinking you spent more than you really did. This article will tell you how. (PS – If there’s a Trader Joe’s in your town, they have the most interesting flowers at really low prices.)

Wrenn’s first birthday is just five months away, which means of course, as a first-time mom, I’m already thinking about her party. Because that’s what first-time moms do, right? I’ve promised myself I wouldn’t go over the top, but my sister sent me info on this adorable party hat, and well, I think I’m in love. Confession: I may or may not have bought the supplies to make her a tutu for the party as well. I’m hopeless.

I’m a firm believer that the devil wants us to feel like we’re isolated. The only one struggling with something. He tells me often that I’m the only person who doesn’t have my act together. Which is not true. So of course I am loving this series from Momastery, which happens to feature one of my very favorite bloggers in the whole world (Jen Hatmaker – if you don’t follow her on Facebook… go do it now).

quilt

I’m slowly but surely piecing together my next quilt. You know, this process goes a lot slower when your quilting only happens during baby’s naptime. Especially since naptime is my best chance to do dishes/laundry/straighten up/shower/go to the bathroom/sit. And, this quilt features 450 triangles. So yeah, I’ll be done in 2039. But it’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s inspired by Simply Pieced. (PS – Her quilts are so my style – I love all of them.)

PS – Happy birthday today to my dear mama!

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Prov 31 Looking for beautiful scripture prints to inspire you? Visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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February 25, 2014February 2, 2015 by Bethe

How baby vomit has changed me

I’m just going to say it. Having a sick baby is the absolute worst. I would rather be sick 10 times than have my baby girl be sick just once. Nothing breaks my heart more.

This weekend little Wrenn caught some sort of bug – 101 degree fever, some tummy problems, and an all around crumminess. Sweet girl was a trooper, but you could just see in her eyes that she felt awful.

Of course we had a weekend full of plans, but I dropped everything to snuggle with my girl. She would just put her head on my shoulder and snuggle close to me – something she never does – as if to say, “Mama, make it better.”

She vomited all over me. Twice. All my life, even the thought of puke makes me weak in the knees, and yet, when it was my baby, all I cared about was making sure she was okay. I guess this whole motherhood thing really changes every single part of you, doesn’t it? Sometimes it overwhelms me in the greatest way possible.

Feel better, baby girl.

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Looking for baby bows and other lovelies? Visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

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