Day 46: Scott Bowles

Allow me to introduce you to Scott Bowles:

Scott is my cousin Jessica's husband. I have known him now for over 5 years and I can say that he is spectacular! There are so many amazing things about Scott I simply cannot write about all of them, but let me at least write about a few!

Scott is stinking hilarious. Holy Cow he is funny! He has an amazing sense of wit and an awesome dry humor. Oh I love it! Drew, Hank and I all love hanging out with him because he keeps us in a constant roar of laughter.

Scott is also really intelligent. He is an engineer so he is great at things involving math and science which is definitely not my specialty. He has taught us so much about budgeting and how to handle money. He and Jessica are a huge inspiration to us in many ways, one of them being financially! Scott is super responsible and is a wonderful provider and husband for Jessica and an excellent daddy to Reagan.

If you have seen Scott and Reagan together there would be no denial that they are related. Reagan is the spitting image of Scott. It is adorable! Scott is such a good father. He is gentle, loving, protective, and fun. Reagan loves it when Scott comes home from work. She cries when he leaves the room. It broke my heart when I saw this happen! I started crying too! It was so sweet.

Scott has been an amazing cousin and family member to my family. He has helped us set up budgets, organize attics, repair household items and has filled the role of "the man of the house" in various situations! Some of which I am sure were most unpleasant! He was also a huge help during my wedding.

Scott,

You are such a great addition to our family! Hank, Drew, and I look at you as if you were our brother-in-law rather than a cousin. You are so kind and so much fun to be around. Your relationship with the Lord and your faith is a huge inspiration to all of us, but especially the men in our family. You are an amazing father and husband and I could not have hand picked someone better for Jessica and Reagan. You are a blessing to all of us and we love you very much! We hope to see you all soon! Thank you for everything you are to so many people!

Love,
Mary Beth

Day 45: Angel

This week I have been continuing my training at NeuroRestorative. I have worked with many different people, but one coworker has specifically stood out to me. Her name is Angel, and she is just as sweet as an Angel.

She has been incredibly helpful to me. She has made me feel welcomed and taken the time to get to know me. She is super friendly, nice, and open. She is one of those people who not only answers my questions about her, but also asks questions about me. I think that is refreshing and polite!

Angel is so sweet to all of the participants in our programs at work. Seriously, she treats them like they are family members. She hugs them, tells them she loves them, jokes with them, and is go gentle. I have never seen her lose her cool or be rough with a participant. Sadly, I have seen that from some other co-workers. She is an inspiration to me at work and I love it when I work with her. She is just so helpful and I want to treat other people the same way she treats them.

Angel,

Thank you for all of your help thus far! You have truly been a blessing in my life. You are so kind and have such a big heart. Your compassion for others is incredibly obvious. I hope for the best for you! Thank you for encouraging me and being an inspiration!

Sincerely,

Mary

Day 44: Patrick Locke

Patrick has to be one of the best men on the entire planet. He is my cousin-in-law. He was married to my fabulous cousin Gigi until she passed away last year. I don't know if I know a stronger man.

Patrick is a wonderful father to 4 adorable and awesome kids. He works full time, home schools his kids, manages his household, and is somehow still sane. He has been blessed with help of course, but the quality of your family is directly related to the parents. Patrick is all quality. Seriously, he has a huge heart. He is such a kind person.

He was an amazing help to my family when my parents divorced. He was supportive and was kind enough to escort my mother to various events including my wedding. He was a friend to us, which sometimes offers even more than family. Not to mention, he understood the difficulties of being a single parent.

Patrick is an amazing father. He is so strong and a great support for his kids. He is there for them and loves them so much. I have seen him in some stressful situations, but I have never seen him lose his temper or yell. That is so refreshing. He is a great role-model for all of his kids, but especially his sons. I cannot think of a better example of a father.

Patrick,

Thank you for being such a kind person. Thank you for being an awesome example of a Godly man. Your love for the Lord is so evident in your life! It is revealed in your kindness and giving nature toward others, your love for your children, the love you had and still have for Gigi, and your spirit in general. I have loved getting to know you more over the years. I love spending time with you and your family. You guys are so wonderful and I love you all so much! Thank you for your example.

Love,
Mary Beth

This is a picture of Patrick and his beautiful family!

Day 43: Alice Schenzel

Today Drew and I were having a great conversation and somehow the topic of his grandma (Alice Schenzel) came up. I just stopped and said "I miss not knowing her. I think I would have really liked her". Grandma Schenzel passed away about 10 years ago to cancer. Her death was way too sudden and entirely too early. I know her death left a huge hole in all of the Darr's and Schenzel's hearts. A hole in my heart grew after meeting their sweet family and hearing all the amazing stories of Grandma Schenzel. I miss her and I have never formally known her. Her influence on Drew and his family though is incredibly obvious.

From what I have heard she loved to spoil her grandchildren. That is awesome. That is exactly the kind of grandma I want to be and every child deserves to have. I have seen pictures of Drew growing up and he had amazing outfits thanks to his grandma. I am not even gonna go into how many outfits Ali was blessed with, but you can imagine....a TON. She was a princess in the eyes of Grandma Schenzel, as I am sure Annie and Emily were too.

Over Thanksgiving I got to watch some home videos with her in them. It was really neat. I felt like I got to know her so much better through the videos. I got a feel for her style, her mannerisms, her character, and her reactions with her family. Wow. It made me cry like a baby. Julie and I were sitting on the couch with our hands stuffed with tissues out crying each other. It made me so sad to have not known Grandma.

Julie has told me that her mom loved bling. I love that. I think she and I would have gotten along well because I also love bling. The louder and more sparkly the better! In all seriousness though, I feel a strange connection to Grandma Alice despite never meeting her. I love her for who she was to her family. I know they are unique because of her love. I wish I would have known her. I would have loved to have gone shopping with her! I would have loved being spoiled by her I am sure! I would have loved sharing traditions that revolved around Grandma and Grandpa Schenzel's home. I bet it was magical, especially around Christmas. In general I love grandmothers, but Alice was special. She was Drew's grandmother.

Grandma Schenzel,

I know you are looking down on all of the Schenzel and Darr clan. I know you are so proud of who your children and grandbabies have become and are excited to watch in joy as their futures continue. I just wanted to say thank you for your influence on them, and thus on me. You raised a remarkable daughter who is a great wife, mother, and mother-in-law. Thank you for spoiling Drew and loving on him so much. He is such a sweet and sensitive guy and I am sure that has to do with you. He talks about you all the time. He misses you. We all do. I am so glad I get to know you even if it is through their memories and stories. Thank you for your legacy.

Love,

Mary Beth

Day 42: Lois Parks

Lois, or "Muffy" as her family and friends call her, is one of my favorite women ever. She is a dear family friend of ours and I consider her to be basically another aunt of mine.

Lois is so many things. She is very intelligent, incredibly beautiful, funny, sweet, hospitable, graceful, and kind. She always has me in stitches laughing. She has a million hysterical stories that I love hearing! If you don't know the spray tan story, please stop whatever you are doing and ask her to tell it to you. You will never be the same after hearing/seeing her reenactment.

She has been such a fun part of my life the past years I have known her. The night Drew and I got engaged she came over and saw my ring and told us congratulations. I loved telling her all of my wedding planning tales. She is a great listener. She is also a great host! She hosted a Texan themed shower for Drew and I before we got married (when we were still moving to Dallas) which was a blast! I love going to her parties.

She and some other incredible women (who will be on here shortly) were a great help to our wedding. They made about a million (or that's what it seemed like) Oreo Truffles and other delights for the reception. She was at our wedding way early in the day setting everything up. What a blessing she was to our wedding.

Lois has the faith of a warrior. She is an excellent role-model. She encourages and inspires me in so many ways. She is just as sweet as she could be, but she is also a strong woman. She relies fully on God and never hesitates to intercede for others. She has been a constant friend to my family through the mountains and valleys of life and has helped us remain faithful. I am so thankful for her friendship to not only me, but my whole family. This woman knows how to pray and I love that.

Lois,

Thank you for everything you have done for me and my family. Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on, having a comforting embrace, an intelligent wit, and a heart that belongs to Jesus. You have been such a blessing to me. You are an amazing woman and I hope to someday be like you in many ways. You always know how to make people happy and make them crack a smile. You are one of the kindest people I know. I miss you terribly. It was so nice to see you on Christmas Eve. Thank you for being a great role model for so many young women! I love you!

Love,

Mary Beth

Day 41: Elizabeth Kerns

It was like a 911 response to an emergency- urgent, ugly, and in desperate need of professional help. This was my hair appointment with Elizabeth Kerns last week. She saved my hair. For real.

Maybe that sounds a bit dramatic, but in all seriousness my hair needed her. I gave myself a "homemade hairstyle" back in September because I was too poor to get it cut and highlighted. So I dyed it brown and cut it myself. Now, it was not horrible, but I hated it. So when I went home for Christmas I knew I had to call Elizabeth.

Elizabeth recently got her hairstylist license and a new fancy salon job too! Congratulations!

I have known Elizabeth for probably 3 or 4 years through family friends, but we have never really been all that close. She was always super sweet, but during our little hair get-together we talked about a ton of stuff and I felt like I got a great insight into Elizabeth. I had so much fun! She was so kind, funny, interesting, and not to mention extremely talented. She gave me awesome blonde highlights and a haircut that has easily become one of my favorites! She listened to exactly what I told her I liked and did an amazing job. I love it!

Elizabeth was so sweet to me when I lost my cat Lucy. She wrote me some really encouraging words on facebook that meant so much to me. I was incredibly blessed by her kindness and concern for me.

Elizabeth,

Thank you for saving my hair!! Thank you for being so sweet and kind to so many people. You are a great listener and a compassionate person. I loved getting to know you better last week! I look forward to seeing you again soon. I hope you had a fabulous Christmas! Thanks again for an amazing haircut!

Love,

Mary Beth

Day 40: Betsy Newton

Tonight's blog is about my oh-so-fabulous Aunt Betsy. She is my mother's other sister and if you read my post about Jessica, she is Jess's mom. 

I grew up with Aunt Betsy always being really close by. I would see her several times a week so she basically was like a second mother to me growing up. Betsy cracks me up. She always has. She has a ridiculous sense of humor and a great sense of sarcasm! I love it. She always has me in stitches when we visit. 

I refer to Betsy as the "fireball". You see, she is a petite little woman but don't you dare underestimate her physical or emotional strength. She is the sister in the family who gets stuff done! She puts people in line and makes them straighten up. I think it is glorious! When Nancy and Gaye can't get the job done, bring in the big guns Betsy! 

Betsy is one the best cooks I have ever met. She knows how to cook just about anything and it all tastes so amazing. We love going to visit she and George simply because we always get amazing meals! She is so hospitable and always makes everyone feel at home. As soon as you walk in the door she wants to know if you are hungry or thirsty, and she is not satisfied until you are. True Southern Hospitality. I love it. Drew gains like 5 pounds every time we visit. He does not complain though! 

Betsy is such a giver. She was an incredible help at my wedding. She organized, purchased, and set up so many details and items of the day (the week really). She hosted an incredible Bridesmaids Brunch for me. It was beautiful and delicious. My Bridesmaids loved it. I remember I was freaking out about not having any concealer and she just whipped some out of her makeup bag and said "here, have this one". She has always been like that. I hesitate to even compliment her on anything because she is likely to give it to me. Not that I don't want it, but she should keep it! 

Betsy has been an incredible help to my family. She has always had a plan or creative way of dealing with life's difficulties. She takes care of everybody. I love that about her. I know I can always call her and cry if I need to. 

Betsy, 

Thank you for being an amazing Aunt to me. You have always been so close to me and I love that. Thank you for spoiling me. Thank you for always helping me and my family. Thank you for your incredible helpfulness at our wedding! I don't know what we would have done without you! Thank you for being so funny and so much fun to be with! Thank you for keeping me in stitches laughing. I love coming to visit you and hopefully we will head that way again very soon. 

Love you!

Mary Beth 

This is a picture from my Bridesmaid Brunch! My mom, me, Jessica, and Aunt Betsy.