Why janiebee?

Janiebee was born from my love of family and memories of carefree, childhood days growing up in Mississippi, when my little sisters Emily, Pam and I swung from vines, played on the banks of a sandy creek and picked blackberries on the gravel road in front of our house. Idyllic actually. I loved being a kid!

family photos janiebee nap mats

.Janiebee is about family, both past and present. For the ones we've lost and for those we still have and hold dear.

My mother's name is Jane and my Dad affectionately calls her Janie. They are in their '80's now.. They just celebrated their 61st Wedding Anniversary. Aren’t they cute?

Sarah Beth (Bee) Thornton

In the Summer of 1999, my daughters and I were visiting Mississippi. While we were there, my 2 1/2 year old niece died suddenly in a tragic auto accident. Even though it was almost 26 years ago, I still remember everything. Her name was Sarah Beth, but we called her Bee. She was our sunshine and we still miss her terribly.

Here’s a post from Facebook a couple of years ago from her mom, my sister, Emily:

A lot of my older friends know what happened to Sarah Beth, but I haven’t told the story on here for some of my newer friends so here goes.

When I was 22 I had a beautiful 2 year old named Sarah Beth. I had just gotten divorced and had just graduated from cosmetology school. I was working in the mall doing hair and the guy I was dating was bringing Sarah Beth to me at work. By 9:00 they hadn’t shown up and I started calling the police stations, hospitals, and hwy patrol. I called Mom and luckily my sister Rene' was visiting, so they started heading toward Tupelo looking for them. Little did we know he had taken the Plantersville way to Tupelo. While I was on the phone with the hwy patrol on the back salon phone they called on the front phone and told me there had been an accident. Rene’ and Mom showed up shortly after and rushed me to the hospital.

When I got here they told me she was technically gone. The artery that connected to her brain had been severed. They wanted to send her to Lebohnor in Memphis. We rushed up there but after a few hours they declared her brain dead. We could keep her on machines but she would never wake up. She would always be a vegetable. Her dad and I, Jason decided that wouldn’t be a life for our beautiful baby B so we turned off the machines. We wanted to donate her organs but all they could use were her kidneys; two more children got to live because of her. You never forget the last time you get to hold your child especially when they are so much heavier because their organs are already swelling. I was able to cut some of her hair for memories and then said goodbye.

She was riding in a toddler seat that she was heavy enough and tall enough for her, but it had been recalled. We didn’t know. In the wreck they went down a 20 foot embankment on their side and when they got to the bottom, the car flipped over on its roof. When that happened it caused her seat belt to come off of the seat and trapped/broke her neck so she went instantly with no pain or having to be scared.

It’s been 19 years; she would have been 22 this November. As the years go by I forget more and more and this was before we had cell phones with cameras so there really isn’t any video of her and we only have a few pictures.
Sorry this was so long but just remember to always hug your babies and tell them “I love you” even if you’ve said it 100 times already that day. Enjoy each birthday, holiday, first day of school, prom, graduations, first day at college, engagements, and weddings.

Janiebee celebrates the life of Sarah, our memories from the past, and the new daily joys and wonder that all little girls (and boys) bring!

Rene'

In the Spring of 2010, the same sister, Emily, (who by now had re-married, had a son, Chance, and a daughter, Emma) asked me to make Emma a nap mat. At the time, I was designing girls wear and selling on Etsy and my website. I did some research and thought how cute these would be if they were designed like quilts! After months of resourcing and several prototypes I came up with a design and sold my first nap mat on Etsy August 26, 2010. From then on, it's been nothing but nap mats!