As 2016 comes to a close I can’t help but stop for a minute, breathe and reflect. No doubt I have been a very busy bee this year. 2016 has brought tremendous personal and spiritual growth. When I decided to compete for Mrs. Illinois International, I had no idea the way it would impact my and my family’s lives. I had no idea that a competition that I was using to “tell my story” would create a ripple effect that ignited a passion that has no signs of coming to an end. (Although come March, a break is very welcomed!) I told myself that if given this blessing of being named Mrs. Illinois- I would use this as a year of service. A year that was not all about me, but rather a year about all I can do for others. I really challenged myself to see how much a person can really do. I put my head down and began to work. I wanted to share some stats with you: 71 appearances as Mrs. Illinois International. All of which have allowed me to meet thousands of people from all over the wo
Being a parent means loving your children more than you've ever loved yourself. It also means getting used to going to the bathroom & taking a shower with an audience! Welcome to my blog about navigating through parenthood, celebrating the good, coping with the hard, and managing to keep a little bit of yourself through it all! We are the proudest parents to 3 year old Cristiano, and 6 month Ashlynn Grace. She is our NICU grad, brave CP fighter, and mommy's hero.