In Loving Memory

The Inspiration for Sparkle Strong

Our precious Jewels was born with a fierce little heart, both literally and in spirit. While she spent much of her life in the cardiac ICU, Jewels radiated joy. She smiled with her whole face, sparkled through setbacks and reminded everyone around her what it meant to fight with grace.

Our sweet girl was more than a medical journey. She was a baby sister, a spark of light and a heartbeat at the center of a family that loved her endlessly. Her time earthside was short but her impact is immeasurable.

We created the Sparkle Strong Foundation while holding her in hospital rooms and holding our family together. Jewels was the inspiration behind it all, and she still is. Every kit packed, every dollar raised, every family supported…it’s all for her and the kids like her who deserve to be seen, celebrated and surrounded by love.

Jewels passed away in July 2025 after nearly a year of showing us what real strength looks like. Her story continues in every life we touch. She was and remains the heart of Sparkle Strong.

Our Story

The Family Behind Sparkle Strong

We’re a close-knit crew doing life with a lot of love, a little chaos, and just enough caffeine. Jess (single mama, foster mom, teacher, master of juggling all the things), GamGam (our family’s secret sauce) and the vivacious kidlets: Tabe, Jada, Tavi and Jewels, make up our wild, wonderful team. Life hasn’t exactly been smooth, but it’s full of sparkle, strength and stories we’re still writing.

Our big-hearted crew extends well beyond our household. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends-who-are-family have all rallied around us in this heart journey while cheering us on, showing up and holding us steady. As we began the transplant journey with sweet baby Jewels in spring 2025, we said goodbye to our family’s matriarch and patriarch, two pillars of strength and grace who shaped our roots. Sadly, our precious Jewels joined her great grandparents in July of 2025 just one day shy of her 11-month birthday. With their love as our compass, the legacy of our three guiding guardian angels helps us Sparkle Strong.

The Heart Journey

Our heart journey began when the tiniest, fiercest girl, our precious Jewels, came into our lives with a spark and a complex congenital heart defect. The biological sister of J & T, I pretended to think it over but knew this gift, our sweet baby girl, was already family. I chose the medical family journey and heart mom role without hesitation. Life quickly shifted from common everyday routines to navigating hospital halls, learning medical lingo and living bedside in the CICU. It’s a world we never expected but now know intimately. Through the beeping monitors, long nights and countless hopes and prayers, we found strength we didn’t know we had and a community for which we’re so grateful even after the passing of our inspiration. Jewels reminded us daily that even a little heart can hold big magic.

The Sparkle Strong Start

Sparkle Strong was born deep gratitude and heartstrong purpose. When others stepped in to help our family through our hardest days, I knew I wanted to give back, to be that light for someone else. Being away from my classroom left me searching for a way to keep helping, to use my heart and gifts in a new way, and Sparkle Strong became that outlet.

Early on, I began donating craft supplies to caregiver support groups at both OU Children’s and Children’s Medical Center Dallas. Small gestures, maybe, but meaningful, and they lit a fire in me.

I’d seen firsthand how often the unique challenges of single moms and foster parents get overlooked from juggling impossible schedules, carrying emotional and logistical loads with little support, and, for foster parents, having even less say in life-or-death decisions for the children they love as their own. That reality shaped Sparkle Strong’s mission: to stand in the gap and uplift families who are so often doing the impossible quietly and alone.

From those first donations, our work grew. Today, Sparkle Strong provides Sparkle Strong Survival Kits, Jewels’s Joyboxes to celebrate milestones in the CICU and heartfelt connection to families navigating the complexities of CHD and hospital life.

What makes Sparkle Strong a little different? We intentionally seek out families like ours. The ones with extra layers to their already heavy load, but we absolutely wrap our arms around every heart family with love and understanding. We want every person we reach to feel seen, heard and deeply validated.

At the heart of it all, we believe that even in the hardest moments, there’s still room for joy, kindness and a little sparkle — okay, a lot of sparkle. We’re here to walk beside you, cheer you on and remind you that even when life feels insurmountable, you can still shine like you mean it.