Heartbeats & Highlights
How to Help a CICU Family
When someone you love has a child in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, it can be hard to know what to say or do. You want to help. You want to make things easier. But there is no gift card, casserole or perfectly worded text that can make a child’s heart...
What’s in a We See You Sibling Package?
What’s in a We See You Sibling Package? When a child is in the CICU, so much of the family's attention naturally goes toward the child who is sick. There are doctors, nurses, procedures, updates and a million decisions to make. And somewhere nearby, there may be a...
What’s In a Jewels Joybox?
What’s in a Jewels Joybox? Jewels Joyboxes are all about one thing. Bringing a little joy into the CICU. Each box is filled with fun, festive items families can use to make their child’s room feel a little less like a hospital and a little more like home. Depending on...
Holidays with Heart Auction 2026
Welcome toHolidays with HeartBidding Opens Friday November 13, 2026When :Bidding opens at 9:00 A.M. Central on November 13, 2026Bidding closes at 6:00 P.M. Central on November 14, 2026Where :Online via ZeffyHoliday shopping with a little more heart...Our Holidays with...
Native Art Supporting Hearts Online Auction
a sparkle strong auction*Background image: Radiant Connection by Natalie Miller (Chickasaw)Thank You!You helped us raise $965 to support families in the CICU! Join us for Holidays with Heart to continue the sparkle!Native Art Supporting Hearts is a curated online...
What’s In a Sparkle Strong Survival Kit and Sibling Kit?
Jewels and I arrived at Children's Medical Center Dallas on a Monday evening. Well, she arrived on a Monday afternoon after a VIP helicopter ride from Oklahoma Children's Hospital, and I made in a few hours later via my soccer mom mobile after racing down I35 (as...
Holidays with Heart Online Auction 2025
Our first Holidays with Heart auction is live and ready for you to explore. This is the event we built from love, grit and the brightest sparkle of our sweet baby girl Jewels. Every item has a story and every bid helps us support families with children in the...
Holidays with Heart Silent Auction
The holidays are a time of joy and togetherness, but for many families, that season is spent in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), surrounded by monitors instead of family and friends. Some parents spend the holiday at the bedside while siblings wait at home,...
When Her Sparkle Became Starlight: Child Loss in the CICU
This isn’t a post I ever wanted to write. But we're going to be real, we have to hold both the joy and the heartbreak. And the truth is, sometimes the worst happens. As I researched and embraced my new role of heart mama (because I fully and ferociously chose our...