I have wanted to become an artist since the age of 3. Growing up, I was fascinated with color, drawing and creating, especially with my mom, who is also a creator, and I was on the path I thought I needed to be on to become a great artist. However, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan.

It was the week before spring finals and I was finishing up my freshman year at Texas Tech University. It was a great year: I was majoring in studio art; I had good grades; I had amazing friends; I had a serious boyfriend. I had made plans to transfer to Texas Christian University the following fall. I turned 19 in April of 2014, and little did I know my whole life was about to change. I made the discovery that I was pregnant.

I first called my boyfriend, Anthony, who was calm, telling me he loved me and that it was going to be ok. The following summer was a hectic one, full of planning, and refocusing my life. At the end of summer 2014, I married the love of my life and started the crazy adventure of marriage with my best friend. About three weeks after our wedding, when I was six months pregnant, I felt a sharp pain in my leg and it began to swell. The swelling and pain increased and I was rushed to the emergency room. It was discovered that I had a blood clot in my femoral artery that stretched from my hip to the bottom of my calf. A small piece of the clot had broken off and was in my lungs, and my life was in danger. I was in the hospital for a week, then bed rest at home and was on blood thinners for the next six months. During this whole process, our baby’s life was never in danger, she was so strong and healthy even when I was not. God continuously showed me love and grace during this time of my life. On December 29, 2014, the most beautiful baby girl, Tate, made her entrance into the world.