In honor of the craziest most life changing year of my life… I have an exciting announcement to make..🤗 I will be competing in the Miss Florida USA Pageant this summer!
This is so UNBELIEVABLE and SPECIAL to me. 🤯🤯🤯 let me take you back through my journey of why this is so incredible…
When I was 23 years old, the last pageant that I competed in was December 2015 right after I met Albert. I placed 3rd runner up and wanted to compete again next year to hopefully win the crown👑, but little did I know my life would be changed forever.💫
A few weeks later Albert and I found out we were going to become parents. Even though this was unexpected, scary, and a lot was uncertain, the love that settled in instantly was undeniable not only for each other but our baby. This meant I was closing a door to a few chapters in my life... I could no longer compete the Miss USA pageant due to the rules of not being able to compete if married or with kids, I also danced professionally for 3 years, and had a healthy social life in Philly.💜
It was clear I was about to transition into a completely new journey and leave behind a lot. Aside from meeting the love of my life and finding out I was going to be a mom all within a month… I quickly became a traveling baseball fiancé and began supporting my Albert’s career.⚾️
I knew very little about the baseball world and the challenges that were ahead, but luckily I played softball throughout middle school and high school so I naturally LOVED the game. I was use to adapting to different life situations after my parents divorced when I was 18 (which lasted 10 years) and other unfortunate things with my dog took place that I had to overcome. I was ready for a change whether I knew it or not.🙏
I experienced my first AZ spring training that February. I’ll never forget the very first baseball game I sat down to watch Albert play, it’s so incredible looking back to how far he has come. We had our gender reveal that March, then in April moved to a comfy studio in Des Moines, Iowa for Albert’s AAA season. Shortly after Albert surprised me with our first puppy, Luna. It was a lot of fun going to games everyday, especially bringing her, I loved living in Des Moines! I got to visit Philly a lot while Albert was on the road and was enjoying the summer! The excitement, love, and happiness I felt was a huge confirmation that I was EXACTLY where I was meant to be.🙏💕
We planned to get married in the court house in Iowa on June 9th… but….. Albert spontaneously got called up the to the BIG LEAGUES on June 8th. I’ll never forget the phone call he got at 12am... literally watching his dream come true in that moment😭 and to top things off the Cubs happened to be playing in my hometown PHILLY where he debuted at his first big league game. 🙌🤩 Seeing him out there on the field for the first time was the most incredible feeling. Similar to every year after that I got to see him live out his dream, but there was nothing like that first day.💫
Shortly after we had our first home stand in Chicago and luckily we snuck in our court wedding on the off day, July 21 2016…… IRONICALLY the next day Albert got sent down to AAA😅 you can imagine the emotional rollercoaster all of this was. But one things for sure Albert has always been the most loving, supportive, person through it all.🥹
I decided to stay alone in Chicago while Albert played in Iowa since September call ups were around the corner and that’s where I decided to give birth. A few weeks later Albert injured his finger and needed to see a specialist in Chicago. I was excited I was going to see him for a few days since I had been alone and was a little over 8 months pregnant with a puppy. 🙃
On August 17th he landed in Chicago around 8pm… he called me on his way in an Uber and then the unexpected happened. MY WATER BROKE. I called him back and said get ready because we’re going straight to the hospital when you get here.🤯 I gave birth naturally 3.5 weeks early to my beautiful baby boy around 6am on August 18, 2016. Becoming a mom has been the most life changing of them all. It has challenged me to be the best version of my self and the unconditional love that I have for my babies is for sure the greatest gift in life. Plus it showed me the strength that I’m capable of. Giving birth was one of the scariest things I’ve ever had to face, but trusting in God that women were made for this got me through it!🙏🥹
After giving birth, Albert was able to be with me for the next couple of weeks, then shortly after got called up for September. Through the challenges of being new parents we became stronger, and watching Albert become a dad made me fall in love with him even more. BUT it was definitely hard at times. Albert still had to go on the road and I had to figure out how to be a mom on my own one step at a time. There were definitely nights I cried, and I got very little sleep… for years to come🙃. AJ attended his first baseball game at wriggly field when he was just 2 weeks old, we had no clue what was about to happen after that!🥹
A month later Albert made the playoff roster and just like that we were about to embark on a whole new journey.. we went on a postseason ride of a lifetime. Through the baby blues and lots of excitement I had to stay strong and be there for Albert. Luckily my mom helped me through some of the playoff games as well as my in laws so I could soak it all in and be there in San Francisco, LA, and Cleveland where they won it all and became 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series Champions.🏆
Having AJ with me during the games was awesome but sometimes challenging, I vividly remember changing his diaper in the middle of a playoff game in bottom of the 9th inning not to miss what was happening! LOL The other wives and girlfriends were so helpful and supportive. We were truly the best baseball family you could image I was blessed to have made the friendships and bond of a lifetime. 💯
Watching Albert accomplish things in his career that are extremely difficult to do, especially right off the batt, was super rewarding. The parade was magical as it was one of the largest gatherings in history. Nothing can compare to how incredible it really was. God always has a way of making things work out. Trusting in him and the journey has provided me with a lot of peace, understanding, and patience through it all.🎉🙏
I lost my great uncle and my dog the end of 2016. My dog Dro was my everything and his health was a battle for a few years before meeting Albert. Not being able to be with him a ton his last year really hurt hard. But to this day thinking of him puts a smile on my face and the love he gave us for 12 years.
We ended the year with our first family vacation in Punta Cana, and had our first holiday season/off season with our precious baby AJ. We continued to travel to AZ and Chicago for baseball for the next 4 years while raising our baby boy and welcoming our second child in Oct 2018.
Fun Fact: I attended over 400+ baseball games since 2016!😅 So much fun!!!!😆😍
2016 will forever be the craziest most life changing year that I will forever be grateful for. So proud of the family Albert and I created and looking forward to many more years of baseball greatness to unfold…
Competing in the Miss Florida USA pageant this July can also be a potentially life changing experience as well as historic. For the first time any woman can compete in the Miss USA Pageant… married, with kids, any age…. I am so proud of the progress we’ve made in acknowledging beauty of all stages of life.
So honored to get the opportunity to represent all women in the most prestigious pageant and compete for the title of Miss Florida USA.👑 the best part is my boys will get to see there mom work hard towards something she believes in and use her platform to make a positive influence. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me to take this exciting leap. God is good. Can’t wait for the personal growth this experience will bring and so much more🙏💜👑💪 #letsgo #missusa #missflusa #pageantlife
