Our Candy Rose

09/04/2026

Help support Bella and the Delsea Field Hockey Booster Club as she raises funds for her 2026 season.

Bella is Candace’s little sister, which makes supporting her especially meaningful. If you’d like to contribute, any amount is appreciated and helps her get closer to her goal.

Thank you for continuing to surround our family with so much love and for cheering Bella on. 🌹☀️🪽

Support Delsea Field Hockey Booster Club 2026. Donations will go towards equipment, fees, and travel costs. Your support is vital to the success of our program.

08/15/2026

Good morning my sunshine,

Today you would be 19. 🤍

I still don’t know how the world can keep moving through birthdays when the person we’re supposed to be celebrating isn’t here to grow another year older.

But August 15 will always be yours.

It will always be the day my life changed because you were born. The day I became your mom. The beginning of 17 years of loving you here, and a lifetime of loving you in every way I have left.

Today, I don’t want your birthday to only be about the fact that you’re missing. I want it to be about the fact that you existed.

You laughed. You loved. You were sarcastic and funny and beautiful and complicated and completely, unmistakably Candace. You left pieces of yourself in people and places and songs and memories that I’m still finding. And somehow, even now, you still have a way of showing up.

I would give anything to know who 19-year-old Candace would have been. What you’d be wearing. What music you’d have on repeat. What you’d want for your birthday. What ridiculous thing you’d say that would make me roll my eyes before laughing.

I wish I could celebrate with you. So instead, I’ll celebrate you. Happy 19th birthday, Candace Rose. 🌹

Thank you for making me your mama. 17 years was never going to be enough. But loving you for the rest of my life will have to be. 🤍

06/12/2026

Today is Women Veterans Recognition Day. 🇺🇸

June 12 marks the anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, which allowed women to serve as permanent members of the United States Armed Forces.

Military service has been woven through the women in my family. My mom served in the Active Duty Army and later in the Air National Guard. Years later, I would raise my own right hand and serve ten years in the United States Air Force.

And while she never had the chance to serve, the spirit of service lived on in my daughter, Candace. Before she passed away, she received a Coast Guard recruitment letter. A reminder that she, too, was beginning to imagine the possibilities of her future.

Today, I think about the women who came before me, the opportunities they created, and the generations that followed. Service takes many forms. Some wear the uniform. Some support those who do. Some inspire us with the dreams they carried.

My military service helped shape who I am. It taught me resilience, leadership, sacrifice, and the importance of caring for others. Lessons I carry with me every day as a nurse, veteran, mother, and daughter.

Today I honor my mom, my fellow women veterans, the women currently serving, and the young women who dreamed of what they might become.

Happy Women Veterans Recognition Day.

Proud daughter of a woman veteran. Proud Air Force veteran. Proud mother of a daughter whose future held limitless possibilities.

06/12/2026

🌹 Sweet way to support a great cause! 🌹

Did you know you can now support Monarch Formals just by rounding up your change at Walmart? Every penny helps provide formal wear to those in need. 💕

Even if Walmart isn’t your go-to store, we wanted to share in case you or someone you know shops there!

06/06/2026

Hi everyone 😇🤗

As we approach August 15th, Candace’s 19th birthday, I’d love for our Our Candy Rose family to participate in a simple challenge.

Take a few minutes to reflect on the past year and think about something you’ve accomplished since last August 15th.

It can be something big or something small:

🌹 Started therapy
🌹 Graduated or completed a class
🌹 Started a new job
🌹 Reconnected with family or friends
🌹 Learned a new hobby
🌹 Volunteered or helped someone in need
🌹 Made it through a difficult season of grief
🌹 Took better care of yourself
🌹 Created something for someone else without expecting anything in return

There are no wrong answers. Sometimes simply continuing to show up each day is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

On August 15th, I invite you to share your accomplishment on the Our Candy Rose page. Feel free to post a photo, a story, or just a few sentences. Let’s encourage one another and recognize the growth, healing, kindness, and resilience that have happened over the past year.

One of the greatest ways we can honor Candace is by continuing to live, love, grow, and support one another.

I can’t wait to read your stories. 🌹☀️🪽

What have you accomplished since August 15th, 2025?