Hi Sweet Friend,

I don’t have a doll update just yet, but I do have photos that I want to share with you, you have been so loving and supportive of this journey, and thank you for giving me the space to share what is on my heart with you.

I think of taking photos in other places but every time I want to take them in the Christmas spot at the doll shop.

When Mom started showing signs of Alzheimer’s, things moved quickly.

At 30, I had to take over the shop, so things didn’t fall apart. It was a scary and uncertain time for our family and Mom. She knew what was happening.

Dad and I had the privilege of lovingly walking with Mom through her disease for almost four years. I’ll never forget how dedicated my father was, how patient on the hardest of days.

So many days, weeks, and months felt like a rocking ship, hanging on and afraid to take a breath for fear of what could happen next and how things were going to change again.

When I took her to the hospital for the last time, she rubbed my cheek before they took her upstairs, and I told her how much I loved her. When Dad found out that she was on the same floor as him when they were both in the hospital for covid, he got out of his bed and went to see her even though the doctors said no. He went anyway, and it was the last time he saw her.

If it sounds like a lot, it’s because it has been a lot. We’ve been holding our breath for so long, afraid to exhale.

And now, for the first time in a long time, our family is looking forward to something happy.

And I think this is what this baby is for us and for Mom in Heaven.

She is our exhale.

Happy Saturday.

Thank you for being here and for allowing me to share my story with you, and yours with me.

I am always thinking of you and cheering you on for your next exhale. If you are in the waiting, hang on sweet friend. I promise it’s coming.

In Love and Dolls,

Rachel