About Us
The Author:
Where to start! I am a stay-at-home momma which wasn't always my plan. I worked in New York City at a big financial firm and had every intention of continuing my career once my little lady was born.
By God's good grace, I learned the valuable lesson that life is precious.
Almost two weeks over my due date, I was induced. It started out as a normal delivery, but the next thing I knew I was in the operating room where an amazing team of doctors were trying frantically to stop my hemorrhaging.
Over the next few hours I said every Bible verse I had ever memorized from my grade school days at Fox Valley Christian Academy in Neenah, Wisconsin. I prayed more than I have prayed in my life.
When I was finally brought into the ICU, I had the heart wrenching experience of hearing babies crying and watching them snuggle with their mothers. Heart wrenching because I was still not stable. I had yet to hold my baby girl. Seventeen hours after giving birth and I had not seen my daughter.
During those emotional hours I made the promise to never be away from my daughter, unless I had to. Laying in critical condition in the ICU as my daughter sat alone in the NICU, was the first time I felt the selflessness of a mother. All I could think about was how scared she must be in that little bed all by herself. In a new loud, scary bright world and her momma wasn't right there with her. I remember begging my husband to go and hold her and just touch her. This was the closest to death I had ever been and all I cared about was how she was doing.
So, what does this have to do with legendary ladies you ask?
One of the thoughts that crossed my mind while waiting to meet my baby girl was, if I never see my daughter again what will she grow up to be like? Will she grow up to be a strong, independent woman? Who will influence her?
My sister and I were talking a short while after my daughter was born about how there are no baby board books that tell children the amazing stories of Our Legendary Ladies. That's when I made it my mission to try and find stories to read to my daughter about strong women.
And this, my friends, is where the idea was born. We need to educate our children starting at the youngest age possible about the strong, influential, and hopeful women who made it possible for us to all be where we are now, whether it was through helping explorers navigate North America or curing diseases.
We are where we are because of these women. And I want every child to have these stories engraved on their hearts and know that they too hold the power to influence and change the world.
Because of my experience I have a new perspective on life, a beautiful daughter and son, and a brand new career. That is my story. And just like that of Our Legendary Ladies, no two stories are alike. I thank God every day that I am still here on this Earth and able to share these amazing women's stories with our little ones.
Trust me, it is never to early to go beyond the basics and teach our babies about history's Legendary Ladies.
The Illustrator:
for Our Legendary Ladies. I’m very excited to share these amazing stories with your families, and look forward to the memories they’ll create.I’ve been making art since I could first hold a crayon, and collecting stories since I could first remember holding a book.Now I get to live in both worlds: working as an illustrator, the owner of A Blue Fish Studio, and as a designer for agencies across the board. I have worked with several wonderful design agencies creating unique web and product experiences, as well as illustration work for A Story Before Bed.
For me, the most wonderful thing we can do as we grow older, start families, and find our own place in life is to in turn reach out and lift up others around us. With each of these stories, I find that some we know well, some we think we know but have so much more to learn, and others we may not have even heard of.
But every last woman has left a mark on the world, and I’m hoping our children can grow up learning about that one person who may look, sound or think just like them. That person who can show them that they too can break the boundaries and set the stars for themselves. And I hope you’ll join us on that journey.