Hi! I’m Erin. It’s weird to talk about myself, but I’ll give it a shot.

I’m not outgoing. You’d probably never guess that because I’ve learned how to play well with others. But deep down, I’m an introvert. If it gets too loud or too crowded, I can’t wait to leave. However, I can be feisty. I tell it like it is, I don’t quit, and I expect nothing but the best of myself and others. I think that scrappiness has served me well quite well these last few years. (more on that later)

 In my free time (HA!) I’m usually singing. If there’s a wedding, National Anthem tryouts or karaoke, I’m there. My husband and I actually met at karaoke (the first time…that’s a story for another day).

 Tony and I call North Canton our home. We’ve been married for 12 years and have experienced more ups and downs than all the roller coasters on the planet. When I say we’ve literally been through hell and back, I’m not kidding. It’s been anything but perfect, but we’re perfect for each other. I’m eternally grateful for the man God gave me to love.

 We have two children, but only one of them lives with us. Our son AJ just turned 1! He’s the sweetest, cutest, most adorable child I’ve ever seen. He’s so much fun and makes us laugh literally every single day. Our daughter, Ashlie, would be 2 and a half. But she’s in Heaven already, because she was stillborn at 41 weeks and a day in October 2015. Not a day goes by I don’t wonder what it would be like to have her here, and I’m caught in the weird space of parenting after loss. Which is why, when Michaela asked me to be part of Newsymom, I knew I had to say yes. I hope to give a voice to those feelings and let other loss moms know they aren’t alone.

 In my professional life, I’m an Independent Senior Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics. I mentor and coach a unit of women and while running my own personal sales and team building business. I’m also the founder and CEO of Ashlie’s Embrace, the nonprofit organization we started in memory of our daughter. We provide CuddleCots to hospitals for parents to have more time to say goodbye after stillbirth or other infant loss.

 It’s funny I’m being led down this path again. I graduated from college with a degree in newspaper journalism and was an editor for a few years a while back. I thought I’d closed that chapter, but I’ve forgotten how much I loved to write.

Let’s dust it off…here goes! 🙂