Welcome to my blog, Pink Door Love. My name is Glenda and I’m a small-town Southern girl with a passion for interior design, entertaining, cooking, party planning, visual storytelling, gardening, spending time with family and friends, and all things pretty.

In 2009, I became a mother to a beautiful baby girl, Katherine Belle. She developed normally for her first year of life, but when she wasn’t walking by 17 months, we began to worry that something very serious was affecting our daughter. Following an MRI, two neurologists (mis)diagnosed her with a very rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease that typically carries a life-expectancy of seven to 10 years of age.

After doing a relatively new genetic test called Whole Exome Sequencing, Katherine Belle received a correct diagnosis in February 2015 for a rare type of Mitochondrial Complex 1 Disease, NUBPL (she is one of four known patients in the United States). Although our daughter has a long road ahead, we have every reason to believe (hope) she will get the chance to live. If you are interested in learning more about this aspect of my story, I have another blog – Hope for Katherine Belle – dedicated solely to raising awareness for rare disease.

As you can imagine, living with our daughter’s (mis)diagnosis for a year and a half led to many life-changing decisions, including the decision to sell our home and move to my husband’s hometown in Richmond, Kentucky. Not only did we want to downsize and move closer to Katherine Belle’s school, we longed for a sense of community missing from our lives on a rural, 20-acre farm.

Set in historic downtown Richmond, our new home was love at first sight. Built in 1938, it has everything we want – location, history, charm, and an abundance of character. Well-loved and meticulously maintained by previous owners, I felt an instant connection to the ownership the house has enjoyed for close to eight decades from three families. As an added bonus, upon entry, a pink door greets us – a favorite color and a symbol of hope – representative of our family’s journey and a constant reminder to always enjoy the important moments of life.

I invite you to join me as our family enters a new season of life in a new community as we turn our house into our home. I look forward learning more from you and being inspired by you. Please do not hesitate to comment or contact me directly via email at pinkdoorlove@gmail.com.