Sunshine & Raindrops — Harley Gonzales

Meet Harley Rainn! Harley is a bright little girl and the inspiration behind @sunshineandrainndrops, a space for Ursula (Harley’s mom) to document their journey as a family. Harley was born with Williams Syndrome but she doesn’t let her diagnosis get in her way! She’s super smart and loves learning, especially science experiments. Her smile is so contagious and lights up the room wherever she goes.

Harley's new design, ‘Sunshine & Raindrops’, is a reminder to keep going no matter what — rain, hail or shine. Even at 4 years old, Harley’s inspires us everyday through her resilience and strength. If you’d like to show your support by shopping Harley’s design, she’ll get 60% of the profits to help fund her medical treatments.

shop to support harley

Ursula, a writer and the brains behind @sunshineandrainndrops, has written a heart-warming piece about her family’s experience and the true meaning behind Sunshine & Rainndrops.

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There are days where life seems utterly perfect: the weather is sunny and bright, the birds are chirping, laughter is in the air, everyone is smiling and happy. Then there are days where everything goes wrong, even the unimaginable. You get filled with fear, dread, sadness, and you feel powerless to do anything about it because not everything in life is in your control. Life doesn’t always seem fair, you're up one minute then down the next. However, what life does is teach lessons, which can have a profound effect on how you view life, people, and even the world.

When my daughter, Harley Rainn, was born, it was quite literally one of the happiest days of my life. She was my little ray of sunshine. There was a deep bond between us that formed immediately. A love so pure, so strong that brought tears to my eyes. There was absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for this little angel that I held so close to my heart.

Just 2 short weeks after her birth came an unexpected turn that would change our lives forever - the sound of a heart murmur. We were then rushed into one doctor appointment after another, doing test after test. We were thrown into a seemingly never-ending rainstorm that we could not pull ourselves out of. Words were thrown at us: supravalvular aortic stenosis, Williams Syndrome, cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery, possible sudden death. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of our lives. I cried for days, for weeks. I cried tears of anger, frustration, and sorrow. My life was turned upside down in an instant and there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it, except…

change my mindset.

Now, here we are, almost 5 years later, I couldn’t imagine my life any differently. We have weathered the storms with our little ray of sunshine. Without these experiences we wouldn’t have our rainbow, which is our deeper sense of compassion, empathy, love, understanding, and appreciation for life. Our Harley Rainn is beautiful, hilarious, mischievous, kind, and so very loving. I would most certainly do it all again to be exactly where we are today.

— Ursula, @sunshineandrainndrops

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