Ercoli restaurant in Trastevere, Italy
By Patricia Hudson
Sometimes in life, you meet that rare individual that impresses you with their kindness, caring manner, and love for their fellow man. Despite life’s curveballs, she faces each day with infectious joie de vivre, carrying others along in her journey. Meet Sarah Moreno and her husband Carlos.
It was the church that brought Sarah and Carlos together. They met in 1994. Carlos’ dad preached the Spanish service; Sarah’s dad led the English service. “We were the first ones in church, the last ones to leave,” recalls Sarah. “I became quick friends with Carlos and his six siblings. We enjoyed many summers, family trips and fun outings.”
Theirs was a sweet and tender romance, fostered through their years spent together. “Our parents are lucky we did not elope the day I turned 18! We decided six days before our wedding that we could no longer live apart. We met with our pastor and gathered our best friends and immediate family for an intimate gathering. We were married in 2002,” shares Sarah.
Carlos attended the University of North Texas and Rice University. Sarah studied at Houston Baptist University before being awarded her degree from the University of St Thomas in 2015. Sarah is proud to have the distinction of being the first female in her family to graduate college. “I wanted a holistic nursing degree where mind, body and spirit were treated,” she explains. Sarah attended Lone Star College where she served as President of the Honor Society. Through her leadership, UST’s Nursing Student Association was founded, and scholarships for other moms attending college were established.
Bent on caring for their family, Carlos and Sarah are not afraid of hard work. Carlos is a Project Coordinator for Jack Henry Card Processing Solutions. His newest business enterprise is BIG Texas Foam, a party for all ages, using a hypoallergenic foam solution which requires no clean up. “Carlos also serves weekly at Calvary Chapel West Houston with music and conducts weekly Bible studies at a local Cypress nursing home,” comments Sarah.
Sarah has served as a hospice nurse with Vantage Hospice and Palliative Care for more than four years. “I am a travel nurse and served as a COVID nurse for two years.” Sarah’s business enterprises extend to Marketing for Adventure Kids Playcare, and creating online graphics and ads through Sarah’s Custom Ads. She is enthusiastic about her newest endeavor. “Currently, we are unveiling my new, improved all-inclusive event planning company, Sarah’s Custom Events,” shares Sarah. “Our goals are to create laughter, foster memories and spread happiness in our community. Carlos and the boys are the backbone of our businesses. Together, we can ensure success of our events.” What is the biggest challenge of being a nurse, wife, mother and business entrepreneur? “Finding time to sleep and take care of myself. We pour our hearts into our business and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The decision to become a health professional was rooted in a family emergency. “I started in the medical field after watching the Cy-Fair Fire Department EMS save my son’s life. I took my double stroller and registered for EMT classes. I served on the Mobile ICU Ambulance at Washington County EMS and on a 911 truck for the Cy-Fair Fire Department before pursuing my nursing degree. I’ve been a nurse since 2015 at MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann, UTMB, Minnesota and Hawaii.”
Ironically, it was an encounter with Covid that led to a battle for Sarah’s life. “I caught COVID after performing CPR for over an hour on one of my patients. The fight of my life quickly ensued and the ICU Doc told my hubby to tell me goodbye. Through God’s grace, sheer determination and my sister, Dr. Claudia Klein overseeing my care, I was able to beat COVID. Many months of recovery and learning to walk again was tough. We give all of the glory to God. The COVID patient on whom I had performed CPR lived, too!”
The Morenos have two sons: Christopher and Michael. “Christopher is 21 and in college studying pre-med. He is the face of Big Texas Foam; he supervises and manages our crews. Christopher enjoys working out and is always up for fun, last minute travel adventures,” relates Sarah. “Michael is 19 and is engaged to sweet Ana. We are planning a 2023 wedding! Michael works on the Geek Squad at Best Buy; Ana is a law assistant. Both Mikey and Ana help out with many of our events.”
In this busy life they have chosen for themselves, we asked Sarah what holds her family together. “As a family, we lean on each other and on God. We have a wonderful church family and a very large amazing family to lean on. We grew up on modest inner-city minister family salaries. Aside from budget Mexico and Central America trips, none of us have ever been able to travel abroad. During the boys’ college summer break and before Michael’s wedding, we recently toured Europe as a family. We soaked in every single moment, enjoyed God’s beauty and built precious memories together.”
