December Christmas Tree Lighting in Lenexa

Last night at volunteered at the Lenexa Community Center. It was so much fun to help with the lighting ceremony along with Santa, Mrs. Claus, Allie Marx (Jr. Miss United States World), and some children from the audience! Next I helped at their holiday gift shop where children of all ages shopped for holiday gifts for family members with the help of Santa's elves:) It was fun to see how excited the children were to see Santa, giving him great big hugs and high fives. I saw children from age 18 months to 14 years old go in the holiday shop to select gifts for mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, cousins, aunts and uncles. They came out with gifts wrapped up and smiles on their faces! I wonder how many of them will be able to keep their gift selections a secret until Christmas? I also met several people who work for the city of Lenexa, KS and really love serving their community. I saw alot of joy in people's faces last night. Of course, I got my picture taken with Santa!

November news

Hello all, I hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably warm weather! I guess that will change on Thanksgiving. The month of November has been filled with family activities for me. My oldest daughter Alyssa tried out for club volleyball and made the U13-1 team! I can't wait to experience this level of volleyball. In the past, she has always played rec volleyball. Today we had the pleasure of watching Alyssa's confirmation ceremony at our church (COR). It was awesome to see 166 young people accept Jesus as their personal savior and become official members of the church. More than a few tears were shed this afternoon!

I had the pleasure of meeting several women in the Mrs. Kansas and Mrs. Oklahoma America pageant system this past weekend in Manhattan, KS. I am looking forward to competing for the title of Mrs. Kansas America 2011 in January in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The America system is a new one for me. I am looking forward to new friendships and new challenges!

I will have the pleasure of watching my dear friend Kiley celebrate her marriage to John right after Thanksgiving. Several of us in my small group hosted a fun bachelorette party for her a few weeks ago. It has been many, many years since I have been to a bachelorette party!

Every year I look forward to packing a "shoebox" for a child living in extreme poverty through the Operation Christmas Child ministry. Alyssa and Lexi each packed their own shoebox for a girl their own ages. Since we donated online this year, we can actually track which country our boxes go to! This is such a fun family activity. Alyssa and I started doing this when she was in kindergarten and now she is a 7th grader. You can get more info on this wonderful ministry at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/, then click on Operation Christmas Child.

I want to wish everyone a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. I will celebrate with my in-laws in Lawrence and then head to Topeka for dessert with my side of the family. After dessert, my girls are looking forward to a weekend at Mimi's house in Wichita! I guess I will be decorating my house for Christmas without my little helpers this year as they will be helping my mom do her house:)

Sacred Steps 5K fun

Hello all! It has been a great month so far. The Walk Now for Autism Speaks event had around 10,000 walkers and raised $200,000 in Kansas City! It was an absolutely gorgeous day! I just got home from the Sacred Steps 5k event which raises money for people in Africa living in poverty. I got to ride in the lead car and watch the winners cross the finish line. As a runner, I am amazed that some people can run a 5k in 16 to 18 minutes! After the race I had the honor of presenting the winner's in each category with their medals/certificates. It was an honor to meet Adam, who participated in his wheelchair, who finished faster that I could ever dream of running! I was only able to snap a couple of pictures but more will be posted on http://www.seekcrun.com/.

October events

Hi all, sorry it has been so long since my last update! I am looking forward to my appearance at the Kansas City Walk Now For Autism Speaks event at the Kansas Speedway. It is this Saturday, October 16th and the walk starts at noon. I will be there early to help with registration. You can still register or donate at www.WalkNowForAutismSpeaks.org/kansascity. I worked with this organization this past summer at an event and they are doing great things to raise awareness about autism and fundraise for a cure! Families with strollers and wagons are welcome to participate in this 2 mile walk.

On Saturday October 23rd I will be at Church of the Resurrection's Sacred Steps 5k Run/Walk helping with late registration and presenting awards. This annual event raises funds for widows, children and orphans living in poverty in Africa. Register or donate at www.cor.org/missions/beyondkansascity/sacred-steps-5krunwalk.

On a personal note, I am looking forward to shopping for a cause at the Junior League of Kansas City's annual Holiday Mart on October 21st. This event raises money for local children's charities and is one I look forward to every year! On October 23rd, I look forward to celebrating my friend Hailey Johnson's remission from leukemia with a costume party! Hailey was the 2010 LLS Girl of the Year. It has been a joy getting to know her and her family this past year!

Birthday Week

Hello family and friends! My birthday week was fun and exhausting! My virtual food drive ended up providing almost 1,000 meals to Harvester's Community Food Network in Kansas City. Several of us went down to the warehouse and sorted fresh fruits and veggies that were donated to Harvester's. I have never seen so many bell pepper, tomatoes and jalepeno peppers! We accomplished alot in a few short hours.

I enjoyed a birthday lunch with my dear friend Sherri Hoover, dinner with my family, and a girl's night out celebration on Thursday evening with my small group from church. We laughed a lot this week! Looking forward to being in the Overland Park parade in the morning. Will post parade pics soon after!

September events with Mrs. Kansas US

Happy September everyone. I have been busy with both girls in school, dance and volleyball! I ran on a relay team on September 11th in The Patriot's Run benefiting the Salvation Army in Olathe. Our team placed 5th overall with over 50 miles ran!
I also went on a kindergarten field trip with Lexi's class to Louisburg Kansas to see the Cider Mill. We saw how they make the cider and delicious apple donuts! I can't believe I live so close to this and have never been before!
This weekend I am preparing to celebrate my 40th birthday at Harvester's Community Food Network in Kansas City. My mom is coming into town to help us celebrate and about 40 friends are donating their time to celebrate my birthday and give back to our community. I have a virtual food drive at http://www.stephaniesbirthday.harvesters.org/. So far, friends have provided over 800 meals through my virtual food drive! I am also blessed to celebrate my 16th wedding anniversary on September 17th. Sixteen years has flown by!

Finally, I am looking forward to being in the City of Overland Park 50th Anniversary Fall Parade on Saturday September 25 in downtown OP. I am riding in a blue convertible Corvette and will be towards the end of the parade!

Dr. Bridenstine's annual customer appreciation event

I had the privilege of being invited to attend Dr. Bridenstine's celebration in Lenexa this afternoon. Dr. Bridenstine is one of my Mrs. Kansas US sponsors. My girls enjoyed playing on all of the inflatables, dancing, and the picnic of course. It was wonderful to see Kim McDowell and her daughter Megan there too! They drove in from Wichita just to attend this event. Dr. B invited the Lenexa fire department to come and the kids got to explore the fire truck and ring the bell.

I was also able to help out some wonderful young women from the University of Illinois in Chicago, who are working on their thesis studying beauty. One is a plastic surgery fellow who is using computer technology to help disfigured children rebuild their faces. The other is earning her doctorate in orthodontia and studying how jaw structure and tooth alignment affect the face and lips. I know I am not doing their work justice in my brief explanation but it was amazing to see how their research will help children all over the world have a more normal life through reconstructive surgery.

Here are a couple of pictures from this afternoon!