More life lessons in 2011

I am back from Oklahoma after competing in the Mrs. Kansas America pageant system. Although I certainly trained hard, prepared diligently, and gave it my absolute best effort, I did not walk away with the crown this weekend. I have to admit I was disappointed in myself. Our director reminded all of us that only 1 person can walk away with the crown and that it is simply the opinion of 5 people (the judges) on that given day. That makes me feel a tiny bit better because I can only be myself, and be the best me that I can be. The person they chose to be the 2011 winner looks nothing like me. Having spent the entire weekend with her, I developed a friendship with her and quite frankly, I think she will make a great Mrs. Kansas America 2011. Her platform is child trafficing, something I have only a vague knowledge of. I hope to learn more on this subject from her in the coming year.
Although I wanted to win and worked hard to make it happen, I can't help but be happy for her and all that she will accomplish in the coming year. I feel like I learned alot from the competition this weekend. You cannot judge beauty by just the outward appearance. I know that sounds cliche! It is true! I met a lot of women this weekend and learned alot about myself. I feel like I made some true friends through this experience and hope to stay in touch with all of the Kansas girls and many of the Oklahoma girls as well. Many of us are the same on the inside. We are married women, most with children at home, who are trying to make a difference in our communities. We try to take good care of ourselves, we take risks, we make mistakes and we try to learn from them. In a pageant only 1 person can be crowned the winner. However, there were many winners this weekend. I feel like a winner and my "prize" was the new friends I made and the things I learned from each of them. I don't know what 2011 holds, but I know it will be something meaningful and something great!
God bless!

Miles Against Melanoma

Most of you know my platform for Mrs. Kansas is skin cancer prevention and awareness. I am excited to share that I am helping organize a 5k run/walk here in Kansas City that is called Miles Against Melanoma KC. We have a date set for May 28, 2011 at Grounds Park in Blue Springs, Missouri. We are donating proceeds to the Kansas City Cancer Center. Our goal is to educate people in the community about melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. We also want to make people aware of the dangers of tanning beds and showcase some local companies who provide custom spray tanning services. We are currently searching for corporate and individual sponsors. We will honor survivors and angels at our event with signs donated by sponsors. Each sign will also include facts about skin cancer and prevention tips. I am working with a family who recently lost their loved one (a mother, daughter and best friend) to melanoma in 2010. It is fabulous to see what God can use for His glory! Her story will be a wake up call to other young women, a beautiful remembrance of her life, and a celebration of her courageous battle with melanoma.

Please visit our Facebook page or our web page at www.milesagainstmelanoma5k.com. If you are interested in volunteering at our race, participating in the walk or run, or sponsoring us in any amount, please contact me!

2010 wrap up

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. We just returned from Christmas in Wichita, where my mom and dad live. I was also able to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday! I feel so lucky to have her and that my girls have a relationship with their Great-Grandmother.

Right before Christmas I had the opportunity to participate in a holiday surprise for the residents of Safehome. Safehome is a shelter for battered women and children here in Johnson County, KS. A local hair stylist had the idea to treat these women to a makeover and professional photo shoot. It was fun to see them smile and feel good about themselves! I also had the honor of meeting the KCTV 5 morning news anchor Kelly Jones, 2 local professional photographers, and the director of Safehome, Sharon Katz. I was there with Hoffman Models and Talent Director of New Faces, Laura Beckley and Linda Loveless, a model and former Mrs. Kansas America. I was able to present each woman with a gift bag filled with items donated by local companies. I was deeply moved by being a part of this special event and could feel the spirit of Christmas all around me!

Safehome is such a worthwhile organization. I was reminded that they not only need cash donations but also basic items such as soap, toilet paper, paper towels, underwear for women and children, etc. They have a website where you can find more info at http://www.safehome-ks.org/. Click on the "needs" tab and you can find a link to their wish list.

Here is a link to the video which aired on Christmas Eve: http://www.kctv5.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4473979.

Angels for Afton

I am really excited to help out with a new ministry "Angels for Afton." This caught my attention from a friend on Facebook. Afton, Oklahoma is located about 3 hours from Kansas City and over 80% of the children in the school system are living in extreme poverty. Their principal is collecting gently used children's clothing, shoes, backpacks, books, personal care items (such as body wash) and food for the kid's grades K-8.

Tomorrow they are having a sorting party with all of the donations they have collected from the KC area. On Monday several volunteers are driving down to Afton to deliver the gifts and watch the children's Christmas program. I will be there bright and early to sort clothing and other donations!

I am competing in the Mrs. Kansas America 2011 pageant in January as Mrs. Kansas City 2011. Since our pageant is being held with the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant in Guthrie, OK, I am inviting all of the other contestants to join me in being "Angels for Afton." We are going to bring all of our donations to Guthrie and present them to someone from Afton during the pageant on January 22, 2011. I am excited to see how much we can collect to help these children!

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/.