"Queen, It's a New Day"

For 105 homeless women Monday October 24, 2011 was indeed a NEW DAY! I was so excited to once again volunteer massage during the ladies makeovers. This year was extremely special because it marked the 1st annual Gala and Auction. Judy Hoff, the founder of Queen, really outdid herself this year. This amazing woman and pastor, has put alot of her time and effort into making this event a huge success. I have had the honor of volunteering for this organization for 4 years now, and I enjoy making it a part of my platform; "Massage on a Mission". This year, however, I was also able to wear my sash and crown as Mrs. Snohomish County and hand out roses and hugs to the Queens at the end of the evening. It was so touching for me to have worked on these women and then watch the transformation from earlier in the day to the evening events where the women were dressed in their fabulous new clothing and looked amazing with their new hair and makeup. I appreciated our current Mrs. Washington, Lisa Bluhm, Mrs. Washington 2009, Elizabeth Larsen and Mrs. Seattle, Tamara DePorter for also attending the event. I know it made the ladies feel special to have pageant queens remind them that they are the real queens that evening.

For more information please visit www.queenitsanewday.org

Mrs. Oregon America 2012!

Congratulations to Erin Piibor, Mrs. Oregon 2012! What a fantastic evening. I love attending pageants for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is to see friends! I ran into my friend Tia Hunsperger, who is one of the board members of The Ruby Room. Love her! We also saw our own Mrs. Walla Walla who was judging the pageant. It was a long drive, but well worth it!

For more information please visit www.mrsoregon.net

Boy Scouts of America annual auction

I had the privilege of attending the Boy Scouts of America annual auction on Saturday. My husband Mark is an Assistant Scout Master for Pack 90. We so enjoy going to these events and supporting our local Boy Scouts. My son, Teague is now is Weebelo 1! It is so hard for me to stop calling him a "Cub" Scout! He is always quick to remind me "MOM! I am a BOY Scout now!!" I am so very proud of him for continuing his journey with the Scouts to become an Eagle Scout. My father was an Eagle Scout so it is something that has been important to my family and I for decades. We are happy to support anyway we can, and tonight was extra special because one of the hosts for the evening was King 5's Jeff Renner. He is an Eagle Scout as well. It was a fantastic evening, and I even was able to purchase some amazing artwork! I can't wait to redecorate my house with it!!

Mrs. Washington Workshop hosted by Beth Kovacevich, Mrs. Washington 1996

I was so excited to attend Beth's annual workshop! I was a great time to get to know the contestants, get pageant questions answered, and learn more about each others platforms. Beth is always a gracious host, and we were so lucky to have Helen Bacon-Florentine, Mrs. Washington 2000 there as well to share her experience at Mrs. World. She was 3rd runner up and won the fitness award!

Run 4 the Orphan

Journey Church is my church home. My husband, kids and I have been so blessed by the fellowship, ministry, and love that is the heart of Journey Church. One of the many ministries they offer is called Passion 117, our Orphan ministry. We have several families at the Journey who are adoptive and foster parents, and we feel called to not only support them, but other adoptive families as well. We have partnered with World Orphan to serve our orphans the way God has called us to. This was our first 5K event and it was a huge success! All proceeds went to orphan care.

For more information please visit: http://www.joininthejourney.com/passion117/

NAM National American Miss

 I had the pleasure of judging Washington's National American Miss pageant. This is another fantastic system that provides young ladies with scholorships, leadership, poise, and a wonderful life experience. While I was there, I ran into some lovely ladies!

Mrs. Washington 2010, Carla Richards and Mrs. Washington 2011, Lisa Bluhm were also there judging the teen and miss portions of the pageant. I had the princess and pre-teens. It was it fun filled weekend and so nice to see some familiar faces!
 For more information about NAM please visit:
 http://www.namiss.com/eventresults/winners/?id=2011%20State%20Washington

I have trouble writing blogs....

Hello again, first of all I am very sorry I have not posted anything recently. That does not mean however, I have not been busy! I am so excited to share what I have been up to the last 5 months, but I have found that I have a really hard time writing a blog. I do not want to be about self promotion, I want to promote the causes I am passionate about, and I pray that I am known more for my faith than my good works. That said, I hope that I can find the words to share with you my experiences and volunteer opportunities in a way that will inspire people to help and "Make a Difference" in their own communities. I will be getting this blog up to date with my current events, pictures, and volunteer opportunities I am involved with. I will be posting every week from now until the pageant to showcase how the Lord is working in my life, humbling me and grounding me as I embark on this pageant journey once again. Thank you all so much for your support and for reading my blog! I hope you will find it to be inspiring and informative.