June 4^th ended our year long fellowship and study of the Word.  What an amazing year.  Each lady has left a different person and more connected with women and having new friends.  My favorite part is planning.  I love to plan parties and think about who the guest will be.  I want each person to know how special they are and how much they are loved.  Each little detail is specific and exactly the way I want it, setting the stage for everyone to feel like a queen.  We all had a marvelous time and went past our stop time…time got away because we were having so much fun.

WOW, what an amazing year.  The children did a little program for their Mommy’s and Daddy’s, Grandma’s and Grandpa’s, Aunties and Uncles.  We started with The Pledge of Allegiance and then went into singing some songs and giving flowers to all the ladies.  We ended with doing a show and tell of all the fun things we did this past year.  We were pirates for Jesus and went digging for dinosaurs and hidden treasures.  The three boys (three wise men) are graduating to school, so next year it will be Grandma and the 5 princesses.

Sunday May 30th was the Miss Washington Outstanding Teen Pageant. It was tastefully done with such grace and honor, I felt like a proud American. My friend Carla Richards had the privilege of coaching one of the young gals and she won 2nd runner up. It was a beautiful event.

Friday night we performed at the Amphitheater in Moses Lake.  We did our disco dance to Saturday Night Fever and threw stuffed animals to the children.  The expression on the kid’s faces were priceless.  This is just another way the Mrs. Washington gals are making a difference.

Saturday Night Parade

What an event and I got to be the princess that rode in a convertible.  I felt beautiful and was glad to represent my city as “Mrs. Olympia”.  The other contestants had bags full of candy to pass out to the children…it was a delightful and chilly evening.  After the parade I made my way to the hot tub to warm up.

The week-end was full of activities and practices and getting to know each other.  Each woman has such an amazing and incredible story.  I am blessed to have been able to spend time with them.  They are all queens in my eyes.

Only three weeks to go…YIKES!

Snack time at Grandma School!  Aren’t they adorable

I had the opportunity to speak to the junior high students t Griffin about MENC and what pageants REALLY are.  I had my good friend Ingrid join me.  She has the music talent to bring the hands on part of my presentation.  I am grateful for her gifts and glad that I did not have to lead them in a song.  I am a great support person but not the lead when it comes to music.  I know the kids had a great time and even learned something new.  Mrs. Pierson is a member of MENC.

Hi everyone! As I’m sure you know, my little sister McKenna has Cystic Fibrosis, so on Saturday we are walking in the Great Strides walk to raise money for CF research. If any of you lovely folks are interested in joining us the walk is Saturday May 22nd at 9am, and it starts in Heritage Park. If you would like to come walk with us, it’s 4 miles long and you are more than welcome to bring your children!

It was such a moving experience to see teams of people walking to support their loved one.  We walk and don’t even think about it, but these people with this disease have a very hard time walking any distance.  I was proud of McKenna.  She walked the whole 4 miles.  It was long and tiring for her, but what a trooper.

What an event.  Carla Richards, Mrs. Pierce County was the highlight of the program…boy can she dance.  Some of the contestants had an opportunity to serve the YMCA and of course we were all there to support Carla.  The Lakewood YMCA has generously donated a dance room for us to practice our dance routine and helping at the dance recital was one of the ways that we could say “Thank you” for their support to us.  This fits so beautifully with my platform “See a Need and Fill It.”

Letter from my daughter,

Mom,

You have always invested into me to be active and take care of myself. Over the past couple of months training for the Capital City Half Marathon together has been nothing but a tremendous experience. You have encouraged me in more ways than just running. With our weekly runs you have pushed me to grow myself as a woman, stay committed and work hard towards a goal. Crossing the finish line with you and sharing the sweet memory with you has been the best part! You have inspired me to keep running and challenged me to work up to running a full Marathon! Mom, thank you for jump starting my love of running and I look forward to many more runs with you!
Love you bigger than the sky!

Julie Schade

As a Life Coach I encourage people to reach their full potential, whatever it is they want to pursue. One of the things I get to do with my platform “See a Need and Fill It” is to help people prepare for a race. It is so rewarding to see someone run across the finish line for the first time. I am glad that I get to be a part of that experience with them.

Sunrise Beach School is a growing thriving School in Olympia, WA.  My children participated in SBS when they were growing up.  Each child feels like a winner at SBS.  It is a private K – 12^th grade school and an extension school  for home schooled children.  The teachers present an environment that every child has great purpose and value, and SBS compliments my platform “See a Need and Fill It”  Here I am busy using my organization skills, keeping everybody on task throughout the night.  It is always a pleasure to be a part of someone else’s dream and help them bring it to pass.  Sunrise Beach School is in the process of building their own facility, a place to call home.  All the monies collected from the auction will go towards the building project.  I believe in serving the next generation and we do this by being involved in their lives.