December 25, 2010 - Merry Christmas

On behalf of Emily Stark, Director of the Mrs. Colorado pageant and as Mrs. Colorado 2010, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all! We wish everyone blessing upon blessing this Christmas Day. May your time with your family and friends be filled with joy and peace as you celebrate Our Savior's birth.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

Christmas with the Queens!

Mrs. Colorado x 15

....oh and 1 Mrs. America!!

My Christmas celebrations began earlier than normal this year. "Christmas with the Queens" hosted by Megan Yarberry, Mrs. Colorado 2009 was a great start to my Holiday Season. On December 3rd, the Mrs. Colorado titleholders who could make it, were found tackling the "Parade of Lights" traffic to meet up at Strings in Denver.

The Christmas tradition is a coveted yearly highlight for the Mrs. Colorado sorority. Can you imagine? A room full of beauty queens? What a fantastic group of women this is. Sitting around the table celebrating one of my favorite holidays, the birth of Jesus with very real Colorado women truly is an honor. Part of the tradition holds that the reigning queen's predecessor has the responsibility of planning the night. Megan did a fantastic job tackling the task. I have a feeling this planning sparks the competitiveness in each of us...I'm already thinking of what I will do for next year. This is a good thing...I'm very goal oriented. When I give up my title, I'll need plenty of tasks to keep me busy.

Speaking of competitiveness, the night culminated in a very spirited gift exchange. Having done this around the tree for years with my family, I was no longer considered the rookie in the room. I wasn't afraid to go after what I wanted from the LOVELY Debbie Barnhill, Mrs. Colorado 1993. Unfortunately, Sheri Engstrom, Mrs. Colorado 2004 had the same inhibitions! She was the winner of a beautiful "The Queen" necklace.

You could say the crown jewel of the Mrs. Colorado organization really is the sisterhood of women who make this sorority so priceless. Take a look at the Hall of Fame link I've added to see the amazing women who have - gone before me, so to speak! Merry Christmas Colorado - From all of us at Mrs. Colorado!!

http://mrscolorado.com/HallofFame.html

with our beautiful hostess, Megan Yarberry, Mrs. Colorado 2009

Christina Sacha, Mrs. Colorado 2008 and Debi Moore, Mrs. Colorado 1994

Raeanne Duca, Mrs. Colorado 2000 with her prize

Elisabeth Cartmill, Mrs. Colorado 2003 with a....crown!

Megan's beautifully styled table

....cupcake table

close up of the night's indulgence! Yum!

Royal Image Grand Re-Opening

The Royal Image Boutique Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

From the left, Royal Image Owner's Mom, Owner - Raeanne Duca, Wheat Ridge Mayor Jerry DiTullio, Mrs. Wheat Ridge Karen Thaler, myself, and Miss Colorado Teen USA 2011, Caley-Rae Pavillard

Congratulations are in order! The Royal Image Boutique recently celebrated it's Grand Re-Opening. The Ribbon Cutting and Fashion Show celebrating the boutique's new and beautiful Wheat Ridge showroom took place on December 2nd. Guests were invited to celebrate the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, fashion show, followed by refreshments and appetizers. I had the honor of being one of the fashion show models. The hard part about this particular fashion show was determining which of the HUNDREDS of gowns I would be modeling.

The Mrs. Colorado pageant is blessed to have the Royal Image Boutique sponsor the reigning titleholder. The Royal Image makes it possible for me to keep the "royal" look for many of my appearances and stage presentations. I have been working with Raeanne for several years as a client of hers and now, as her Queen Sister, I could not be more proud of this step she is taking with her business. The Royal Image is the premiere formal wear boutique in Colorado. With the Christmas and New Year's celebrations upon us, shopping at the Royal Image Boutique is a must! The new showroom is located at 6073 W. 44th Avenue Ste 200, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. Contact the store for showroom hours, 303-466-9216.

TRI Owner Raeanne Duca, Mrs. Colorado 2000, Miss Colorado Teen USA 1986 and Mrs. Colorado 2010, Miss Colorado Teen USA 1990

with the fashion show models

(being with these young ladies has a way of making you feel...old)

with Caley-Rae Pavillard Miss Colorado Teen USA 2011

...finished in White.

Mustangs in the 2010 Carnation Bowl

#36 - My son!

I hear this quote quite a bit around my house,

"Big time is where you are at." These sentiments are proven true every year as we encourage our children in their sports teams. For the past 12 years, Chuck has coached our son's football teams. Once our older son entered High School, Chuck continued coaching our youngest son. It's the time of year when we are having the most fun. Football is our passion and has been since I watched Chuck play on our high school team. I fall deeper and deeper in love with my husband as I watch him coach my son and his fellow teammates.

There is nothing more attractive than seeing your spouse do what he loves.

This past season the 4th Grade Highlands Ranch Mustangs played an undefeated regular season, ultimately ending up in the Carnation Bowl against an equally ranked team. Unfortunately, the team lost the championship in overtime. Last year's 3rd Grade Mustang team played the same team - making it Payton's first "Championship" title. Following the heartbreaking loss this year, I explained to Payton that sometimes in life we learn more in failures than victories.

There is very little that can pull me away from watching my children participate in whatever the season may bring us. From Chalcey's volleyball matches, Chaz' football and wrestling matches, to Payton's football and wrestling matches - there is NO WHERE I would rather be. God gave my children to me, entrusting me to raise them the best I can. One day I will stand before Him and He will ask me how I treated His precious gifts.....I hope my answer to Him is, "I loved them with all my heart and did absolutely everything I could, as often as I could, to the best of my ability." Enjoy the following pictures of the special day. The 4th Grade Highlands Ranch Football Team made this Team Mom very proud.

Mustangs Captain (my son) with Head Coach (my husband)

...doing what he does on Offense.

....doing what he does on Defense

Chaz and I playing around in the stands.

my cake "footballs" for the athletes and cakeballs for the parents.

Last picture of the season!

Mustang Family - Coach, Athlete, and Team Mom

Foundations of Hope 2010 Gala

with my daughter

Who doesn't love a girls-night out? My daughter and Emily Stark (Mrs. Colorado Director) were my dates for the Hope House of Colorado, Foundations of Hope 2010 Gala. In my prior posting about HH, I hope you can see my heart for this organization. When I learned I was going to be a mom, I was in my junior year of high school and Chuck was in his senior year. Thankfully, the two of us turned to God and asked Him - 1.) Forgive us and 2.) Direct our paths. In addition to learning our role of becoming mom and dad, we were learning what it meant to be husband and wife, and college students. Without our faith in the Lord, we wouldn't be coming up on 18-years of a very strong marriage.

Early on in my pregnancy I was pointed to this scripture, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Hope House is essential for Colorado's teen parents. The young moms need to know they absolutely CAN have a future. They need to believe wholeheartedly God does have a plan for their lives. HH, helps them to know this.

My daughter and I participated in the gala's silent auction. We were in need of a special gift for my niece's baby shower. We found the perfect outfit and set our sights on it. Of course, someone else did the same thing! We strategically placed ourselves so we ultimately gave the last bid before time was up. Our competitive juices were flowing!! We were victorious in winning the item, ultimately accomplishing two goals. We had our gift and the money went to a tremendous cause.

Hope House more than tripled their financial goals that evening. It's such a blessing to see God's favor over this organization. Lives are being changed for the better there, and God is blessing them for it.

The SWEETEST photo gallery is up on their website, they shared this the night of the gala. Please take a moment and click on the link below.

http://www.hopehouseofcolorado.org/index.cfm/id/41/Photo-Galleries/

Mind Redesign

In my Mrs. America preparation, I had the privilege to work with Amy Nakos of Mind Redesign. Working with Amy on my mental blocks and the thought processes I have about myself ultimately gave me the freedom to go to Tucson mentally prepared for all aspects of the competition. My work with Amy not only benefitted me in competition, but in my day to day life. One of the areas I really wanted to work on was getting over my anxiety of being in front of a crowd. My goal was to be able to speak at Mrs. America successfully - representing Shalon at her best. After making Top 6, I had the opportunity to speak at the pageant - accomplishing my goal of comfortably conveying my message to the audience and the judges.

Click on the attached link to learn more about Mind Redesign. Click on pageantry and listen to the Pageant Competition teleseminar with the former Mrs. Colorado Director, Tricia Dampier.

http://www.mindredesign.com/Pageantry.html

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

with Columbine High School FCA athlete and counselor

I often giggle at God's sense of humor. He has blessed me many times with working out details that ultimately show He has everything figured out. His plan for me is always better than my plan for me. I thank HIm for that!

Earlier this year, Chuck and I were invited to attend the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Partnership Banquet at Invesco Field. You know Chuck was excited, there are very few things in life that warrants rearranging his little league football practice. The keynote speaker of the night was none other than Bobby Bowden, former Florida State University Head Football Coach. Coach Bowden is second in all-time wins for Division I. Our family has high regard for athletics and the impact coaches have on their athletes, ultimately influencing them for the cause of Christ. Attending the FCA event was a privilege. Coach Bowden shared a lot of insights in coaching and as Chuck knows first-hand, Bowden reminded the importance of being "available." Many of the players are lacking a father figure in their lives and the coach relationship helps fill that void. The very exciting part of the night for me was sitting next to the two beautiful women pictured above. The Columbine athlete was very brave to stand in front of the attendees and give her touching testimony. FCA has made a huge impact on her life and she couldn't wait to give God the glory in the results. God has placed her in perfect care, her FCA counselor was a former Columbine student who was in the lunch-room during the Columbine incident we are all very familiar with. Having the opportunity to fellowship with these two remarkable women of God, really was more than I could have asked for.

I'm a proud Mom.

Chalcey giving her testimony at Valor High School

Parents want the best for their children. Being a parent is one of the highest callings God gives. You pray your children hang out with the right kids. You want them to do well in school. You hope you are raising them the way God wants you to. Chuck and I are not the best parents in the world, we know we mess up a lot. However, when we look at our daughter Chalcey, we know we are on the right track. Chalcey isn't perfect. She works hard at school. She works hard at Volleyball. She has a heart for others and she knows her value.

Chalcey's value comes from God alone and on June 10, 2010, God reminded her He has a plan for her life. That morning I received a phone call shortly after Chalcey left for her 8:00 volleyball practice. The man on the other line told me my daughter had been in a single vehicle accident, she was being stabilized and would be transferred to one of the two closest hospitals. His superior grabbed the phone and told me exactly where they would be taking her. I can remember dropping to my knees, paralyzed by the unknown. My two boys were home with me and Chuck was in Casper, WY working on a project. I quickly dressed, called family members and drove to the hospital in a daze. When I arrived at the hospital, Chalcey was in getting her ct-scan. Her room was riddled with remnants from the accident. Broken glass, leaves, twigs, dirt, muddy and bloody workout pants. On the bedside table the nurses notes delivered a blow, it stated Chalcey had rolled her car and flipped it twice over C-470. God miraculously kept Chalcey's life in his hands. He allowed her to sustain only a concussion and a broken nose. Her VW Cabriolet was crushed, but she wasn't.

Recently, Chalcey shared her experience in front of her peers at Valor Christian High School. Her friends gave me the seat of honor...front and center, next to them. The students were in awe over the pictures of the car. They learned Chalcey had looked down at her ipod and lost control of her car. Chalcey challenged them to be distraction free in their cars, hoping she might have saved a life in sharing her experience. Chuck and I were so proud walking out of the gym that day. Our daughter is becoming a woman before our eyes. She knows her worth, more valuable than rubies!