Taking Back My Life

So it's safe to say that 2.0 as we've so affectionately dubbed this baby is wreaking havoc on me. My first trimester has been full of morning sickness and just plain exhaustion, but to add the fun let's throw in a stomach virus which landed me in the hospital to get IV fluids because I couldn't even keep water down, oh and just for kicks how about ear infections in both ears a week later.

This pregnancy has been much harder and I truly hate to complain because I know what a blessing I have been given but sometimes being pregnant sucks!

You can assume that since I've been down and out my home and life organization has gone pretty much to the dogs, well and the cat.... oh and the three year old :(

For the last three months I've done well to keep up the bare minimum of what needed to be done at home. But yesterday, I hit 13 weeks and I can feel my sickness starting to give. I'm hoping that means it'll be smooth sailing from here on out. That means it's time to take back my home, my routines, and well basically my life.

I'm starting small with a few simple goals.

1. wake up at least a half hour before Carys to have my Bible Study and Quiet Time.

2. eat all meals at the table.

I'll hopefully update at the end of this week with how well these things are going and hopefully be able to add to them each week. I just really want my life and home to have some semblance of order again.

Until Next Time,

Mrs. A

Carys's Fashion Statement

My adorably opinionated three year old thinks she gets to pick out all of her own outfits these days for the most part we let her. Which leads to some interesting ensembles. But this last one she picked out has been making quite a splash on Facebook and with friends and family we think you'll agree it's a good look for her.

Baby Adams 2.0 coming January 2015

So...I'm a mom and I'm not a fan of Mother's Day!

There I said it. Mother's Day is probably my least favorite day of the year. Don't get me wrong I truly believe moms should be honored, but the truth is I spend the week before and the actual day missing what I don't have anymore.

There are times I feel like I've gotten a handle on this new normal life without my mom around, but mother's day leaves me with this big aching pain every year. I spend the week before avoiding all the advertisements about hugging your mom, or remembering to tell your mom how much she means to you. I just spend all my time thinking "I wish I could" I'd give anything for five minutes with my mom. She used to say that she was convinced if she could spend 5 minutes with her mom she could balance the national debt, create world peace, and feed the hungry. I never understood that when she was alive but now I completely do. There are times when going through something tough I think "if I could just talk to mom it would all be ok"

There was one advertisement in particular this year that caused me much sadness. It simply stated "A picture with mom is worth a thousand words" I couldn't help but be teary eyed at that one because I simply didn't take pictures with my mom when she was sick it was hard to see her like that and I didn't want to remember her sick. However I'd give anything for any pictures of me as an adult with my mom. I have a few but not many and well my plea to all of you out there is take the time make the memory and for goodness sake take the photo. You'll regret when she's gone if you don't I can promise you that.

so Happy Mother's Day Mom! I hope you enjoy your day at the feet of Jesus!


Mom's First OKC Relay For Life!

The day I became a mom!

Mom's last Relay For Life, we didn't know when we took this picture she wouldn't be here to take one the next year.

 to the mom who's babies aren't with her, to the mom who's babies don't seem to care, to the woman who desperately wants to be a mom but hasn't become one yet, to the grieving mom who's lost a child, to the child who's not on good terms with mom,  and finally to the grieving daughter/son who's lost their own mother you are not alone I see you I feel your pain and I love you! 

This Mother's Day I beg you don't forget us broken ones the one's who's smiles are forced, who choke back tears at every sweet reference to mom, and especially the moms who smile and say thank you when you tell them Happy Mother's Day when all they really want to do is break down and cry.

I pray for peace for each person who may be hurting this Mother's Day that you don't face it alone that others will surround you and hold you up through this tough day!

Until Next Time,

Mrs. A

Easter 2014

Better late than never right.

 We started the day at church CC was supposed to sing with the kids choir and it was to be her first Easter performance. However she cried to be onstage sooner with the big kids therefore missing her own performance.
I was mortified I had the screaming child during the Easter performance :( Looking back I would've just let her get on stage with the big kids instead of pulling her out probably making things worse. It was my first experience with stage performances and my little one. 

 Our little family in our Easter best!

CC with her favorite people! Her Grandparents AKA Grammy & Grumpy as she calls them

and her Aunt Kiss

 Easter 2014 with her friend from church!

 Man my hubs is handsome!

After church we went home and got ready to host Easter dinner and after CC's quiet time she got to see her Easter surprise. She got a sandbox and most of the rest of the day was spent playing in there with her daddy and her Grandpa (AKA Grumpy) as she calls him.

Making Easter dinner. We were prepping fresh green beans.

Then it was time to dye Easter eggs CC was so excited about dying eggs she loved the colors!

 

After dinner we hid eggs and CC hunted them squealing with delight every time she'd find an egg!

 

Easter was such a blessing and I ended the day with my heart so full of joy at seeing CC's excitement over Jesus's Resurrection.

 

She and I played in the sand  a lot this week and my heart soared when as we were singing about the wise man building his house upon the rock and I asked her who the rock is she proudly exclaimed "JESUS"

I was so thrilled with how Easter happened this year. We didn't do anything super special and I let myself off the hook from creating a perfect holiday, and just enjoyed my sweet family and I truly treasured this holiday!

 

Life in 2014

So I blogged about the pageant but not much about normal everyday life stuff. You know the stuff that makes up this crazy beautiful life I lead.
January passed without too much fanfare and even fewer pictures.
We spent alot of time painting pictures.



 

I embraced my inner teacher a little bit and created a learning wall for Carys it has the days of the week, the seasons, the month, the weather, and we write down our daily menu as well, there's also a spot to display Carys's artwork, and we incorporated a behavior chart into our routines with Carys.

 

February 2014 brought Valentine's Day, and Carys's 3rd Birthday which we held at Build A Bear with a few of her special friends that she spends regular time with.

 

 

She was looking extra adorable for Valentine's Day!

 

We started the day getting donuts with the birthday girl!

 

all the kids with their Build A Bear creations. Best picture we could get of pre-schoolers.

 ended the day with dinner with sweet friends!

 

March 2014 not only brought my Mrs. Oklahoma pageant, but also a baby shower for my dear friend Nikki. Nikki was planning a circus themed nursery so I took that idea and ran with it, I used popcorn boxes with hydrangeas for the centerpieces, and set up a popcorn bar with 3 different types of popcorn, and 11 different topping options, each guest took home their own popcorn bucket filled with popcorn of choice. The challenge in this shower is that Nikki and her hubs had decided not to find out the gender of the baby so I had to keep everything gender neutral I went with a red, aqua, and yellow color scheme. It was a great day loving on my dear friend!

 

The popcorn bar with all the toppings.

 

Mommy to be in her special chair!

Me and the gorgeous Nikki B. this was one week after the pageant so if I look exhausted it's because I was :)

 wide angle shot of the room.

 

 

That brings us to April and I did a lot of crafty things this month and I also re-discovered my love of pretty flowers.

 

I made this little beauty in MOPS which has basically been the best thing ever to happen in my life. Finding a group of strong Christian moms to build me up and surround myself with has been such a blessing!

 

 

new flowers around our tree in our front yard.

 a brand new flower bed next to our retaining wall.

I got these chairs at goodwill for 50 cents a piece and gave them a little coat of spray paint. They cheered up our entryway nicely :)

 

That brings us to Easter which will deserve it's own post. I think sometimes I get so focused on the big events I can forget the little everyday things that make up our life. I want to remember the everyday and the mundane and someday be able to look back and know that the little things truly were the big things.

 

I'm so thankful and beyond blessed for the beautiful life I've been gifted with.

 

Another post is coming on Easter 2014 :)

 

-Until Next Time,

 

Ginger

 







My Adventures at Mrs. Oklahoma 2014

Mrs. Oklahoma weekend has come and gone and no I'm not the new queen but I did get called into the top 9 and I won a swimsuit award. I had no pre-conceived notions going in about winning I only had a goal to be called into the Top group and I was. I know now why I was not chosen the new queen and I am at complete peace with that.

I was very blessed to meet 13 other amazing women. There were 14 others in the competition but one was a dear friend already. These women were driven and passionate about their causes not to mention beautiful.

The morning of Friday March 21st I woke up super early and had a good healthy breakfast and then went ahead and got everything I needed loaded in my car you'd never know I was only going for 2 days with the amount of things I packed. I got to the temple a few minutes before 12:30 and met my dear friend Brittany on the stairs and we shared a special prayer time asking God to watch over us and put a hedge of protection around the competition and that it would be a positive experience for everyone. Those prayers were most definitely answered.

We immediately jumped right into photos in swimsuit and our opening number dresses. It was not cold but not warm on this particular March day in Oklahoma so while we stood around mostly freezing we made small talk to get to know each other. We talked alot about how it takes a special kind of woman to put herself out there like each of us were doing and how we were all so different. That's what struck me about this group of women that I quickly became friends with how different each of us were. It was truly a moment of clarity for me when I realized we were all just presenting the best versions of ourselves and that's all we could do. I instantly relaxed and stopped trying to compare myself to the other women surrounding me. The moment I did that I felt complete peace about the events ahead of me.

My registration picture in my opening number dress. Yes it's tucked into my swimsuit I had to take a needle and thread to it later in the evening to alter a little more to fit better. The wind came up just I was taking this pictures so I feel like I'm squinting to keep dirt out of my eyes but over all it's not terrible. In hindsight I definitely should have done full stage make up for these photos!

 

 

So we finished up with photos and settled in for orientation we went around the room and introduced ourselves and our reasons for competing, I shared my convictions in getting families to be present with each other through technology guidelines, as well as my desire to honor my mother through this competition, and my desire to challenge myself and shake up my routines as wife and mommy, then I met two very cool women. Austen Williams the reigning Mrs. America from Texas. This lady I really just wanted to pack her and bring her home with me. She had this amazing light about her and she was so real. The thing I loved most about her is that she was herself through and through it was so refreshing! Next I met Julie Pittman the reigning Mrs. Oklahoma this sweet woman of God spoke life into each of us all weekend long it was so amazing to witness. She prayed with each of us individually before interview and just had this incredible hospitable heart that was so welcoming.

 

 

These women were so sweet to take photos with my 3 three year old after the show and she was loving every minute of it! 

 

 

So  we practiced for a few hours on Friday and then we had dinner back at the hotel. I had to go without Jeremiah because he opted to stay home with our 3 year old. I had a great time with Brittany and speaking with the other girls at dinner.

 

 We sat with another contestant Heather and her husband and I asked her if she had any one peice of advice for Brittany and I since she had competed the prior year and was a returning veteran. I loved what she had to say she said she thought she did everything to the best of her ability in the prior year and it just wasn't her year, she mentioned originally thinking she would try to be someone completely different in this year's competion and then decided that wasn't being true to who she was and she didn't want to win under a false identity. I loved that so much and it spoke to my heart!

 

After dinner we went  back to our rooms changed into comfortable clothes and went back downstairs for more rehearsals. At this point in the day I think we had all worked the jitters out and we could just relax. We had a great time laughing at ourselves, and doing our best to remember the opening number that Austen had taught us earlier that day! "Friends don't let friends go out looking crazy" that was Austen's motto and she meant it. So we practiced and practiced some more. This night of rehearsals was probably in my top 3 best moments of the weekend!

Yes we totally rocked the Charlie's Angels pose in our silly fun picture of the night!

 

 

 After this rehearsal Brittany and I headed back to our room and just chilled we did a little devotional and tried to get to bed early. Although truth be told neither of us slept very well.

 

The next morning bright and early we headed back over to the temple for more rehearsal and I was super excited because my hubs would be there it was good to see him after a night of separation.

I was looking a little crazy with my hair in pin curls and absolutely no make up for rehearsal. But I wanted to be fresh for interview prep later on so I didn't want to have to remove make up.

 

So after rehearsal I said goodbye to the hubs knowing I would see him later for the show. I went back to the hotel room and tried to relax I ate a little lunch and just hung out until time to get ready for interview.

 

Then just like that it was interview time!

 

My interview flew by and I left the room feeling like it went well but not certain that I had won over the judges. I got to talk alot about my platform which was awesome. The one question I got asked that I wasn't expecting was "what's special about Oklahoma" I answered that I really thought it was the people I talked about times in my life that I felt like the people of this great state surrounded me and held me up. I talked about the pride that swelled in my heart when I saw all the volunteers ready to head in to total devastation after the tornadoes last spring. I mentioned that our state is no stranger to heart ache but our strength comes in being able to rebuild after tragedy, I also mentioned how if the people don't attract you to our state it could be our weather, after all we're the only state I know of that you can experience all 4 seasons in the same day. I went back to the room and hung out and just tried to relax until show time.

 

I felt like the hard stuff was behind me and now it was time to relax and have a good time. Before I knew it. Showtime was upon us. I got a quick opportunity to sneak out of the dressing room and say hello to some of my friends who were there supporting me I also got to sneak a quick hug and kiss in with my hubs.

 

Then it was time to rock n roll. We opened with opening number which went off mostly without a hitch and then it was straight into swimsuit!  I tried to channel my inner Victorias Secret model and be super confident. I was proud of all the work I put in to be competition ready and I just allowed every insecurity I've ever had about my body to disappear.

 

 

 

 Another one of my top 3 moments happened during swimsuit in my final pose on stage I heard a sweet voice yell out. "That's my mommy" It made me smile even bigger to hear my sweet girl!

 

After swimsuit we hurriedly changed into gowns I was so excited for gown because I knew my honey was going to be escorting me and I was looking forward to see him looking very handsome in his tuxedo.

 After evening gown we had a bit of a wait while the judges tabulated scores and the top 9 were chosen. I took the opportunity to take backstage pics.
Kayla truly made me believe that I could be Mrs. Oklahoma someday and made me realize my own value more than I think I ever have. She has an amazing heart and made me look and feel phenomenal!

 My precious and dear friend Brittany looked breathtakingly beautiful! I was glad to share this entire experience with her!

Then it was time we all gathered on stage for announcement of top 9.

They called 8 girls and I was still standing there I was looking to my right believing the next name called would be either my beautiful friend Brittany or the equally beautiful Stephanie. Imagine my surprise when instead it was my name that was called!  That was by far the best moment of the whole competition for me realizing that I had reached my goal of being called into the top group! I was beyond elated to be standing there included in the group of elite and precious women standing next to me!

 

 Then we had a small wait time and the top 9 lined back up for the calling of the top 5. This time I dared hope I might be called. Disappoint momentarily set in when I wasnt, but I immediately picked myself up and decided to be incredibly proud of my placement and my performance. I also had 5 new friends to cheer on I knew any one of them would make an amazing Mrs. Oklahoma!

Then it was time for awards! My dear friend Brittany was named Oklahoma's Mrs. Congeniality! I was surprised and excited to win a swimsuit award!

 

 

The beautiful, gracious and kind Michelle Evans of Tulsa walked away with the title of Mrs. Oklahoma 2014. Oklahoma could not have a more beautiful woman of God wearing the crown. I can't wait for Mrs. America she's going to do amazing and I will be cheering her on all the way!

 

 

 I am so honored to be pictured in this group. If only you could get to know these amazing women I know you'd be as much in awe of them and their beautiful hearts as I was and to be counted amongst them is such a blessing!

 

 Mrs. Oklahoma was an amazing experience. I've already been asked more times than I can count if I'll do it again and maybe some day but not next year our family has other goals we'll be persuing.

 

 

Thanks everyone for your kind words of support and encouragement throughout this process I am thankful to have experienced it!

 

With Love,

Ginger



Strangely Calm

So here we are less than a week away from Mrs. Oklahoma and I'm strangely calm. I have no pre-conceived notions going into competition I'm simply there to present the very best version of myself and if that's what the judges are looking for then I will do well. It's unusual for me to be this calm leading up to something I've worked really hard for, normally I am a ball of emotions and nerves.

However, I was sharing with a friend last night that in the past two weeks I feel like I've been given confirmation that I am in the right place at the right time in my life for this competition. I've grown so much as an individual in the last few years mostly because of huge life changes 1 being the birth of my daughter, and 2 being the death of my mother. I've learned a lot about myself and where I stand in my values, beliefs, and convictions.

I wrote a post here a few years ago called "Deeper" and I expressed my desire to know people more than just surface level I expressed my desires to really dive under the surface and see the real person hiding beneath the perfect facebook update. I believe that was my first real struggle with technology and it's ability to distance relationships. I feel like this has been welling up inside of me for years and God orchestrated everything for it to manifest in the form of a pageant platform. I've done the hard work of planning screen-free events, promoting the idea of technology guidelines to sometimes less than enthusiastic groups, and super pumped up groups. I've put the hours in at the gym, and I've done the fun work of picking out my wardrobe now it's just time to shine. I'm ready I'm so ready it scares me in the best way possible. I have no preconceived notions going into this weekend but I do know I'm as prepared as I can be.

It's all in God's hands now!

With A Smile,

Ginger

My competition wardrobe

So I decided to go ahead and share my competiiton wardrobe online. I am thinking everyone should have their own unique wardrobes and I'm not concerned about anyone copying me.

So without further ado this is my gown that I love! It's a mermaid fit and has beautiful lace cap sleeves the back is all lace as well.

 

 



Here's my interview dress I did not pick out my interview dress to match my gown but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did. Both have black lace trim.

 This is the opening number dress that all the ladies will wear. God did not bless me with a lot of curves so I decdied to get my dress early so I could have it altered if needed. Do not be fooled by this picture there are about 14 safety pins holding this dress in place.

 

I had my make up done at the MAC counter so they could help me put together my official stage make up kit that I will be using when I do my make up class with the Yukon Beauty College this next week. This is a terrible picture it's blurry and the lighting is bad but you get the idea.

 

 

and just for fun Here's me and my fabulous friend Mrs. B! She finally got her sash!

 

 

I'm now two weeks out from competition and I'm super excited! We got the judges biographies last week and I got to look those over and everyone seems like someone I will be able to connect with.

 

I've still got to go and actually pick out my jewelry at Dusteesm, and I've still got make up class at the Yukon Beauty college, I've also still got some mock interviews ahead of me but overall I'm getting to the stage of completely ready!

 

So that's a general update of what's been happening in my pageant world i am still trying to write the post about my sweet baby girl's 3rd birthday that passed at the end of February. Soon I hope I'll be able to put into words how her turning 3 has affected me.

 

 

With A Smile,

Ginger

Strike A Pose

I was in desperate need of new headshots when I decided to enter Mrs. Oklahoma and I did actually take these back in October of 2013 with Jeremy Ostercamp at his home studio. I wore a bright green wrap dress it's a dress that I've gotten a lot of compliments when I wear regularly at work and I thought wearing it might boost my confidence with pictures. I curled my hair and did my best make up application but I just wasn't really feeling confident about the photos, that is until I got to the actual shoot and visited with Jeremy about what I was looking for in a photograph. He made me feel completely at ease and I didn't even feel self conscious about being my goofball self. Usually during my photo sessions I tend to tense up and you can tell in my expressions, in my posture and everything just seems off. I did not feel that way about these shots, and the photos didn't disappoint. I feel like I look like the very best version of myself.. If you're in Oklahoma City and you're looking for a fantastic and well priced photographer you should check out Jeremy Ostercamp he did a really fabulous job of making me feel comfortable and the pictures are amazing.. Here's his website http://www.jeremyostercamp.com/ tell him I sent you :)

We took a ton of different shots some outside some inside and I even did some with my crown and sash on to use for autograph cards. I didn't take any outfit changes and I kind of wish I would have but what's done is done. I was so excited  to see the images Jeremy captured. I did have one thing that I was really angry with myself for. I had went out and bought a fabulous new pair of jade earrings to wear in my photos (see I'm not a huge fan of my ears but somehow if I have cute earrings in I care less about them), but I left them at home and didn't have them for photos. I still think the photos are great because Jeremy did a great job of putting me at ease and making me feel confident.Here's the official headshot that went up on the Mrs. Oklahoma website and will be in the program book.

 

 

 

 

I'm completely in love with this photo, because while I feel like it's glamorous and and I feel truly beautiful when I look it. I love that it still looks like me it's not so photoshopped that you cannot tell who is in the photo. I feel like it showcases the best of my features without being overpowering and I'm not so heavily made up that it looks nothing like me in person. I feel like this photo does a great job of showcasing who I am.

 

 

Thank you Jeremy Ostercamp for the great headshot!

 

With A Smile,

Ginger

 

 



Facing My Fears

In High School and through most of my teen years I didn't really struggle with my skin maybe a little but nothing major or damaging. I hit my early twenties and my face erupted in big ugly hormonal acne. I struggled to cover it with cakey make up and just resigned to a life of dealing with it. On into my mid twenties my skin sort of calmed down and settled in to some pretty predictable patterns so I was able to control it for the most part just knowing when it would erupt.

Then I had Carys and it just got worse especially if I wasn't paying any attention to my diet. My arch nemesis in life is Dr. Pepper I'm addicted to the stuff and it's so so bad for me, it gives me horrible headaches and I generally feel lethargic and heavy after drinking it but, it's like sweet nectar on the tongue and I forget all the bad for that moment of sweetness. So If I'm being really careless and drinking a lot of soda especially my face just gets chaotic.

I share this because I finally realized my diet and wearing alot of make up to cover up my breakouts weren't doing my skin any favors, and with Mrs. Oklahoma fast approaching I didn't want to be trying to nurse my skin back to health during the competition. The last thing I need is to having something that waivers my confidence in myself. So I sat down and did some major research into hormonal acne and what I could do to help my skin. So I made a commitment to cut out as much processed food as possible and to drink water above anything else. I have one cheat day a week and I try to save it to the weekend but I usually wind up using it on Monday or Tuesday. I also switched to a witch hazel toner because I read alot about how it helps broken skin. I also made the scary commitment of not wearing any heavy make up until Mrs. Oklahoma weekend. So I've been wearing just a little powder and some mascara on my eyes and grooming my brows with some clear gel.

It's been a little scary facing the world without my mask on but I'm realizing make up doesn't make me who I am. It's not supposed to. I'm so tired of hiding behind a mask of gunk that's not good for my skin. Yes I'll be wearing stage make up at Mrs. Oklahoma but that's because I don't want my face to get lost in the lights. But I'm starting to feel really good about how my skin feels and looks.
I met up with one of my friends so our kiddos could play last week and I shared with her my hormonal acne issues because she had complimented my skin. She shared that she too struggles with hormonal acne and I know inwardly I breathed a sigh of relief. Acne as an adult has this way of isolating you and making you feel like you are the only one who suffers with it.

I know many women suffer and I just wanted to share I may be getting ready to compete in Mrs. Oklahoma and I am so honored to be doing so, but I'm not happy with all aspects of my appearance. I do struggle with my skin and I'm praying and fighting hard that my skin will remain healthy for pageant weekend. I was so thankful when my friend shared with me that she too struggles with this little annoying problem because I began to feel not so isolated. So I'm hoping that my post will do that for someone else!

Pageant weekend is getting close, but before I get to that I've got a major event this weekend. Our precious baby girl is turning 3. Today she had her first spa pedicure experience with her Aunt. She loved every minute of it. I definitely have a little princess on my hands :)

With A Smile,
Ginger

The Power of Phone Etiquette

So Sunday afternoon I got a vacation. AKA I got to go shopping by myself. :) Mom's will totally understand that statement. I was running errands picking up some Bare Minerals foundation which is my day to day make up of choice, I also went Target and we have a chain in Oklahoma called Dustees they sell accessories and purses some clothes and jewelry. It's a super cute store if you've never been and you live near one you should go.

So anyway I decided to stop in Dustees just to browse since I am in desperate need of a new purse. I wear out my purses because I use them until they are falling apart. So I browsed around the store, since I was alone, and took my time picking out a bag I really liked. I had some Fun Money in my budget so I decided to use some of it. I was standing in line to check out and I was the 4th one in line when my phone rang. I was telling the person on the other line that I should come back to Dustees for my jewelry and accessories for Mrs. Oklahoma. I got to the front of the line and promptly told the person I was speaking with that I needed to call them back I was about to check out. I was so surprised when I paid for my items and the lady checking me out said she was so impressed by my phone etiquette and that she doesn't see many women in my age group who will give the retail worker the respect of putting their call on hold to check out. She said she had overheard me say something about Mrs. Oklahoma and she wondered if I was the competitor. I told her yes and shared with her that I was Mrs. Canadian Co. and she said the store would love to sponsor my accessories and jewelry for the competition. I was stunned and it was totally as a friend put it  "a God moment" and it reaffirmed to me that I am doing the right thing by choosing to compete even after all the chaos of the last 6 months.

The pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together. I've just found my hairstylist who is someone I admire their style a lot, I've scheduled a class to learn to do my own stage make up. I feel like I get to practice interview all the time at work and I've lined up some mock interviews in early March.

I now just need to find an airbrush tanning salon so I don't blind people with my paleness, and I need to actually go pick out all my accessories and I'll be officially ready for Mrs. OK 2014.

Again the pageant is in Guthrie, Oklahoma on Saturday March 22nd at 5:30 PM the doors will open at 4:30. Tickets are 35.00 a piece and can be purchased online at www.mrsoklahomaamerica.com under the for sale tab. If you are planning on purchasing a ticket for the show I ask that you put my name in as the delegate you are supporting.

Hope to see some of your smiling faces there in March!

With A Smile,
Ginger

My New Pageant Sister

So  just two weeks ago I got a phone call from a woman I so admire. I'd kept in touch with her through work she teaches at night where I work. I'd always thought her a pretty cool person we'd talked a bit and some about deep issues but never super long or indepth. We'd exchanged numbers recently on account of her getting the opportunity to be a stay at home wife which is something I've always admired and respected and I thought maybe we could have lunch or something some time just to visit. I'd shared with her my journey in competing for Mrs. Oklahoma earlier last year and then Carys's health issues began and I kind of stopped talking about the pageant, however there wasn't one time that I saw Brittany that she didn't ask about how Carys was doing.

So anyway, I decided to give her a text message of encouragement on the day I knew she was to begin staying home full time. I was trying to get Carys buckled into her carseat and Brittany called. I was unable to answer right then so I texted her and said I'll Call You Back. So I called her finally about 10 or so minutes later and she shared with me that she had been invited to compete in Mrs. Oklahoma as well. I immediately said "oh my goodness you should do it, we'd have so much fun!!" I could sense her hesitation still thinking maybe she was upsetting me so I reassured her no I was not upset in fact I was thrilled at the prospect of having someone close to experience Mrs. OK with. We shared our hearts and intentions that day on the phone and we hung up with her still undecided but agreeing to at least seriously consider it. I let a day go by and I texted her asking her if she'd decided she'd made herself a promise that if she found a swimsuit she liked and would feel comfortable in she would compete. I told her good luck and that I was pulling for her to find something fabulous! Finally after a few days of hunting and her finally finding something in her size she texted me and told me she had committed. I was so excited.

We met for lunch last week well I guess you could say lunch we met at 1 and at 4 after her husband had called a 2nd time we finally parted ways. We shared our hearts truly with each other, each expressing the desire to have a deeper than surface friendship. I found myself listening to this woman who has incredible strength tell me her life's testimony, and realizing she would make a fanstastic Mrs. Oklahoma, but I'm not intimidated by that I'm sure I'll feel that way about every girl competing, I know in my heart whoever God has in mind will wear the crown I do think I'm prepared for the title but only if it's the Lord's Will. I'm going to give it my best, and be true to myself.  I'm so beyond excited to share this experience with Brittany. I am picturing one heck of an awesome girl's weekend.

 I am already thankful for my Mrs. Oklahoma experience because I've gained an amazing friendship. If nothing else comes of my competing I will still consider the experience a complete success.

With A Smile,
Ginger

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What Are You Worth?!

If you truly had to answer that question how would you? Do you find your worth in your education, your dress size, your children's accomplishments, your own accomplishments, your beauty or what you perceive as lack of, do you base it on your spiritual relationship, or your actual relationships?

There are so many ways the world tries to measure a woman's worth and none of them matter it only matters what is in your heart to share with the world. I had a conversation with a friend recently and we talked about insecurities and how we each thought the other shouldn't have them. It was an enlightening discussion for me, this woman that I think is so beautiful has insecurities about her appearance, and much more. She struggles with insecurity just like I do. I realized that one of our biggest problems in society as a whole is we don't often know our own worth. We are so consumed with our own insecurities that we often forget others have the same struggles. Whenever I find myself in this place I do my best to encourage others and it seems to help. I've written before when I struggle with my own insecurities it helps me to lift others. I often try to remind myself it's not about if I'm better than another individual but whether I'm the best version of me. I can't compare myself to others, and I can't worry about others opinions if I'm being true to myself then I'm being authentically me and that's the best thing anyone can be.

With that said I'm officially announcing for all the world to see that I'll be competing in Mrs. Oklahoma America on March 22, 2014. Pageants are a part of my past and I made some amazing friends looking at you Sasha T, Allison G, and others. I worried when I first decided to compete that others would think I was silly or that it was a dumb idea, or that they would be wondering what business I had competing in a pageant, but then I stopped and realized why should I care. My family supports me and everyone I've told so far has been so excited for me. I actually decided this last year in September but then our journey with Carys's health began in October and as a mom my first and foremost allegiance is to my child. I would never in a million years think of competing if she wasn't healthy, but she is and as my husband and I discussed I have earned this. I'm excited for a weekend that will certainly be full of memories. I hope to come away from Mrs. Oklahoma with rare and precious memorable moments, an experience of a lifetime, and hopefully some new friends, and a renewed confidence in who I am as a woman, that may mean a crown and it may not but pageants are not all about winning for me, they're about setting goals and striving to be the very best me I can be. My mom was always a big supporter of my pageant journeys and I'm dedicating my Mrs. Oklahoma competition to her memory.

Anyone who spends more than about an hour with me and gets me talking will soon find me on my soap box of families needing guidelines and rules when it comes to technology. I see it everyday where I work, and I'm even guilty of it too, we spend so much time on our technology we forget about those around us. I'm not advocating that smart phones, or tablets are bad just that we should set some rules with regard to them and not forget to hold those closest to us in higher regard than our devices. We are pioneers of this "at hand" technology and we must learn to harness it's power for good before it swallows our families whole. When I was talking about this with a friend the subject of Mrs. Oklahoma came up and I thought well maybe and then I thought no not me, and then I paused and said you know what, why not me? Why can't I be Oklahoma's voice to set guidelines on their tech usage to encourage families to "disconnect to reconnect" I think it's so important that we make time to truly communicate with those we love most not just nod in agreement while looking at our phones or tablets. That lead me to enter and become Mrs. Canadian County and that led me here to telling the world that the competition is 51 days away. The gown has been purchased, the swimsuit and the interview dress too. The wardrobe is complete now it's just staying healthy, and getting myself to the best version of me before competition weekend. I ask for prayers as I step out on shaky heels to take on this challenge. I'm so excited about what God has taught me about myself through this journey. So there it is my big pageant announcement. The competition is in Guthrie and tickets are on sale already on the website www.mrsoklahomaamerica.com . I must warn you tickets are expensive but they help offset the cost of the show. Hope to see some of your smiling faces in the audience. If you do purchase a ticket please do it in my support.

With Love,

Mrs. A

The Scary thing that wasn't

So if you've been following along here the last time I updated Carys had just completed her MRI and we were waiting on results. We got them after a week long wait and they were sent to another doctor to be reviewed. Carys's mass is a slow flow vascular lymphatic malformation that is benign. Which basically is a mass of lymphnodes and blood vessels that has fluid in it! We waited another week to hear back from Carys's doctor on what our next steps would be. His recommendation was we should leave this alone for now no surgery no draining nothing just continue to monitor it. I had severe hesitation with this decision wondering can it become something scary if left alone and the answer is no it cannot. So we'll leave it alone for now, I'm sure someday when she's older she will want it removed, but we don't have to face what would be quite an invasive surgery while she is so young.

I immediately hit my knees when we got the news that the mass was benign and praised God, I cried for a few minutes and finally I fell asleep and slept harder than I have in months. In a way I felt like I'd put life on hold when we began this journey with Carys I refused to let myself actually plan and book a 3rd birthday party, I'm competing at Mrs. Oklahoma in March and I had all but decided that wasn't happening, it IS happening but that's another post for another day. I felt like we lived in the what if, not knowing where we would be in the next month. It was such an amazing feeling to actually plan and send out the invites for Carys's 3rd birthday party which is now one month from today. Throughout our journey of the unknown our family felt an overwhelming outpouring of love. I heard from people with messages of hope and support that I haven't talked to in years. My MOPS group surrounded me with love and prayers and I got the sweetest text messages of encouragement on the day of Carys's MRI from so many! We were so abundantly blessed in our trial that it was hard for me not to believe with the support we had we could get through anything. It's my belief that when I made that decision is when things began to turn around and I started to believe we would come out of this with good news.

After all is said and done I'm grateful to have gone through this journey. I feel like I have a new appreciation for the precious redheaded firecracker of a daughter we've been blessed with. I notice the little things more the fierce blue of her eyes when she's really serious about something, or the playful smile she gets when playing with her daddy, or the way her hair falls in her eyes when she stomps to timeout after being told for the millionth time "don't chase the cat" or the sweet sparkle of her eyes when she's so tired she can't see straight but refuses to nap. The charm of her little voice singing songs of thanksgiving and praise to God. One of her favorite songs is "Speak Life" by Toby Mac and I think she embodies that she "speaks life" into everyone she meets, it doesn't matter if she's known you all her life or you just met her you can't help but fall for her infectious giggle. She is such a blessing to me and her father.

I also have a new compassion for the parents who don't get the amazing news we got. Who get the hard news who spend months fighting a disease they have no control over. Facing first hand the possibility of being one of those parents makes me realize what warriors they must be to just keep moving everyday. Carys is having her 3rd birthday party at Build A Bear with just a few of her special friends and one of the add on options I had was to do a $10.00 donation to St. Jude for a child to get their own build a bear, before Carys's journey I doubt I would've thought twice about it, but after I jumped at the opportunity to bring happiness to a child who is suffering the hard things. My heart goes out to the courageous parents who fight that battle of wanting to do anything to make their child well fully knowing it's completely out of their control.

I hope our family can find a way to return all the blessings we've been gifted with, the love, the support, the companionship, the prayers. We are so thankful for everyone who walked this journey with us and we are so happy to report that we don't have to face those scary battles!! Praise God for He is Good.

With Love and Gladness in our Hearts!

The Adams Fam

Prayer is Powerful

I've been pretty open in sharing Carys's journey and allowing people to pray for us. When the news came of her MRI schedule date I immediately began praying and talking about her getting the MRI quicker since we put her on the cancellation call list. I posted on my FB page and I posted here about the dreaded wait and how I knew it would be difficult but with prayer we would get through it.

I didn't have to wait long for God to move. Thursday afternoon I got a call from an unknown number I almost didn't answer but I'm so glad I did. It was the hospital calling to say they had a cancellation the next day at 1PM and would we like to take that appt. Without hesitation I jumped at the chance to have the MRI done sooner. I am so thankful for the power of prayer.

Friday morning we woke Carys up at 4:30AM to eat some toast and drink some milk because she couldn't have anything to eat after 5AM. She ate her breakfast and went right back to sleep until around 8:30 AM. She was amazing and only had a minor melt down about 2 hours before the scheduled appt. over food. We were scheduled at 1PM but Carys didn't actually get sedated until close to 3PM she however didn't seem to notice the wait we watched "mickey mouse clubhouse" and played with toys in the prep area.

I got to be with her while the administered the "silly gas" to put her to sleep it didn't take long she had about two big gulps and was out. The MRI took about an hour and she recovered for about 45 minutes so we were there until around 5PM. When I went to see her after the scan she was happily sipping apple juice and chatting with the nurses, who at this point had all fallen in love with her. Carys was a little out of it and slightly loopy most of the evening and I would say the hardest part of our day was the car ride home. Poor girl just wanted to eat!

 By the time we got home and finally got her something to eat it had been over 12 hours since her last meal. Carys amazed me with her strength.

We were told we should get results within the next week and hopefully then we can continue to move forward and get definitive answers.

Until Next Time...

Mrs. A