There She Is..

Feb4

Saturday night, I was anxiously checking my Twitter feed every few minutes for updates. Not for a game, not for breaking news.. just for two names.

I wanted to see who won the titles of Miss Metro and Miss Eastern Nebraska; to see which two young ladies would round out the field of 19 to compete at the Miss Nebraska pageant in June.

Did I lose you? Are you shaking your head saying, ‘c’mon Brandi.. really? Pageants?!?’

Yes, Miss Nebraska. I LOVE IT. And here are three gorgeous reasons you should, too.

Brittany Jeffers, Miss Nebraska 2009, now Anchor/Reporter at Fox23 in Tulsa, OK

Brook Matthews-Hudson, Miss Nebraska 2004, now Producer of Omaha Fashion Week

Our own Alex Hoffman, Miss South Dakota 2008, now KETV First News Anchor

These are only three examples of the fantastic young women who have participated in the Miss America program. Women who are beautiful inside and out. Women who have amazing talents. Women who give of themselves to help others around them. Women who are articulate, intelligent and confident.

Why is it so bad to recognize these things?!? Aren’t these the attributes we all wish we could have? Aren’t these the qualities we hope our children pick up on and someday emulate themselves?

We applaud athletes, recognize actors, respect leaders. The women who participate in this system represent so many of those things. Think The Apprentice meets The Voice meets The Biggest Loser, all on the red carpet. What’s more, the program gives BACK to them, recognizing those accomplishments with scholarships for colleges and careers.

Of course, there are the ‘girly-girl’ parts of the pageant that I love.. who doesn’t love getting dressed up and feeling BEAUTIFUL?? Yes, there’s also the always controversial swimsuit competition–but as a former contestant myself, I have never been in better shape in my life than when I had motivation through Miss Nebraska to eat healthy and get myself to the gym.

I invite you to check out my blog over the next few months as I introduce you to this year’s Miss Nebraska contestants. You’ll meet Miss Omaha Payton Merritt, the recent high school graduate who sings with the soul of 10 lifetimes. (She gives me chills!!!) You’ll meet Miss Crane Festival Lianna Prill, one of the distinguished recipients of a DJ’s Hero Award last year for her work with Celiac Disease. You’ll meet Miss High Plains Megan Dimmitt, who has raised more than any other young woman in Miss Nebraska history, $8,400, all for the Children’s Miracle Network.

These young women are incredible. They are the ‘cream of the crop’ in their college classes, often excel in their talent of choice, and have donated hundreds of hours to dozens of charities. They inspire me to smile a little more and try a little harder. They truly have glitter in their blood 🙂

There is so much bad in the world. certainly see that day in and day out working in news. These women represent so much good, so much beauty. If that beauty is showcased in a pageant, so be it.

I hope you follow their journeys with me!

GOOD LUCK, LADIES! And remember..

Thanks to Miss Nebraska Director Amy Engel for sharing

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CLICK HERE to learn more about the Miss Nebraska contestants, starting with Miss High Plains, Megan Dimmitt!

Choosing Love Over Hate

Apr18

A few weeks ago I posted about a daily project I try to add to at our house. Every day, I write down on an index card that date, and something that happened. Sometimes it’s something big, sometimes it’s something minor, someday I hope it’s a neat way my family can look back on our history.

Monday’s card simply reads…

2013: This was a very sad day in Boston.

In the coming years, how should I explain this entry to my sons? How has ANY parent explained such cowardly, horrific acts to their children?

Maybe I’ll show my boys this.. a recent post from my friend Molly Campbell. If she wasn’t already a brilliant lawyer, wife and mother.. I would spend every waking hour trying to convince her to write for a living.. she’s that good.

***

Dear Jack,

Yesterday when we got home from school, I pulled your daily report out of your backpack. I realized that I hadn’t read it since last week and that on Friday, you did something that you hadn’t done since you were a baby: you bit a friend. Now, you would have gotten in trouble for this on any day but yesterday especially, you were in the hot seat. I realize that a 3 year old’s attention span leaves a bit to be desired so perhaps it wasn’t my smartest move to make you sit with me for a good ten minutes, talking about love and hurt. I kept repeating the same things over and over, trying my hardest to ensure that you were truly listening and understanding what I was saying…why it is not ever okay to hurt someone else, no matter what you are feeling or what they did to you. By the end of the conversation, you were exasperated. You buried your head into my lap and wailed, “Mommmmyyyyy!!!! I won’t bite anymore! Mommmyyyyy!!!” I kissed your head and sent you back to help your daddy get ready for bath time. But I didn’t follow you. Instead, I just sat on that cold kitchen floor and thought about it all. I thought about how this world has changed so much from the place I thought it was when I was your age. I thought about how sad I am that you have to grow up here, in a world where hate has so much power to change things–to shake every day people from everything they thought they knew. And I thought about how helpless I felt over all of it.

Jack, I have had so many plans for things I wanted to teach you. I wanted to teach you to be hardworking and successful so that you would never have to worry about how you would pay your bills. I wanted to teach you to find someone who will make you happy the same way that your dad and I make each other happy. I wanted to teach you about all the things that will bring you a good life. And while all of those things are fine, yesterday I realized that if I can only teach you one thing, I will and I will teach it well. I will teach you love.

There is so much hate in this world. Virgina Tech, where people trying to make a better life for themselves were taken six years ago today. Aurora, where we lost your Crazy Aunt Jessi. Newtown, where parents lost their babies who hadn’t yet had the opportunity to grow up. Boston, where a day of triumph turned into a day of terror. And all of this, all of it because of hate. Jack, I will teach you that every single life is unique and precious. I will teach you that every single person is so very loved and has a network of friends and family who will find it hard to breathe without them. I will teach you that hurting other people and choosing hate over love does nothing at all to make you happier or feel more triumphant. I will teach you that the only thing that can truly combat and ease your fears is love. Child, all I can do is teach you love. And so I will.

Your mom is afraid. It’s hard to watch these kinds of things happen in our world and not be affected by them; not think about the possibility of it happening where we are. It’s hard to lose someone in this way and still think, “It could never happen to me.” or even, “It could never happen to me again.” I have spent so much of my life worrying. I worry about you and about your dad. I worry about my family and my friends. I worry about me. And the worrying has done nothing. It hasn’t stopped anything. And I realize now that I am absolutely, completely, devastatingly helpless over all of this. I cannot stop any of these terrible things from happening and that is just such a sickening feeling–to be sitting here, waiting for the next thing to happen, knowing that there is absolutely nothing that I can do.

But that’s not entirely correct, Jack. Because there is something I can do. Something that if every parent did, we wouldn’t be in this situation. So yesterday, I made a decision. Our family will choose love. We will not choose worry, it does nothing. We will not choose sadness, it does nothing. We will not choose fear, it too does nothing. Instead, we will choose to teach you how to love every single person you meet. Deep, sincere, respectful love. Maybe if someone had taught those other people about that kind of love, our world wouldn’t be where it is today. And maybe I can’t go back in time and teach them the things they should know but I can teach you, and you can teach your children and your children can teach their children. Because the one thing I know is that hate will not win. Love always, always wins. And it will win this time too.

Because all I can do is teach mine to love. And suddenly, I don’t feel so helpless anymore.

Love,
Mommy

All you need is love. Thanks for the reminder, Molly 🙂

Pinterest For Preggos

Feb28

Confession: I am an emotional hoarder.

It’s no secret I love history. That is actually one of the things that pulled me to journalism; we get to tell stories about what is happening right now, things that all become the history of our community. Collecting keepsakes and sorting through old photos falls right in line with that–telling stories about my history, and at least a part of the history of my friends and family. It’s amazing how a simple message written on a sticky note can take you back to a moment in time. How a photograph triggers laughs and memories from a day out or a great night with friends. Now, I MAY take this to a clinically obsessive level with scrapbooking.. but hey, tomato tomahto, right? 🙂

Once I discovered Pinterest.. all hope was lost. There are SO MANY amazing ideas for ways to preserve those memories. For 2013, a year that will no doubt bring incredible moments for my family, here’s one of my favorites:

365+ Memories in a Box

Every day, use an index card to write one down one thing that happened on that date (noting the year). These can be big events (the day we learned Baby #2 was a boy!) or seemingly unimportant things (we had a BIG snowstorm today!) Next year, use the exact same cards to write new memories on each day. Can you imagine how fun each card will be to look back on in 10 years? LOVE THIS!!! Not only for the memories, but it’s so EASY and QUICK to take 3 minutes and jot down a simple note about the day (a MUCH more feasible option on those days when we barely have time to grab a cup of coffee!)

I may be WAY behind in my scrapbooking, but at least I know I’ve got a cool record of the day-to-day happenings of our little (soon to be bigger!) family.

A final note.. if I had my memory box six years ago, today’s entry would’ve been something like this: