I'm BAAAaaaaack!!!

Well, hello everyone!!! It has been almost a year since I posted here and it's wonderful to be back! A lot has happened since I was last here!

I took the year off because, on April 17th of 2010, I was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma and I needed to keep up a separate blog during my reign. Being Mrs. Oklahoma was such an amazing honor. I met so many wonderful people, had the opportunity to compete at Mrs. America, and I had the time of my life. It kept me very busy and I think my family is happy to have me back, but I will be forever grateful for the opportunites I had throughout 2010 to speak out about cystic fibrosis and create awareness for the disease. I never did quite get that blog all the way up to date (I took sooo many pictures at all my appearances!), but if you are interested in checking out what I did during my reign, you can see it all at www.mrsoklahomaamerica2010.blospot.com.

Just four days before I competed at the Mrs. OK pageant, my father passed away suddenly. He had been in the hospital for a few months battling pancreatitis caused by a bad gall bladder. He was supposed to recover but, on April 13th, he had a pulmonary embolism.

I was a complete and total daddy's girl. I relied on my dad so much and I never dreamed that one day he wouldn't be there anymore. Not while I was in my twenties, especially. It has been almost one year since he passed away and I still miss him so much. I miss his laugh, his quirks, his advice and his hugs. I miss watching him play with Hayden. I find myself worrying that she won't remember him as she gets older. I keep the last picture taken of them together in a frame in her room. She still talks about "Pa-Pa" every now and then. On his birthday she said "I bet Pa-Pa is having a huge birthday party in heaven!". Her comments about him always bring me joy and they remind me that he's never very far away. He's watching over us from heaven and the day will come where I will hear his laugh and will once again be swept up in one of his huge hugs. Knowing that brings me peace.

Well, my reign as Mrs. Oklahoma began with the ending of one life and, as we found out the morning of the pageant this year, the reign ended with the beginning of another!!! January 22nd was the day I passed on my crown to this year's Mrs. Oklahoma, Megan Murray. I took a pregnancy test that morning and, lo and behold, it was positive!!!!! It was fun getting to wake Ryan up by waving a pregnancy test in his face! We are extremely excited and Hayden is beyond thrilled to be a big sister. I find myself thrilled that she will be five when the baby comes because I am pretty sure I'm going to need her help! I am 11 weeks and a day today so things are truckin' along with the help of anti-nausea medication and the drive-thru at Taco Bueno. Their slogan doesn't lie. It IS more bueno, my friends. It is.

So, I figure that that's enough for me to throw at you in one blog post. I hope you'll continue to visit me as I talk about family (mainly Hayden), my favorite beauty products, and other random happenings in my life.

Ahhhhh, it feels good to be back. :)