Mrs. Oklahoma 2010 ALYSSA SILER

Moving On

2011-03-13T19:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I have passed on the crown and am getting back to life as just plain old Alyssa Siler! Congratulations to Megan Murray, Mrs. Oklahoma 2011!!! I know she be a wonderful representative of our state this next year and I hope all of you will keep up with her during her reign. She leaves for Mrs. America very soon!!!
I have started to once again post on my family blog that I kept up before becoming Mrs. OK. I hope all of you will now follow me over there if you would like to keep up with what's going on in my life. I'll tease you with this.....there's a pretty big announcement in my latest post! You can visit me now at www.notesfromthecastle.blogspot.com . Hope to see you there!

CMN Radio-thon

2011-01-17T21:09:00.002-06:00

The Children's Miracle Network asked me to speak about cystic fibrosis and my daughter, Hayden, at their annual radio-thon on KYX. I am always more than thrilled to have an opportunity to educate people about CF so I jumped at the chance!

I hope I was helpful in securing more donations for the CMN!

Dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Salvation Army Ribbon Cutting

2011-01-17T21:04:00.002-06:00

The Salvation Army of Enid, OK asked me to come be a part of their ribbon cutting ceremony for their Spruce Up a Life event. This was such a wonderful event. They had a room full of un-decorated Christmas trees. People would come to purchase a tree and adopt a family for Christmas. They would decorate the tree and donate it, along with gifts and other items to a family in need. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to learn about this wonderful program.

Outfit provided by Dillards Penn Square

America Diabetes Association Walk

2011-01-17T20:59:00.002-06:00

The American Diabetes Association asked me to come and sing the National Anthem at their walk this year. It was at the Oklahoma City Zoo which is such a wonderful place to have a walk. They had many people come out to support the cause and I was happy to be a part of it.

The ladies of the Edmond Jazzercise were on hand to warm everyone up before the walk!

Not sure why this pic is so fuzzy, but there you have it...me singing the National Anthem. :)
Tunic and jacket provided by Dillards Penn Square

Edmond Mayor's Prayer Breakfast

2011-01-17T20:54:00.002-06:00

It was such an honor to be a part of the Edmond Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. I sang the National Anthem as well as "How Great Thou Art" and sat alongside former First Lady Kim Henry (who was the current First Lady at the time) and Edmond Mayor Patrice Douglas. It was an inspiring morning and Mrs. Henry's speech was one I'll never forget. For me, this appearance was truly one of the main highlights of my reign.

Suit provided by Dillards Penn Square

CFF Golf Tournament

2011-01-17T20:50:00.003-06:00

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's annual golf tournament took place at Gaillardia Golf & Country Club this year and I was asked to be the speaker at the event. I was able to talk about my daughter Hayden and about she lives with the disease. I also showed a video I put together about her that explains what the disease is and what it's like to have it be a part of your everyday life. The event raised over $100,000 for CF research and I was honored to be a part of it.

shirt provided by Dillards Penn Square

Derby Day at Remington Park

2011-01-17T20:41:00.002-06:00

Remington Park asked me to sing the National Anthem at their Derby Day and what an honor that was! It was aired on tv stations inside race tracks all over the country. One of the horses from the movie Secretariat was even there! I also had the opportunity to judge the hat contest again which is always so fun.

No, I am not wearing white tights.

Beautiful ladies and their hats!
Well, I just HAD to take a picture of this hat!

This hat was made from a bra!!!
It was a fun afternoon and I'm so appreciate that Remington Park had me back!

My dress was provided by Dillards Penn Square

My hat was a Lady Diane hat

Stella and Dot Fundraiser for the CFF

2011-01-17T20:35:00.002-06:00

My best friend, Kristin Miller, sells Stella and Dot jewelry. The items are oh so cute!!! If you haven't checked out their jewelry before, you MUST! You can go to www.stelladot.com/kmiller. Kristin and The Paper Lion (a wonderful gift shop in Edmond) came together and did a fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I was so grateful. Both Kristin and The Paper Lion donated a portion of their sales that evening to the CFF. Here I am below with store owner Bruce Maxwell, manager of the store (and Bruce's daughter) Camden Chitwood and Kristin. Thanks for making a difference, you three!

Guilty as charged.....

2011-01-17T20:33:00.002-06:00

Soooooo, it's been a while since I have posted, huh? It is really is sad that I haven't posted regularly because I have actually had lots to show you! My reign as Mrs. OK is up this Saturday and it made me realize that I better get with it and post these pics while I still can. So get ready because here come a bunch of posts in a very short amount of time! :)

The Hayden's Heroes Store!!!

2010-10-07T10:31:00.002-05:00

I want to encourage all of you to visit the Hayden's Heroes store! A portion of all profits go directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I've put up some examples of what you can find there. Click the link at the bottom of this post to go directly to the store. Happy Shopping!!!!

Hayden's Heroes

Kevan Hall at Mr. Ooleys

2010-10-07T10:21:00.004-05:00

Well-known designer to the stars, Kevan Hall, was at Mr. Ooleys on Friday and Saturday showing his latest line of clothing to the ladies of Oklahoma City. He has dressed First Lady Michelle Obama and stars such as Debra Messing, Renee Zellweger and more! I was fortunate enough to be the store's model on this past Saturday so I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hall and wearing his beautiful clothing! If you ever have a chance to attend one of his trunk shows - go!

This one came out a little blurry but, the dress was so beautiful I had to post it!

Edmond North High School DECA

2010-10-07T10:16:00.002-05:00

Last week I went and spoke to the DECA classes at my alma mater, Edmond North HS in Edmond, OK. I was informed that DECA had chosen the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as the non-profit organization they wanted to raise money for this year! Last year, their fundraising efforts brought in $10,000 and this year they hope to do even more! I spoke to each of the classes about the disease so they could have a better understanding of why this money they are raising is so important. I will provide you with more information soon. They will be working on t-shirts, and many different events, such as their big fashion show fundraiser on November 22nd. I'll post more details as soon as I have them. Go Huskies!!!

Independence Middle School

2010-10-07T10:07:00.004-05:00

For the second year in a row, Independence Middle School in Yukon, Oklahoma raised money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. They asked me to come and speak to all of the students and let them know a little bit more about CF and about Hayden's story. I spoke to each grade separately and showed them each the Hayden's Heroes video. I absolutely love speaking to kids and they had such wonderful questions for me after the speech and video. I want to thank these students for taking part in such a selfless act and being a part of making CF stand for Cure Found!

Here I am with three of the student council members.

In this picture I am having each of them take a deep breath. I explain that, even though it was pretty easy for us, it is something that can be quite difficult for CFers. It always makes for a pretty funny picture!

Little Miss Fall Festival Pageant

2010-10-07T09:54:00.003-05:00

I was asked to judge the Little Miss Fall Festival Pageant in Coweta, OK. I really had no idea what to expect but I was very much entertained! The little girls were ages 4-7, I believe, and they were precious!!! They each were wearing a beautiful dress that made them feel like princesses, I'm sure. They answered a few questions on stage and then they each competed in talent. That was the best part!!!! Some of these girls had enormous personalities on stage and some of them were actually very good! One little girl sang a Carrie Underwood song with just as much sass as Ms. Underwood, and she was perfectly on pitch the entire time. We might have a future country star! I didn't get very good pictures (No offense to my hubby. He was trying to keep our daughter occupied!), but I had a blast. Whomever takes the title of Mrs. Oklahoma 2011 will definitely want to make this appearance!

My husband taking a pic of me out the car door! I'm debuting my red streaks!

At the judges table

Wine, Women & Shoes

2010-10-07T09:49:00.002-05:00

I was asked to model for the annual Wine, Women & Shoes event at Balliets. The benefit shows off the latest trends in shoes while raising money for Impact Oklahoma. We had to model while walking up and down stairs!!! It was a little nerve-racking, but fun! Here is a promotional video for the event. You can catch me in it toward the end at minute 1:33!

Mrs. America Photos

2010-10-07T09:31:00.003-05:00

Well, I didn't win Mrs. America but I had a wonderful experience, I made a lot of new friends and, most importantly, I was able to educate a lot of people about CF. I am so happy for the new Mrs. America, Shelly Carbone, from Connecticut. I wish her the best of luck during her reign and especially at Mrs. World!
I took a little break to rest and get caught up around my house and in my life when I got home. I have been doing some appearances, though, and it's time to update the blog. I have tons of pictures from my week at Mrs. A and I knew I would be here for three days trying to upload all of them to this site so I made a slideshow instead. You can click on it below and see all the pictures, both from my camera and from the official photographer. Hope you enjoy!

This free slideshow design customized with Smilebox

Before I leave....

2010-08-29T17:30:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it is finally here. I leave in two days for Mrs. America. It is the opportunity of a lifetime and I am so honored to be representing Oklahoma in this amazing adventure. The following is a post I wrote back in June. I thought I'd post it again because I know a lot of people will probably visit my blog during the week at Mrs. America and this is what I would like all of them to know.....

Why do you want to be Mrs. America? That was a question asked on my Mrs. America paperwork. Unfortunately, my answer could only be fifteen seconds in length because it will be recorded and possibly played the night of competition - if I make the top ten. While I'm content with my answer I gave, there is so much more I wanted to say. It's not that I expect all the judges will be web-surfing the contestant's blogs before the pageant, but let's just say they are.....What would I want them to read here that would give them better insight into why I want this title so badly - into why it means so much?

I can't really describe to you what it's like to be told your child's life will probably be cut short. For me, it was a combination of numbness, disbelief, fear, desperation and many other feelings I can't put into words. When my daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth, I didn't know what to do other than to hold her, rock her, love her, and pray - pray that God would heal her of the horrific disease that I was learning more and more about each day.

When she was a couple of weeks old, however, something inside me shifted. I still wanted to pray and hold and rock - but there was a new desire inside me -a desire to fight. I made a decision that a life-expectancy of 36 was not ok with me. I made a decision that I was not going to let my daughter become a statistic. I made a decision that I was not going to be ruled by fear, but that, instead, I was going to get out and do whatever it took to change my daughter's fate.

I threw myself into volunteer work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, flying to Washington, D.C. for conferences, chairing our gala year after year, attending walks, all the while telling everyone I could about CF and what they could do to help. This past year, however, I came to a point where I felt I had gotten about as far as I could as "Hayden's mommy". I needed something more - a title that could get me into the public eye. That is how I was led to enter the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant.

I need the job of Mrs. America. There are so many wonderful things I could do for my cause with the title. I have plans in my head for appearances on Ellen, The Today Show and Good Morning America. I have an entire hour planned for Oprah on orphan diseases with an emphasis on CF. I need to stand before Congress to fight for the Clinical Trials bill. Without it, many people have to choose between entering a trial or having health benefits. I need to encourage more people to become organ donors. Many people with CF are waiting for lung transplants and liver transplants. We have a boy in my local CF community waiting right now for the latter. Every two months when Hayden has a check up, I find myself holding my breath as the doctor feels her liver and checks her blood oxygen levels. Now matter how well she is doing now, I always have it in the back of my mind that it could be her someday - it could be her depending on an organ donation to live.

There are so many things I could do with this title. Not for me, and not even just for my daughter, but for the entire CF community. I want to have an active role in saving my daughter's life. I want her to grow up and know that her mother did everything in her power to make a difference on her behalf. That is why I want to be Mrs. America.

Edited to add: Since writing this post, Congress passed the Clinical Trials bill! It will now go before the House of Representatives. Thank you so much to those of you who helped me write letters to our members of Congress!

Payne County's Got Talent

2010-08-29T17:05:00.003-05:00

I had so much fun last night! I was asked to emcee the Payne County's Got Talent competition at the Payne county fair. The fairgrounds are a few miles East of Stillwater. I wasn't sure what to expect but it ended up being a very special night for me.

You don't go to The Country Kitchen at a county fair and NOT take the pie they offer you! That would just be wrong!I felt my Cowboy boots were appropriate for this event. I think I was correct considering there were cows and other livestock directly behind the stage! Some of the cows became very loud during the performances. Maybe they were wanting to compete?!
How precious is this little violin player???

Now came the most special moment of my evening. I looked off the stage to see that our second contestant was having some stage fright. Rylee is seven years old and has downs syndrome. Her mother was trying to coax her onto the stage. I went over to her and introduced myself. I was trying to get her comfortable with me so I started asking her some questions. One was "What song are you singing?". Her mother told me Rylee had planned to sing "Mighty To Save". Out of all the country and contemporary songs being sung that night, this precious girl was going to sing one of my favorite praise and worship songs! I told Rylee that I sing that song in my church. As soon as her mother that, she asked if I would go up and sing with her. She was singing to the background vocals track. She needed someone up there to give her confidence. I asked Rylee if she would come up there with me if I sang it with her and she nodded her head.

I sang, not into the microphone, but only where Rylee could hear me. She started out the song tentatively, looking over at me many times to make sure I was still there and singing. Then she became confident and starting singing full-out into her microphone. She started putting movements with the words. As a worship leader, I cannot tell you how moved I was by this special moment I was getting to share with this precious and very special little girl. It was true worship - it came from such an honest and pure place. I will never forget Rylee and that special moment I was blessed enough to share with her. I can only imagine how proud her parents must be of her.

After all the performances were finished, I had to kill time while the scores were tabulated. I started talking to the crowd about my daughter, Hayden, and her disease, cystic fibrosis. A lady shouted out from the audience that, if I took off my hat, she'd pass it around and collect money for the CF Foundation. I was blown away by the gesture and could not believe it when she set the hat back up on stage. It was FULL of money! In a matter of minutes, that crowd had donated over $120 to the foundation!

Before I left to head home, I had to take some pictures of the animals because I had promised Hayden I would. Her request was that I take a picture with a cow......It was a wonderful night! One I won't soon forget!

Balliets Fashion Shoot

2010-08-29T16:34:00.004-05:00

Balliets is an amazing, upscale store in Oklahoma City. They recently opened their gorgeous new store on the Classen Curve and I've been dying to check it out. So I was very excited when they asked me to come do a photo shoot to highlight some of their new fall merchandise.
Here are some of the pictures from the shoot. Be sure to also look at the pictures I took of the new store toward the bottom of this post.

I was IN LOVE with the Burberry rain jacket!This outfit by Etro was beautiful! So classy! Check out these AMAZING over-the-knee boots!Oh, and these boots?....don't even get me started!This David Meister gown was gorgeous in person! So sparkly!This beautiful Ralph Lauren dress was sooo comfortable!Balliets has THE most amazing shoe department in OKC and the sweetest shoe buyer ever! Go see Betsy and she can help you find the perfect shoes for Fall!
Have a formal event coming up??? They have an amazing selection of gowns.Jewelry and Bags!!!!

Balliets has a clothing selection to die for!

My favorite area of the new store is upstairs!!! Just look at the new cosmetics area!!! It makes my heart skip a beat!
Fragrance wall!

If you live in OKC or are ever in town, you simply MUST come see the new Balliets. You can find it on the Classen Curve at 5801 NW Grand Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73118. Please check out their website as well to get more info and see even more fashions and pictures from the store.

www.balliets.com

Send-off Party for Mrs. America

2010-08-29T15:39:00.009-05:00

I had an amazing time at my send-off party this past Friday night! Heather Rouba, Mrs. Oklahoma 2009, along with the help of my friend Bill Crouch, completely planned and put together every aspect of the evening. As people arrived I was there taking pictures and signing autograph cards. Sasha Townsend, Oklahoma's Mrs. Green Country 2011, put together a photo album for me of family pictures and pictures from my reign. She also had cards for people to write me well-wishes that fit in the back of the album. It is such a keepsake and it meant so much that she worked so hard on it.

After people had time to munch on hors-d'oeuvres, a fashion show began featuring models and yours truly. We all wore interview attire followed by beautiful pageant gowns. My beautiful Frankie Couture gown for nationals is being tailored so I wore a loaner.

After the show, I performed a couple of songs and gave a speech on cystic fibrosis followed by a video I put together on the same topic. Once that was finished, everyone enjoyed some chocolate cake while looking a silent auctions items. The event was $10 at the door and all money raised that evening went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We raised over $1200!!!! It was such a wonderful evening and I felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving friends and family members. I hope I do them proud in Tuscon!

My awesome cake provided by Mrs. Oklahoma 2010 contestant, Joy Rose Murpy

With my husband, Ryan

With my dear friends, Molly Crouch and Whitney Molder

With Mrs. Greater Edmond 2011, Melinda Meadows
With Teresa and Quin from Avalon Correctional Facilities. Avalon is a major sponsor for the CF Foundation each year.
With my neighbors, Tiffany and Carson Wooster
With my awesome friends, Sandra Larby and Kelli Dupuy

With my cousin, Ginger, and her little girl, Addyson.With Mrs. Green Country 2011, Sasha Townsend
With friends Graham and Adrienne Turner. Graham is one of my daughter, Hayden's, favorite babysitters!With Hannah Reid. Hannah was a student at my fine-arts preschool I used to own when she was five. I can't believe she's in 5th grade now!!!

With Alana Hill and Winston Banta. Winston was my director and Alana was on the board when I was Miss University of Central Oklahoma in 2001.

With some of our favorite people - Carol and Chris Palmer
With my great friend from high school, Stacy Nance

With the director of the Oklahoma City chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Celia Palmer.
My mom, Cheryl Baldwin, with her BFF's, Glee Bertram and Donna Stevens.

With friends ,Drs. Quentin and Kelley Lobb.With my mom, Cheryl Baldwin
I promise I only had three bites of this cake! It was sooo yummy!

With one of the models, Stacy Saunders. She will be competing soon in Miss Oklahoma USA.

With my trainer, Brian Attebery, and his wife, Jennifer.
With model, Taylor Upson. Taylor is also a former Miss UCO!

With my friend Heather Rouba, Mrs. Oklahoma 2009

Bethel Idol Competition and Mock Interviews

2010-08-29T15:28:00.003-05:00

I recently was asked to participate in two very fun events - both of which required me to be a judge!
My first job was to judge singers at the Bethel Foundation's All-American Idol auditions at Quail Springs Mall. The Bethel Foundation supports single mothers and this competition is their main fundraiser. I will be one of their celebrity judges on finals night as well.
Then I was also asked by Heather Rouba, Mrs. Oklahoma 2009, to judge some mock interviews for her. She is training six girls for Miss Oklahoma USA. I was able to interview each girl for four minutes then give my critiques at the end. I had a wonderful time meeting these beautiful young ladies and it was actually great practice for me! Here I am with the other judges:Those are just a couple of things that have kept me busy recently! There's more to come!

Updating!

2010-08-29T15:20:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your patience during my blogging break! I really hit the ground running after the state pageant and I knew I needed some time off to focus on getting ready for nationals. My break ended up being a bit longer than I intended due a death in the family and some other unforseen circumstances, but I'm back! I can't tell you how ready I am to get to Tuscon and compete! I am ready mentally (and physically, thanks to my trainer Brian Attebery!)and I am definitely ready to spread the word about cystic fibrosis! It is my plan to take my laptop so that I can do a couple of updates during the week. I know I am going to meet some incredible ladies. I would love for you to pray for me that I do well in the competition and that the judges can see and feel the passion I have for my cause. This should be an amazing journey and I can't wait to begin!
Since I do have quite a bit of updating to do, I'm going to post multiple posts tonight. Look for them to come soon!

The Paper Lion Grand Opening

2010-07-18T20:50:00.005-05:00

I was so thrilled, when I won Mrs. Oklahoma, to find out that The Paper Lion, in Edmond, was my stationery sponsor. I actually worked there four years ago for owner Bruce Maxwell and his daughter (and manager of the store), Camden Chitwood. I LOVE this store! They just moved to a new and beautiful location and Camden asked me to come to the open house as Mrs. Oklahoma to greet people and sign autographs. I was more than happy to do so! Here are some pics of their beautiful new store.

Camden Chitwood and Bruce Maxwell

If you are ever in Edmond, OK, you MUST go check out the store! You can call them at 405-348-0952 and also follow them at www.twitter.com/thepaperlion

Sponsor - Salon Renaissance

2010-07-13T19:56:00.002-05:00

I wanted to take a minute to tell you about one of my sponsors and why you need to go visit them! Renaissance Salon and Spa is so graciously taking care of my nail care needs for the year of my reign! The salon/spa is in a beautiful renovated house with landscaping I want to yank out and plant at my own house! I have fallen in love with a product they use called Axium. A thick gel in any color (you can even do french manicures) is painted in layers on your nails. A light hardens them up and you are good to go! It makes your nails so strong so they are much less likely to break or tear. Since it can't be removed with nail polish remover, you could paint over it in a different color for one of two days, and then remove the new polish to find your Axium manicure still perfectly in-tact underneath. It is a wonderful product and I don't think many other salons use it. Renaissance also has a full-menu of other amazing salon services and spa treatments.

Here is the link to their website: www.salonsparen.com

I really hope you will go and check them out. If you do, be sure to tell Anthony that Mrs. Oklahoma sent you!

P.S. For those of you who saw a story on the news about a lady having permant nerve damage from a gel manicure, this is NOT the same thing! Julia, who does my nails, never uses a drill on my nail bed (the lady on the news had her skin cut into by a drill) and you don't stick your whole finger down in any kind of powder. She paints the Axium gel on your nails just as she would nail polish. Just wanted to clear that up!

Just to make you smile :)

2010-07-05T16:42:00.003-05:00

Okay, I decided to lighten things up a bit with this post. I posted these pictures on my personal family blog over a year ago. I thought it would be funny to put them on a pageant blog, however, since we pageant girls are usually trying to look our best at all times. I think it's good to make fun of yourself every now and then!

This is me on my first day of 5th grade...I showed this pic to my hairdresser, Brenton, and he said I looked like I was trying to be Debbie Gibson. This look does kinda scream "Electric Youth". I love the highwaisted, tapered pink pant. And it's always a good idea to tuck your shirt into your stretch pants, I think. My Fantastic Sams nightmare hair (no offense to Fantastic Sams. I'm sure the girl who butchered my hair in 1991 doesn't work there anymore) looks just adorable with my Blossom hat, doesn't it? That's about all I can say about this one.

Next up, my 8th grade Valentine's dance...Ok, I know I'm pasty white now but SERIOUSLY! I have to say, no updo is complete without a pair of matching tendrils in front, and to show up at the dance without dyed to match shoes?....well, that would just be embarrasing.

I saved the best for last...There's nothing like a thirteen-year-old trying to look forty. Now that I'm in my (extremely)late twenties I can't really see the appeal in that. I was so in love with this picture at the time. I'm fairly certain that, had they let me leave Glamour Shots with it, I would have worn that extremely stylish sequin jacket to school -because that's how cool I was. Except that I totally wasn't. Looking at these pictures I'm starting to understand why.

The current me (well, the current me after someone has blown-out and fluffed up my hair and a professional has done my makeup. I don't go to the grocery store looking anything like that, people.) Is the fact that I can totally see similarities between the two a bad thing!?!

Edmond Libertyfest

2010-07-03T19:03:00.008-05:00

I love living in Edmond, Oklahoma. Even though it is rapidly becoming a pretty large town, it still has many events and activities that make it seem to have a small town charm. Edmond's Libertyfest, which takes place around the 4th of July each year, is ranked in the top 5 July 4th celebrations in the nation.

There is a car show, a rodeo, and a kite festival. There's a fun children's event called Chalk It Up. One of the most popular events is called A Taste of Edmond. Different restaurants from across the city set up booths. You pay to get a wristband and then you can go around to all the different booths and eat as much as you want!

I took part in two different Libertyfest events. Last weekend I presented awards to the winners of the Road Rally, along with Emoly West, Miss Oklahoma 2010. The Road Rally is basically a big scavenger hunt on wheels. You have to follow clues and directions that take you all over the city. It is an event that my parents and I did for many years. We took home one of the lovely car trophies many of those years!

With Emoly West, Miss Oklahoma 2010

1st place winners
2nd place winners
3rd place winners
They give out an award for last place which is usually made into a joke. This year, however, everyone was very impressed with the last place winner. He was the contest's first ever blind/deaf participant. What an inspiration!
We took pictures with some cuties: Eight-Sixty top and J. McLaughlin skirt provided by Dillards Penn Square

Today was Edmond's Libertyfest parade! Hayden went with my husband's parents to watch. Here she is in her patriotic attire!Last night, I painted her finger and toe nails like American flags. She was oh-so excited!Hayden with my husband (and chauffeur for the day), Ryan WARNING: You are about to see some extreme pasty-ness. I've been trying to keep on at least a little self-tanner but I've been lazy this week. Hey, I'm of Irish descent. What can I say?Thanks to my sponsor, RAZR.com, for my wonderful car magnets!
With Emoly West, Miss Oklahoma 2010

With Anna Marie Costello, Miss Oklahoma International With Emoly and Anna Marie With Julie Christian, Miss University of Central Oklahoma 2010. This was my title nine years ago. I did not at all feel old in this moment.

Hayden with Ryan's parents, her Mimi and Chippy

My mom just recently bought this convertible. Great timing, mom!

Now, come on. How cute is this guy!?!

The parade was so much fun! There was an excellent crowd and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Sooo, I don't know what everyone else did after the parade, but we hightailed it over to the McDonalds drive-thru to catch breakfast - crown and all! Mmmmmm. Hazel dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Tomorrow we will be taking Hayden to the big Parkfest activities and then to watch the fireworks. I can't wait.

Happy 4th of July!

Why do you want to be Mrs. America?

2010-07-01T19:57:00.003-05:00

That was a question asked on my Mrs. America paperwork. Unfortunately, my answer could only be fifteen seconds in length because it will be recorded and possibly played the night of competition - if I make the top ten. While I'm content with my answer I gave, there is so much more I wanted to say. It's not that I expect all the judges will be web-surfing the contestant's blogs before the pageant, but let's just say they are.....What would I want them to read here that would give them better insight into why I want this title so badly - into why it means so much?

I can't really describe to you what it's like to be told your child's life will probably be cut short. For me, it was a combination of numbness, disbelief, fear, desperation and many other feelings I can't put into words. When my daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth, I didn't know what to do other than to hold her, rock her, love her, and pray - pray that God would heal her of the horrific disease that I was learning more and more about each day.

When she was a couple of weeks old, however, something inside me shifted. I still wanted to pray and hold and rock - but there was a new desire inside me -a desire to fight. I made a decision that a life-expectancy of 36 was not ok with me. I made a decision that I was not going to let my daughter become a statistic. I made a decision that I was not going to be ruled by fear, but that, instead, I was going to get out and do whatever it took to change my daughter's fate.

I threw myself into volunteer work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, flying to Washington, D.C. for conferences, chairing our gala year after year, attending walks, all the while telling everyone I could about CF and what they could do to help. This past year, however, I came to a point where I felt I had gotten about as far as I could as "Hayden's mommy". I needed something more - a title that could get me into the public eye. That is how I was led to enter the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant.

I need the job of Mrs. America. There are so many wonderful things I could do for my cause with the title. I have plans in my head for appearances on Ellen, The Today Show and Good Morning America. I have an entire hour planned for Oprah on orphan diseases with an emphasis on CF. I need to stand before Congress to fight for the Clinical Trials bill. Without it, many people have to choose between entering a trial or having health benefits. I need to encourage more people to become organ donors. Many people with CF are waiting for lung transplants and liver transplants. We have a boy in my local CF community waiting right now for the latter. Every two months when Hayden has a check up, I find myself holding my breath as the doctor feels her liver and checks her blood oxygen levels. Now matter how well she is doing now, I always have it in the back of my mind that it could be her someday - it could be her depending on an organ donation to live.

There are so many things I could do with this title. Not for me, and not even just for my daughter, but for the entire CF community. I want to have an active role in saving my daughter's life. I want her to grow up and know that her mother did everything in her power to make a difference on her behalf. That is why I want to be Mrs. America.

Easter Seals Benefit

2010-06-26T21:48:00.003-05:00

I was asked to appear at a benefit dinner/dance for the Easter Seals organization last night. It was held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the theme was "Blast from the Past: Disco"! Ryan and I attended the event with friends, Tre and Kelli Dupuy.
Food was available from many different vendors and restaurants. These beautiful and extremely delicious cupcakes were from Sweet Cherry's Sugar Art Bakery in Oklahoma City. The frosting was glittery!
With one of the Easter Seals board members

Striking a pose with John Travolta

Adrianna Papell sequined dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Edmond Kiwanis/Chickasha Rotary

2010-06-26T21:32:00.004-05:00

This past week I had the chance to speak to both the Edmond Kiwanis Club and the Chickasha Rotary Club. During the meetings I spoke about cystic fibrosis - about both the disease itself and the way it has affected my daughter and our family. I am very grateful I had the opportunity to spread my message to even more people!

With Edmond Kiwanis president, Al Warren With Edmond Kiwanis member and former Edmond Mayor, Dan O'Neil
Donna Morgan dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Speaking to Chickasha Rotary

With friends, Jon and Whitney Molder. Jon invited me to speak at the club.With my dear friend, Whitney

Antonio Melani skirt provided by Dillards Penn Square

Below is the link to the video I showed at my presentations. You may have seen it, as I have posted it here in the past. If not, I do hope you'll take the time to watch it and learn more about CF on a personal level.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=82156ac1ed91992a7b7f88&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Purple Sash Benefit

2010-06-21T21:10:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday night I modeled in a runway show for the YWCA's Purple Sash Benefit. There a local, upscale store here in Oklahoma City, Balliets, and they provided the beautiful clothes from Lourdes Chavez's collection. Ms. Chavez was even flown in to attend the event and help organize the show. The event was beautifully decorated in pale turquoise with silver sequined accents. Our runway was covered with a white carpet. I absolutely love runway! Even will all the frantic quick changes, it is my favorite type of modeling job.

Hair and makeup artists from Schardein and Company salon were on hand to do our hair and makeup. They did a beautiful job! Heather Rouba's modeling agency, The Anthony David Agency, had several models in the show. She helped coordinate the show and helped us all know when to get out on the stage. It is utter chaos backstage at runway shows and she did a wonderful job of not making that obvious to the crowd!Miss Oklahoma USA (and 1st runner-up at Miss USA), Morgan Woolard, was modeling in the show with me.
Model Dyan Rode and I have been modeling together for a million years! It is always so good to see her at these jobs. She is a former Miss OK USA too! I think she said '87?
With the other models

Sunbeam Family Services

2010-06-18T21:24:00.009-05:00

I had a very special last couple of days. My good friend, Kelli Dupuy, is the Director of Marketing and Development for Sunbeam Family Services, one of Oklahoma City's oldest nonprofit social service agencies. They have been around since 1907! Kelli invited me to make a couple of appearances at Sunbeam related events taking place this past Wednesday and Thursday and I was excited to be able to go!

On Wednesday, we went to a monthly Parent Meeting at Emerson Early Head Start. Sunbeam Family Services operates the Early Head Start program at Emerson Alternative High School . While teen moms are going to school, they take care of their children on campus. They not only provide services to the children, but they also have a Family Advocate who works with the teen mothers to help the entire family. Sunbeam Family Services' goal at Emerson is to teach the mothers skills that they will need to care for their children, as well as encouraging them to go to school and GRADUATE! Last month, they had 15 graduating seniors! They are very proud of these girls – some of which became mothers as young as 12.

These children were absolutely adorable!While they were eating lunch, I spoke with the moms about being a courageous mother. I talked about being given statistics and refusing to let those decide for us the outcome of our lives and our children's' lives. For them, it's being told they will probably never graduate or get to attend college - or that their children will never be able to accomplish much. In my case it was the statistic that my daughter's life expectancy was 36. I talked about my decision to not accept that statistic - that, instead, I was going to do something about it and I tried to encourage them to do the same.I look like I'm leading them in "patty-cake" in this next picture!
Here are some pictures of me with the moms and their children.

With Ana, the director of the Emerson program.

Crowning a new little princess!
With all the moms and kids

With the staff

Signing autograph cards

Precious faces

With my friend, Kelli Dupuy

Donna Morgan dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

The next day, I went with Kelli to Sunbeam’s Annual Senior Companion Recognition Luncheon. This is a program where Senior Companion volunteers serve other seniors who need assistance to remain independent and in their homes. They receive in-depth training and provide inspiration, companionship and respite to frail elderly individuals and their caregivers. In the past 11 months, the Senior Companion volunteers provided 85,603 hours of service, which is valued at $1,455,251 (adult sitter services average $17 per hour in Oklahoma). For the Companions they are not just serving, but they are receiving as well. As Kelli puts it: "Our volunteers are seniors who are sick of watching “The Price is Right” and sitting in their jammies. They want to give back. They want to make a difference!". And they certainly have! They become a member of the family. They give caregivers a break, the clients get something to look forward to, and the volunteer has a sense of purpose! These are wonderfully compassionate people!
When I first came up onto the stage after being introduced, they were all sweet enough to sing the happy birthday song to me. As of yesterday, I am 29-years-old and wondering how that happened! I said a few words to welcome everyone to the luncheon and thanked them for their selflessness and service. Once lunch was served I walked around and signed autograph cards and took pictures with many of the volunteers. I also had the pleasure of watching a dance group called "The Older and Bolder Dancers"! All of the members are over the age of sixty.

My friend, Kelli Dupuy

With Kelli's intern, Brian

Antonio Melani blouse and skirt provided by Dillards Penn Square

I had a wonderful time and was grateful for the opportunity to attend these two wonderful events. Kelli called it "Bring Your Friend to Work Day". Kelli, I'm up for anything you want to throw my way! I am so glad I could help out!

Mrs. Texas 2010

2010-06-17T15:08:00.002-05:00

Well, friends, I have some major competition at Mrs. America. This gorgeous lady, Shannon Patterson, was crowned Mrs. Texas 2010 this past Saturday night. I was there to sing at the pageant so I watched her compete. All I can say is the judges did an excellent job! She was beautiful on stage! Here I am after the pageant with judges April Swartz and Heather Rouba.
With the outgoing Mrs. Texas, Melissa Pozca.

Here I am posing for a prom pic with Frankie Simmons. He will be designing my gown for nationals!!! I've seen a sneak peek and it is going to be gorgeous!
My long-time friend, Molly Crouch, came with me for the trip. I was so grateful that she came with me for the nine hours in the car! Our moms have been best friends since 7th grade!
Congratulations, Shannon!

Thank you to Talia Berning for letting me borrow her beautiful gown!

Ponca City Herb Festival/Splash for CF

2010-06-10T22:19:00.005-05:00

I have grown up visiting Ponca City numerous times each year. My mother is from Ponca and my grandparents and cousin still live there. This past weekend I was asked to be a part of two different events going on there. The first event was their annual herb festival. I hadn't ever been to this festival before and I very much enjoyed it. In addition to all the fresh herbs and flowers, there were many different booths set up where people were selling their crafts and decor. I was asked to attend the vine cutting ceremony at the beginning of the festival and say a few words.

They started off with the mayor cutting the vine.Then I was introduced to the crowd by one of the board members of the festival. I had a chance to welcome everyone to the event, tell them about my ties to Ponca City and, OF COURSE, talk a little bit about CF :)With mayor, Homer Nicholson
After I was finished speaking, Ryan and I took Hayden to the children's tent where she made a beautiful princess hat!She was very proud of this hat! She wore it all over the festival grounds!

The other reason I was in Ponca City was to take part in an exciting fundraiser called "Splash for CF". After I won, a press release about me was printed in the Ponca City paper. Soon after, I received a phone call from Kelly Johnson, owner of Quality Water in Ponca. He told me that his main supplier of his chemicals has a national fundraising campain for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and that the supplier encourages all local stores to participate. He asked if I would be willing to come up and help them by being a part of their event. So Quality Water put on a big beach party! They had people sponsored to swim laps in the pool and they cooked out food all day long. The local radio station was on hand and a local teenager named Wesley, who has CF, was also there to make the event even more personal. For my part, Kelly and I came up with the idea for "Princess Photos". Little girls could come in and have their picture taken with me for $5 and all the money would go to CF. A professional photographer donated her time and set up a backdrop so the pictures looked more official. Parents could immediately look at the pictures on the computer, pick out their favorite, and have them printed right there on the spot. Many of them had me autograph them before they left. I had so much fun!

Here is part of the poster they designed for the event.
The first little princess of the day!
Being interviewed live on-air by DJ Sean Anderson for 100.7 fm KPNCLook at this precious doll! Aaaaaaand....someone brought in their dog :)
This lovely couple brought in a picture of their granddaughter, Cameryn, who has CF. She lives in Wichita and couldn't be there but they asked me to take a picture with her photo. They told me of the great success Cameryn has had with one of the clinical trials! It gave me goose bumps just listening to them talk about it! That is what these dollars raised are doing!!! My cousin Mark's son, Kelby, was swimming laps to raise money.
Here's Hayden modeling the lovely crowns each little girl received when they came in for their picture.
Me, Ryan and Hayden with my cousin Mark, his wife Marcy, and their son Kelby. We loved getting to spend time with them.
Both events were very fun and getting to stay with my family made it a fun little getaway for my family. I so appreciate Quality Water putting together such a wonderful event! I hope they'll have me back next year!

Lily Pulitzer outfit provided by Dillards Penn Square

Children's Miracle Network Telethon

2010-06-07T17:51:00.003-05:00

I was asked by Jan Dunham, director of the Oklahoma City Children's Miracle Network, to be a part of the annual CMN telethon. She wanted me to bring Hayden on camera with me for us both to be interviewed. They asked me about Hayden and her cystic fibrosis, and they asked me to explain some of the difficulties the come with being a parent of a child with CF. They asked Hayden if she did treatments. She said, "Yes, and I swallow pills". When Anita Blanton asked her if that was hard to do she replied, "No, they're just fine"! I very pleased with how the interview went and Hayden did on camera. She was a big girl!

Here we are with KOCO anchors Anita Blanton and Daniel Holdge. I'm not quite sure why Hayden looks so grumpy in this picture! After our interview! We celebrated with free ice cream from the Schwans truck outside!
They then asked Hayden if she would like a carriage ride. Gee, what do you think she said?! She loved getting to pet the horse.
My mom, Cheryl Baldwin, went with us.

I had to sneak this picture. What four-year-old sits with her legs crossed?!
Hayden and her Mommo.
We definitely had fun. I hope a lot of money was raised for the Children's Miracle Network!

Antonio Melani dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Necklace provided by Stella and Dot (ask me if you'd like info on finding a rep!)

Turning Point Ministries

2010-06-05T21:59:00.002-05:00

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at a fundraiser/golf tournament benefiting Turning Point Ministries. This is such a wonderful organization founded by members of my church. In the past, Habitat for Humanity hasn't been able to build houses in Edmond because the cost of land here is too high. Turning Point began as a way to purchase and develop land here in Edmond for Habitat for Humanity to then come and build on. They are able to do this through individual and corporate donations, grants, fundraisers, as well as through partnerships with the Edmond faith community and civic organizations. Turning Point also purchases and leases "step-up" homes to Section 8 clients waiting for a Habitat home. Legacy Station, their first community of 12 homes, will be complete in about 2-3 years. Each lot they donate to Habitat for Humanity costs approximately $25,000 so donations to the foundation are important for them to continue their wonderful work I really hope you will visit their website, www.turningpointoklahoma.org , to learn more about their organization and find out ways that you can help.

Here I am with a couple of the founding members, Martha and Bob Turner.With Habitat for Humanity CEO, Ann Felton. This was Hayden's first time to accompany me to an official appearance! She made sure to put on extra lipgloss!

With my pastor, Mateen Elass. He was there to play the tournament and support the cause.
Speaking to the golfers before they headed out to play.

Thank you to members of the Turning Point board for asking me to be a part of your event. I very much enjoyed it and can't wait to get started on building the next house in Edmond! There are witnesses who can attest to the fact that I'm actually pretty handy with a nail gun!

Evan Piccone dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Musashi's

2010-06-03T07:23:00.003-05:00

I had the opportunity to meet up with some of the ladies from the pageant for dinner at Musashi's last week. Not everyone was able to make it, unfortunately, but those of us who did definitely had a fun time. Their food is sooo yummy! Each of us asked the waiter to take a picture of our group. While he was was on his fifth camera, I apologized for making him do so much photography! He said he does it all the time. In his words, "Musashi's is like the adult Chucky Cheese". Well I can see why! Since we were having a celebration dinner they brought out free green tea ice cream for all of us. I had a wonderful time with these beautiful ladies and I'm hoping ALL of the girls can get together soon!

top row L to R: Marci Stager, Angela Russell, Joy Rose Murphy

bottom row L to R: Rachel Flint, Heather Rouba, Me

Sponsor - Brian Attebery and Results Fitness

2010-05-25T19:13:00.003-05:00

I am the luckiest girl in the world! Brian Attebery, personal trainer and owner of Results Fitness and Nutrition, is sponsoring me for the year! Brian, is a personal friend and I know for a fact that he is the absolute best at what he does. He is extremely knowledeable about fitness training and it is evident when you meet him how passionate he is about his field. Brian has already set up workout and meal plans and I'm already starting to see the difference. His gym, Results Fitness and Nutrition, is at 15th and Santa Fe in Edmond, OK. They have weights and cardio equipment as well as classes and tanning. Childcare is also available during certain hours.
I've posted some info from his website, http://www.resultsfitnessusa.com/, below for you to check out. Thanks Brian! I can't thank you enough!

Brian's Bio
Brian Attebery is the owner of RESULTS Fitness and Nutrition Center. Brian has been a certified personal trainer since 1993. He has a B.S. in Health and Sport Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. During his career he has consulted thousands of clients ranging from average people wanting to lose weight, to professional athletes trying to improve their athletic performance. Brian is a columnist for Edmond Life and Leisure and College Crowd Magazine and is a regular speaker on health and fitness for many schools and corporations. He is responsible for the fitness and nutrition of four states in the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. system and has had many of his clients place in the finals at Miss U.S.A., Miss Teen U.S.A., and Miss America, including the over-all winner of Miss America 2007 and Miss Teen U.S.A. 2001 and 2008. A competitive bodybuilder, Brian won the title of Mr. Oklahoma in 2001.

About his training in the pageant systems:

* 4 National Winners! *
Miss Teen U.S.A. - 2008
Miss America - 2007
Miss Teen U.S.A. - 2001
National Teenager - 2001

Multiple National Finalists
Pageant training is available through:
Personal Training-mail out programs
Nutritional guidance-mail out diets available
Body sculpting and toning-nutritional supplements available

Successful training contestants:
Mrs. United States for:
Oklahoma
Missouri
Kansas
Arkansas

Miss Oklahoma National Teenager
Miss Oklahoma Jr. National Teenager
Miss Texas National Teenager
Miss Texas Jr. National Teenager
Miss Arkansas USA
Miss Arkansas Teen
Miss Kansas USA
Miss Kansas Teen USA
Miss Missouri Teen
Miss Nebraska USA
Miss Nebraska Teen USA
Miss Oklahoma USA
Miss Oklahoma Teen USA

The Burger Joint

2010-05-23T23:01:00.002-05:00

If you live in the Oklahoma City area, you need to stop by The Burger Joint for lunch or dinner this upcoming Tuesday, May 25th. They will be giving a portion of their profits for the day to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! I have been to this restaurant before and they have an awesome selection of sliders and the yummiest sweet potato fries! To find them, go to the parking lot in front of the Best Buy at 63rd and May. In the parking lot is a free-standing building and The Burger Joint is on the ground floor. I hope you can make it!!!

Mrs. Oklahoma 2010 Competition Photos

2010-05-19T14:45:00.018-05:00

I received my cd of official photos from April 17th's Mrs. Oklahoma competition from photographer Larry Wright! I wanted to share them with you!

We all had headshots taken outside in our opening number outfits...

...and in our swimsuits and banners.
Then we had a group shot taken of all of us in our swimsuits.
These pictures were taken right after my interview earlier in the day.
Pictures of the opening numberThe swimsuit competitionMy group for swimsuit
Jessica Ammons, Lauren Masters, Me, Ann Forrester & Rachel Flint
Evening gown competition. Ryan walked me on stage and looked so handsome in his tuxedo!
Evening gown group
All of us contestants on stage waiting for the Top 10 to be called.
I was the LAST one to be called of the ten! Here I am coming down looking very relieved!The Top 10

Lauren Masters, Sasha Townsend, Ann Forrester, Joy Rose Murphy, Alyssa Siler, Heather Gowin, Angela Russell, Heather Cunningham, Marci Stager and Rachel FlintHere I am being called FIRST, this time, for Top 5!
The Top 5!
Alyssa Siler, Joy Rose Murphy, Lauren Masters, Marci Stager and Heather Gowin.
Answering my onstage question
Heather Rouba's Farewell With her husband, Yury, and daughter, Iliana. Our director, Tracy Crist, is presenting her with an oil painting of her portrait.Receiving the award for Best Interview
The Top 5 were called down to the front of the stage for the big announcement!

4th runner-up was Heather Gowin,

3rd runner-up was Marci Stager,

2nd runner-up was Lauren Masters....

and they announced the 1st-runner up as Joy Rose Murphy!

I won!!!!I stood like this forever!

Especially because of the death of my father earlier that week, it was a very emotional moment.My crown and sash!The famous walk and wave! I was literally thinking "I hope I'm doing this wave correctly!".
The Mrs. Kansas pageant was combined with ours that evening. Here is the new Mrs. Kansas, Samantha Reinecke. She is such a sweetie and I can't wait to get a chance to know her better at nationals.
The two of us were very excited!
With the Top 5With the Top 10With my judges!
With former Mrs. Oklahomas
With Mr. Oklahoma and Hayden! She had been completely passed out and was pretty tired!With my family and friends!At the after-party at Roma's in Guthrie

Las Vegas/Miss USA

2010-05-18T16:05:00.009-05:00

I'm back from Las Vegas, and one thing I can definitely say for this trip is that it was full of excitement - both good and bad (and sometimes really bad!). Heather Rouba asked me to come along with her to attend the Miss USA pageant. Her modeling agency, The Anthony David Agency, represents Miss Kansas and Miss Oklahoma and she wanted to see them compete. Her sister-in-law has a relative who works with American Airlines. Through her, we could have standby tickets flying out of Dallas for next to nothing. It sounded good to us so we were in! Note to self: if something sounds to good to be true, it usually IS! So we drove down Thursday night to Dallas, stayed at her brother and sister-in-law's house, got up Friday morning at 4:45am and headed to the airport. Here we are in the terminal waiting for the first flight out to Vegas. Don't we look so happy?Donna Morgan tunic provided by Dillards Penn Square

Well, everything downhill from there! As a standby flyer, you wait until everyone else has boarded the plane and, once they see how many seats they have left open, they call the standby passengers. As we were waiting to be called for the first flight, another passenger told us that the absolute worst day to fly standby to Vegas is Friday because it's so popular. We had no idea! We don't ever go to Vegas and we had never flown standy before. We were clueless!

So sure enough, we missed the first flight. We were still trying to stay positive at this point though, so we somewhat cheerfully walked to another terminal to wait for the next flight out. I'm sure you can guess by now that we missed that one too....... AND the next one. We were already really worried about getting out when bad weather in the area caused the airline to cancel the next three flights out to Vegas. Fabulous! So now all of the people whose flights were canceled were on standby for the next flights - ahead of us. Suddenly we were 100 and 101 on the standby list. Not only were we not going to make it to Vegas that day, we were worried we wouldn't even make it out on Saturday.

We contemplated just giving up and driving home at that point but, not only had we been looking forward to this trip, we had non-refundable Miss USA tickets that weren't cheap and Cirque de Soleil tickets that really weren't cheap. It killed us to just walk away from it but we were stuck. The tickets at that point, if we had tried to just purchase them, were astronomical and neither of us could do that. Finally, Heather decided to contact her husband's host parents (Yury is from Belarus) because she knew his host dad, Brad, had tons of frequent flier miles from his business travels. She explained to him our situation and he instantly did what he could to secure us two tickets out that evening. He called her back to tell her we were officially booked on the 9:30pm flight to Vegas! This was such a blessing! There were tons of people whose flights were canceled that were going to be stuck at the airport that night. Without Brad, we would not have made it to Vegas. I am sooo grateful for him!

While we were waiting at the airport to hear back from Brad, Heather looked over my shoulder and said "There's Jon McCain!". Are you kidding? Nope. Sure enough, there was Jon McCain standing just feet away. So I sure did dig out my banner and walk over to him to ask him for a picture. He was so kind and even said he knew where Edmond was! As crazy as the day had been up to that point, this was definitely something that perked us up! Here I am with Mr. McCain!

Since we had several hours before our flight out, Heather's brother and sister-in-law came back to get us and take us to dinner with them. We went to a barbecue place and ate darn near everything they had! We hadn't eaten all day!

FINALLY, we made it to Vegas!!! I couldn't look more tired in this photo.

We went to pick up our rental car and, since it was midnight by this point, the only car they had left was a Grand Marquis. It wasn't exactly what we we pictured ourselves in to cruise the strip but hey, it was comfy. I refered to it as our "couch on wheels". As we started heading down the strip toward our hotel, a car pulled up next to us and started honking. Niether of us would look their direction. We were thinking "Really? We are exhausted looking and in a Grand Marquis. You are seriously honking at us?!" They finally gave up and moved on. About a mile later it dawned on us we didn't have our headlights on! We felt very humbled!

So we finally fell into bed at what was 3am to our bodies, which were still on Central Standard time. We had been up almost 24 hours straight. BUT WE WERE THERE!!!!

So now for the fun part of the trip! (I do realize this is becoming the longest post ever in the history of blogging!) We hit the strip the next morning to check out the hotels and do some shopping. We instantly found my favorite store on the planet! Kensie tunic and leggings provided by Dillard Penn Square

In front of the Paris hotel and "The Eiffel Tower" (with Zara shopping bags, you'll notice!)

Inside Paris, we met another of Heather's models who was there to see the pageant, Michelle, and Mrs. Nevada, April Swartz for lunch. I had a ham and cheese crepe that was yuuuuummmmmy!
The fountains outside the Bellagio

Michelle, Heather and I in front of the "Arc de Triomphe"

Here we are at dinner before seeing the Cirque de Soleil show, "O". Words cannot describe how amazing this show was. The restaurant had THE most amazing chocolate-dipped strawberries!
Ok, I had to take this picture. Heather is 6'1" without shoes so here she's about 6'4". While she was waiting in line, this petite Asian lady walked up and stood next to her. She literally came to her waist! It cracked me up!
The Chihuly exhibit on the ceiling of the Bellagio. All of those flowers are made of blown glass!
I couldn't come all the way to Vegas and not play a single slot machine. I went all out and spent a whopping $3!!!
On Sunday, we pretty much spent the entire day at the Planet Hollwood hotel. It is where the Miss USA pageant took place that evening. We loved the modern look of the hotel and I somehow dressed to match the interior! Evo Vorro dress and Jessica Simpson striped wedges provided by Dillards Penn Square

While at Planet Hollywood, we ate at an amazing Mexican restaurant, Yolos.Heather's Kensie dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

With April and Michelle inside the Venetian

Here I am all ready for the pageant! Every person there that had a title of any kind wore her banner. We ladies were all over Planet Hollywood! I have to admit that I felt a little like a celebrity! I was taking pictures with people all night! I even met a couple of people from Oklahoma. It was a very fun evening.
I met a lady that I will be competing against in Tuscon. She was so sweet. It wasn't until we were posing for this picture that we realized we were Michigan and Oklahoma - the same as the top two in that night's Miss USA pageant!

I was a little starstruck when I got to meet Diane Tucker. She was Mrs. America in 2007 and went on to win Mrs. World! She is sooo beautiful and every bit as sweet. Let's hope some of her good luck rubbed off on me!With the adorable Kandis Holt, Miss Oklahoma Teen USA
Here I am with 1st runner-up and Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Woolard. She is so gorgeous. I kinda just wanted to stare at her!

With Mrs. Nevada 2009, April SwartzEven though we were sad Morgan didn't win, we had such a fun time.

Well, it was a good thing that we had a really good two days because the drama of our travels were not yet over. We left our hotel at 5:30am, got to the airport, and checked in without a hitch. Security even went quickly. Things were going so well that, after I mentioned it outloud, I actually said "I hope I didn't just jinx us!"

Well, apparently I did. After a stress-free flight, we arrived in Dallas at 1pm. We got on the shuttle to get back to our car so we could head home to Oklahoma when Heather realized she couldn't find the car keys. As in, THE KEYS WERE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND AND WE HAD NO WAY OF DRIVING THE CAR HOME. We searched every inch of our bags and the keys were nowhere. I felt so sorry for Heather because I knew that, for every bit of freak out I had going on, she had it twice as bad. The nice shuttle driver dropped us off at the parking lot office so we could check lot and found. We kept our fingers crossed that they had been left on the bus when we were at the airport the first time. No such luck. Heather called and hired a tow truck to take her car to the nearest Nissan dealership. Once there, they would be able to take the VIN number and make and program a new key. So of course the tow truck driver (who was supposed to show up within the hour) took THREE hours to get there. The only place Heather and I had to sit at the office while we waited for him was in two wheelchairs that were back behind the building. We decided to have someone take a picture, telling ourselves that we would laugh at it all someday. I mean, seriously, what are the odds that all of this would happen to us in one trip!? I would love to know how many hours we spent at DFW airport when you total it all up. We were starting to feel like Tom Hanks in The Terminal. After three hours of waiting, we made it to the dealership where they (thankfully) made and programmed the key within 45 minutes. We were finally on our way home!!!!

This trip had a lot of stressful and tiring moments, and a lot of amazing and fun moments (I, of course, talked about CF to many new people!). One thing is for sure - it was a trip I will never forget!

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-05-13T14:53:00.001-05:00

I won't be posting again until Monday because I'm going on a VACATION! Yay for vacations!!! I'll post lots of pics when I get back.....

Rotary Club of Edmond

2010-05-12T17:49:00.007-05:00

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to the Edmond Rotary Club. I talked about my reason for entering the pageant and was able to spend quite a bit of time talking about cystic fibrosis. I was even able to show Hayden's Great Strides video which was very well received. I made several great contacts, saw many people I knew from church, had a great lunch courtesy of Super Suppers, and had a wonderful time. I spoke with the President of the Edmond Rotary, Andy Lester, about coming to some of the elementary schools to read to the children. I really hope I get the chance to do that. I love children and I LOVE to see their imaginations and minds at work.

Here I am with President Andy Lester of Lester, Loving and Davies law firmWith a dear lady, Mitzi Hancuff, who is the executive director of the Edmond Fine Arts Institute. Before Hayden was born I owned and operated a fine arts preschool, Wee Melodies, and she allowed me to use the space at FAI to teach my classes.
With my friend, Carrie Williams. Carrie is a lawyer at Lester, Loving and Davies and she is the one that got me in with the rotary to speak, as her boss is the president. Thanks, Carrie!
Here I am speaking!
I had such a wonderful time. Thank you, Edmond Rotary Club, for making me feel so welcome!

Click here to go to the Rotary Club website and see the information Andy Lester posted about my visit.

Ralph Lauren suit provided by Dillards Penn Square

Great Strides 2010

2010-05-10T20:48:00.008-05:00

This past Saturday was the CF Foundation's Great Strides Walk at Lake Hefner's Stars and Stripes park. This is the largest fundraising event nationwide for the foundation. All of the local families create walk teams honoring their loved ones with CF, and those teams raise as much money as they can for research. We started the Hayden's Heroes team for our daughter's first walk at 10 months of age. This was our fourth year to participate and we always have a lot of fun. Money is still coming in so I don't have a grand total raised for you but the event always raises well over $100,000. Our team has done about $5000 so far.

On our way to the event (Note: I always swore I would never allow stickers on my car windows. Yep, that didn't last long.)
Striking a pose upon arrival
The Fam
Hayden with her Mommo (my mother)
My friend, Danielle, and her precious son, Jackson
Ryan keeping Hayden and her friend, Megan, warm
My friend, Heather, with her husband and daughter, Yury and Iliana My friend Stacy with her husband, Todd, son ,Thatcher, and mother, Karen
Every year, Hero of Our Heart awards are passed out to everyone with CF. This year, I was asked to present the awards as Mrs. Oklahoma. Last year we had Rumble do the honors so I felt pretty special! One by one, each CFer walked across the stage to receive their medal. Unfortunately there are always loved ones walking in memory of someone who lost their battle with CF. This year was especially sad because Missy Cannon, who just last year was our Ambassador for this walk, passed away the day after Christmas. I remember her last year speaking to the crowd, and this year I was giving a medal to her family as they honored her memory. She was only 35. It broke my heart. As a CF parent, I hate to face the stark reality of what this disease can do, and it's especially hard when it's that close to home. After the walk I told her father how sorry I was for his loss. Through tears, he told me how grateful they were for the wonderful 35 years they had with Missy. I walked away thinking "That's not enough". It was just another reminder for me why I am doing this - why I entered this pageant. It's because I decided that 36.5 years with Hayden is not good enough for me. I can't let that happen. Please say a prayer for the Cannon family as they go through this difficult and emotional time.

Here is our chapter's executive director, Celia Palmer, introducing me to the crowd.

This picture makes me laugh. It looks like the arms of the guy behind me belong to me!
You can't see her face, but here is Hayden talking to Celia before she gets her medal Here I am getting to put the medal on her Hayden with her friends Eva and Megan. Could this picture be any cuter?! Hayden with her CF doctor, Dr. Santiago Reyes. He is WONDERFUL!With friends, Emily and Eva
Me with my bff, Kristin. I'm going to take this moment to say that I quite like my new Walmart sunglasses.
Hayden got to have some fun playing on the playground while we were there. Just as it is every year, it was a fun, but emotional, event. We are so thankful to all of our friends who joined us and to everyone who donated to our team this year. You are all Hayden's Heroes!

My incredibly cute Jessica Simpson wedges were provided by Dillards Penn Square

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T21:26:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! We had a wonderful day and I hope you did too!

CFF Stairclimb

2010-05-06T21:20:00.010-05:00

The CF Foundation's Oklahoma City chapter had a new fundraising event this year and it was extremely successful for its first year! The CF Stairclimb took place this past Sunday at OU's football field and raised over $11,000! Jackie Miller, a former track star for OU, and Kim Norvell, wife of wide receiver coach Jay Norvell, both have cystic fibrosis and together they came up with the idea for this fundraiser. After people paid their entry fee, they would choose to enter either the JV, Varsity or Professional level. Junior Varsity had to go up and down the stairs twice, the Varsity climbers had to do four times, and the Professional team had to climb eight times! I was asked to pass out the awards to the overall winners and the winners from each category.
Here I am in my official Stairclimb t-shirt!

You'll notice these pictures are much better than my Derby pictures. That's because they were taken by my friend Molly who came with me. She is a professional photographer. I need to start taking her with me everywhere! Here we are...
Ok, so for some reason I thought I should try to climb all of these stairs. This was not a brilliant idea for many reasons, the main ones being that I was in flipflops and I am sooo not althetic in any way, shape or form.I'm feeling pretty good about myself here.Ah, yes. The thumbs up. If only I'd know at the time what my calves were going to feel like the next morning. Again - no altheticism of any kind.Ok, I really did set out to look as queenly as possible - well, as queenly as someone can look in a t-shirt and shorts - but I was NOT going to get a farmer's tan (or burn in my case) so.....
I know. Classy, right? It was hot out there! Molly spotted members of the football team and had to have a picture.
Here I am with the band, Born in November. They provided music during the climb and were awesome! Here's a picture of the crowd:Here are the lovlies at the registration table:After the first air horn blow, the men were off!Then it was the girls' turns!

Then it was awards time! It's so wonderful talking to a crowd of people passionate about making a difference for CF!
Coach Jay Norvell
Woohoo!It was a wonderful event - one that I really hope they do again next year. I think it really has the potential to grow from year to year. Our CF walk is this Saturday so watch for pictures soon!

Interviews!

2010-05-05T20:59:00.003-05:00

I was interviewed at the Kentucky Derby event by fellow judge, Angie Bruss. Here is the video she put together for the Newsok.com website:

http://www.newsok.com/multimedia/video/83065003001

Also, I was featured in the May issue of Distinctly Oklahoma and was chosen to interview on News9 during their 4 o'clock newscast. Here is the link to that interview:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news9.com%2FGlobal%2Fcategory.asp%3FC%3D116601%26clipId%3D4760577%26topVideoCatNo%3D112037%26autoStart%3Dtrue&h=f873e

I got to speak about cystic fibrosis in both! Yay!

Click on the following link to see the photo spread in Distinctly Oklahoma. Click on the contents button and then on the 2010 Mrs. Oklahoma Pageant link:

http://www.virtualonlineeditions.com/publication/?i=37451

Maggie London dress for News9 interview provided by

Dillards Penn Square

Kentucky Derby Event

2010-05-03T20:38:00.006-05:00

On Saturday night, after I left the Dillards fashion show, I headed straight to Remington Park for their Kentucky Derby night. I was asked by Joy Rose Murphy, promotions coordinator for Remington, to judge the hat contest. I thought that sounded incredibly fun so I told her to count me in! Here I am in all my Kentucky Derby splendor. Yay for big hats! They are so fun! Their only downside is that they completely shadow your face and give you really bad pictures if you are shooting with a camera that you want to throw in the trash each and every time you use it because it is a piece of junk. Whew! Now that I got that off my chest.....
Here I am with Joy Rose. She was the first runner-up at the pageant! She is so beautiful and smart that it is no surprise that she did so well. I really hope she comes back to compete next year! Her hat was fabulous!

Here I am with the other two judges, Lauren Hammack and Angie Bruss. Lauren is a writer for Southwestern Publishing (Edmond Monthly, Nichols Hills News, Norman Living, etc) and Angie is a reporter for NewsOK.com. They were wonderful to work with and we had a lot of fun.

Look at this little sweetheart!!! She was an absolute doll in her fancy hat!
Now, I just had to take a picture of this lady's hat. It wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but it definitely got our attention! Yes, that would be a tiny sombrero on top.
This is the beautiful hat that people could register to win that evening. I mean, how fancy would you feel wearing a hat like that?!
Here are all the ladies waiting for the announcement of the winners. We had all of their pictures of them in their hats to look over to make our decision. There is no way we could have remembered all of them on our own!
This beautiful lady won the award for most elegant. With her plum satin dress and matching hat, I'm sure you can see why. She looked so classy.
I really hate that I didn't get this lady's face in the picture, but she was our winner for best ensemble. Seriously...how do you find a dress and hat both the same exact color of turquoise? I was very impressed.I didn't get a very good picture at all of our "most creative" winner (remember: piece of junk camera). Her hat looked like it had a big sunflower on it. It was very cute.

Then it was time for 3rd, 2nd and 1st place overall. Our third place winner had on a beautiful black and white hat with red flowers on it. When we called her name, however, she was already gone. So you'll just have to trust me on how beautiful it was.

Our second place winner was this young lady with some awesome turquoise feathers on her hat. We loved it!And here I am with our winner! Check out that hat!!! Most amazing is that she made it herself! That gained some brownie points with us judges! She won $500!
Then the drawing was held for the hat giveaway. This happy lady was the winner. I would be happy too if I'd just won that hat!

As I waited for my car, I was still in the mood to snap some more pictures
These ladies were so sweet and adorable! The lady on the left made her hat with fresh roses! She gave me one as she was leaving. She told me it was an official Oklahoma rose. I don't guess I'd ever seen one before but it was gorgeous!
It was such a fun evening. I just might have to get out my glue gun next year and show up in some crazy "Alyssa Siler original"!

Thank you to Dillards Penn Square for providing my wardrobe.

Dress is Antonio Melani

Hat is Giovannio

Dillards Penn Square/Jones NY Fashion Event

2010-05-02T21:16:00.002-05:00

As Mrs. Oklahoma, I have many sponsors throughout the year. One of the most wonderful sponsorships comes from the Dillards at Penn Square Mall. They are my wardrobe sponsor for the year. This means they provide my clothing for all my appearances! Be sure to look at the end of my blog posts if they feature me at appearances. I will credit the store and try to always mention the designer of the outfit I am in. If you know me, and know how I love clothes, you realize how big a deal this is for me! I am one lucky girl and am so grateful for Dillards Penn Square and their willingness to do this for the second year in a row.

Yesterday the store had a large fashion event for the clothing line Jones New York. They had a fashion show and nationally renowned styist, Lloyd Boston, was on hand to tell all the ladies in the audience how to wear all the latest looks from the collection. I had the pleasure of introducing Mr. Boston to the crowd. We were very lucky to have him here in Oklahoma. He has been seen on The Today, Oprah and The Style Network, and he is the red carpet reporter for the television show Extra.
I was, of course, dressed in Jones NY for the event! With Heather Rouba, who was a stylist for the event.

With Lloyd Boston before the show.
With the models from the show.It was a fun event and I think all the ladies (and gentlemen!) in the audience learned a lot about style from Mr. Boston!

Wardrobe provided by Dillards Penn Square

Dress by Jones NY

Shoes by Jessica Simpson

(these adorable wedges also come in black & white!)

The Starlight Ball / CMN meeting

2010-04-30T21:49:00.005-05:00

Last night I was part of a pretty amazing event. It was the Starlight Ball, benefiting the Children's Hospital Foundation (formerly Chidren's Medical Research Institute), and it was fun! I was a model in the fashion show they had as part of the evening's entertainment. Ruth Meyers Inc., in Nichols Hills, provided all the clothing.

Ok, can we first talk about their decor?! I would kill to have our decorations for our CF gala look like this! Inside, it wasn't even recognizable as the Oklahoma Golf & Country Club. They had the walls draped with white fabric, and colored uplights completely set the mood of each room. There were touches of mirror and silver everywhere. They even had silver sequin tablecloths, people! I don't mean some sequins scattered about the fabric. The ENTIRE thing was sequins. It would be so inappropriate on my kitchen table but I have to admit I was doing some coveting.

You can kind of see here how the had the runway set up. We walked in a U-shape through the chairs. I really enjoyed doing it that way with the people that close. It had better energy than most runway shows I've done.

In the bottom right corner of the next picture you can get a glimpse of the aforementioned table cloth.
Ok, so now that the "drooling over the decor" portion of this post is finished we can move on to pictures that actually have people in them!

I was so excited to see Lauren Masters (far left) there as one of the models! She was second runner up at the pageant. You may remember her in her gorgeous gold gown in my pictures of that night. In between us is the oh-so-beautiful Heather Rouba, Mrs. Oklahoma 2009. She has become such a good friend of mine and it is fun that we can do events like this together.
Here Heather and I are with Cortney Smith. She is another friend from the modeling world that I have worked with for a long time. It was good to see her there. I love this pic: tan blonde, pasty brunette, tan blonde.Speaking of pasty... Note to self, if you are going to be wearing a bikini in front of hundreds of people, it might be smart to break out the self tanner. Yes, we are wearing fur coats over our swimsuits. All of us had to. It was definitely an eye catching start to the show!

Me and Heather in our finale dresses. I am going to use this moment to plug the Bobbi Brown eyeshadow color, Forest. We both have it on. It only seems right. :)
Here we are with some of the other models. All of the girls in this picture, except me, are with Heather's modeling agency, Anthony David. They all did a wonderful job. We won't talk about how much younger than me they are.

Here's all of us!

It was a really fun event, and for a wonderful cause!

On Wednesday morning I met with Jan Dunham, director of the Children's Miracle Network. I learned more about what they do and found out that their Champion Child for the year is a 13-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis, Shea Retherford. The money that CMN raises actually goes to the Children's Hospital Foundation. The money is used for endowments to bring the best doctors and research scientists to OU Medical Center and the Children's Hospital. So many of our state's top specialists, and so much of the amazing research that has been developed here, are a result of these endowments.

I am excited to work with Jan and the Children's Miracle Network this next year! I will be speaking with Hayden at their telethon on June 6th and I hope to be a part of many other events to come.

I have really enjoyed my week so far and have a lot more coming up! Stay tuned!

Prayers Needed

2010-04-29T07:31:00.002-05:00

Please pray for Tamara Mathews. She is the official makeup artist for the pageant (the one that did my amazing makeup for my headshots) and is the sister of my director, Tracy Crist. She was in a horrible car accident this morning and is in surgery right now. Apparently there is the possibility that she might lose a hand or an entire arm. Please pray for Tamara and her health and recovery and for the surgeons as they do their job. Thank you!

Bittersweet

2010-04-27T22:18:00.004-05:00

Today has been hard. Ever since I was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma two weeks ago, I have been going full speed ahead. I have been busying myself with appearances and appointments, planning trips and making new connections, keeping up with blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.....and I have loved every minute of it. This opportunity I have before me is such a blessing - one in which I am still trying to process the enormity. In between all these busy moments, however, I have been trying to come to terms with the most difficult event in my life to date.
The Tuesday before the pageant, April 13th, 2010, my father, Brad Baldwin, passed away at the age of 63. While he had been in the hospital for several months, he was supposed to have a full recovery so this was very sudden and shocking to both me and my mother. The doctors believe he went into cardiac arrest.
My father had the most beautiful exit from his earthly body into heaven. My mother, my husband and I, along with my parents' long-time best friends, were gathered around Dad. Our pastor was there with us also. We asked that his ventilator be turned off and our pastor began reading a verse from 2 Timothy in the Bible. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith....". And just within those few sentences, my dad was at peace.
I knew I still needed to compete in the pageant but at that moment I wasn't sure if I would be able to. Walking around in a swimsuit with a big smile on my face just didn't feel appropriate to me. By the next morning, however, I told my husband,Ryan, and my mom that I was going to go through with it. I was going to do it for two reasons. One, my daughter, Hayden, still needed her cure - nothing had changed about that. And two, my dad would have killed me if I dropped out because of him. He had been so excited that I was doing it and he was really having a hard time with the fact that he was going to miss it.
I grew up doing music theatre and had at least four shows a year from age five all the way through college. My dad NEVER missed a performance. Well, he still holds his perfect record. I know he was there with me that night, watching over me and giving me the strength to make it through. I actually felt him there.
Today was hard because I finally had to tell my daughter about Dad. She came out of her bedroom tonight and told me she wanted to see her silly Pa-Pa - when would she get to see him? I took her back into her bedroom, sat with her on the bed, and took her hands into mine. I told her that Pa-Pa wasn't sick anymore. I told her he was an angel with Jesus now and that, even though we couldn't see him anymore, he was with us all the time. She had a few questions but my daughter is very wise for her age and she knew what I was saying. She climbed into my lap and we cried together. To be quite honest, I haven't allowed myself many times to cry yet. One of the hardest parts of my father's passing is worrying that Hayden won't have any memories of him someday. That she won't remember how crazy he was about her. But maybe she will. That is one of my prayers.
I was extremely proud to call Brad Baldwin my father while he was on this Earth, but the pride I feel now of the person that he was has grown tremendously since his passing. Mom and I have been hearing so many stories from friends and acquaintances of Dad about the things he did for them when they truly needed a friend. There was the story of him making a phone call every week to a friend that lost his job. He just wanted to check on him, make sure he was ok, and constantly give him a new phone number of someone that might have a job for him. Or the time he drove to the house of one of my mom's friends who was going through a separation - just to give her a hug and tell her he was there for her if she ever needed him. There are so many more stories like these and Mom and I had never known these things had happened. I was always so proud of my dad's abilities and his strength, but now I find that I am immensely proud of his character - of the person he was when no one was looking.
I want to be like my dad, now more than ever. I want to learn from his example of how a truly selfless person lives their life. These past couple of weeks have been bittersweet for me. I am so excited and thrilled about what I can do to better my daughter's life, but sometimes I feel heartbroken that my daddy is not here to see it all happen. Then I remember, though, that he is seeing every bit of it - that he is even more proud watching me from above than he would be down here on Earth. And each day I feel a little bit more of his strength, and I gain a little bit more motivation to carry on the legacy of who my father was, and, most of all, I strive a little bit harder each day to be the kind of parent that he was to this little girl who loved him so much.
During my reign over this next year I will have my emotional ups and downs. I will have some amazing accomplishments and I will have some disappointments. I will fight as hard as I possibly can to make sure my daughter beats her disease and has a long and healthy life. I will have an amazing journey that I will carry with me forever...and I will do it all with my daddy at my side.
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
2 Timothy 4:6-8

Edmond Life & Leisure Article

2010-04-27T12:02:00.002-05:00

Edmond Life & Leisure did a cover story on me and the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant. Click on the link to check it out!

http://www.edmondlifeandleisure.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=4147&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2528&hn=edmondlifeandleisure&he=.com

Thank you Edmond L&L!

There's still time.....

2010-04-25T15:03:00.002-05:00

to sign up for Great Strides! The walk is May 8th and you have plenty of time to sign up to join our walk team and to order your t-shirt! The website also has a link for donations. I wrote a post with all the details earlier but it was before I won Mrs. Oklahoma and I don't know how many of you were reading my blog at that time. Soooo, here it is again! Just click on the link!

http://mrsoklahomaamerica2010.blogspot.com/2010/03/great-strideshaydens-heroes.html

My First Official Appearance!

2010-04-24T20:20:00.004-05:00

I had so much fun at my first appearance as Mrs. Oklahoma! Heather Rouba, Mrs. OK 2009, asked if I would like to emcee with her at the Festival Idol competition at the Arts Festival. Each night this past week kids have been competing. The winner from each night was awarded the chance to compete in tonight's finals and one of them would become the Festival Idol! Congratulations to the Jacuzzi Lifeguards, a band of teenagers from Norman, for winning last night's preliminary!
Heather asked me if I would like to join her for the Friday night competition and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun! Had this competition been around when I was a kid I soooo would have auditioned! It was right up my alley! Here is Heather giving me the lowdown on what I am supposed to do.

Heather went on stage first and gave me such a lovely introduction.
And then it was my turn! I think it's impossible to get flattering pictures of a person while they are talking and gesturing (and I do plenty of the latter!).While the judges deliberated I had a chance to talk about cystic fibrosis! Yay!Ryan did a wonderful job at his first appearance! He took care of my purse and crown case and took lots of pictures! More importantly, he was extremely supportive and helpful. He is going to be such a large part of my success this next year.
Here we are with Heather and her husband, Yuri. If we look content and happy it's because we just finished eating macaroni and cheese from the Sage booth!
Oh, but we couldn't stop there! It wouldn't be the Arts Festival without some Strawberries Newport!You'll notice there isn't anything actually left on the plate except for a little dollop of whipped cream. I think we inhaled it in record time. Hey, we had funnel cake to move on to! It was such a fun evening and the perfect start to my year. If only each one of my future appearances could involve fried dough and powdered sugar....... :)

Mrs. Oklahoma - Backstage Pics

2010-04-22T21:24:00.007-05:00

Here are some of the pictures taken last weekend with my camera. The official pictures from the pageant are coming soon, but I thought it might be fun to share these as well.
On Friday night, we have a dinner with our husbands. I'm not quite sure why I have no pictures with my husband at this dinner but here are some of my friends!

Ann Forrester, Heather Rouba, Me & Marci Stager

After the dinner, Ann and I decided it was much too early to head back to the hotel. It was only 7pm and it was a date night with no children! We had to take advantage! We drove around and found Stables restaurant. Ann and I quickly located the dessert counter. Even though we had swimsuits to wear on stage the next night we could not resist these yummy pieces of cake!

Me and Ann and in our opening number dresses.

....and in our evening gowns.
With Lauren Masters. Lauren was 2nd runner up!
With Marci Stager. Marci was the 3rd runner up!

With many of the beautiful ladies backstage

With the gorgeous Heather Rouba!
Pretty ladies!

This was a shot of me coming off stage after being announced as one of the top 10. I was excited!

After the pageant, Hayden was eager to wear my new crown!

With Ryan at the afterparty. He looks so nice in his tux! I guess we can call him Mr. Oklahoma!
Me and Heather in our crowns and banners!

With Hayden. She was getting sooo sleepy!

I thought I'd just throw this in there! This is me the next morning before an entire team of people made me over for my photo shoot. This is what I actually look like! Ha!

The Pizookie!

2010-04-22T13:46:00.004-05:00

At a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation conference in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago, I met the owner of BJ's restaurants. His teenaged daughter has cystic fibrosis and he has used his restaurant to raise money for the CF Foundation in a really fun way - especially if you have a sweet tooth! At all the BJ's restaurants nationwide, there is a program called Cookies for Kids. Any time their dessert, the Pizookie, is ordered, one dollar is donated to the CF Foundation. Because of this program, BJ's has donated MILLIONS of dollars for CF research! If you have not had a Pizookie you MUST. It is a huge cookie in a skillet, served warm and topped with ice cream. There are several different ones to choose from. My daughter, Hayden, received my sweet tooth through her DNA and she loves these every bit as much as I do! Here we are this past Tuesday enjoying our cookies 'n' cream Pizookie.

There was NOTHING left when we were done with it! If you live in the OKC Metro area, visit the BJ's on Memorial in front of Quail Springs Mall (next to TGIFridays) and order a Pizookie! If you don't, visit their website http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/ to find a location near you!

Sponsor - The Paper Lion

2010-04-21T15:58:00.003-05:00

Today I met with Camden Maxwell at The Paper Lion in Edmond. She, and owner Bruce Maxwell, agreed to be a sponsors for the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant again this year and I am so grateful! I went into the store today and Camden completely took care of my stationery needs for this next year! They have so many wonderful styles to choose from. If you need personalized stationery or invitations, The Paper Lion is the place to go! Thank you again, Bruce and Camden. I am looking forward to helping out at your open house this June!

Appearances

2010-04-20T21:22:00.003-05:00

If you would like to schedule me for an appearance, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can email me at mrsoklahoma2010@yahoo.com. I would love to speak, sing, volunteer, sign autographs...you name it!

Mrs. Oklahoma Headshots

2010-04-20T19:28:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma and I feel so blessed! I have such an amazing opportunity before me to truly be a voice for people living with cystic fibrosis and I can't wait to get started! As someone who spent her entire youth in music theatre, I am also excited to promote the importance of music education, as MENC is the national platform for the Mrs. America organization. I hope you will follow me here as I take this journey!

Here are some of the pictures from my official Mrs. OK photo shoot. I am so grateful to Larry Wright, Tamara Mathews and Jo Ann Peterson for making me look beautiful!

Soon I'll be posting some pictures from backstage during the pageant weekend so check back!

Ok, I need your help...

2010-04-01T22:45:00.002-05:00

I am hoping you can take a few minutes of your time to help be a voice for people living with cystic fibrosis. Below is the link to information I received from the CF Foundation that I wanted to pass on. While there are several things about the new health care reform bill that will greatly benefit those with CF, a critical part has been left out of the bill where clinical trials are concerned. We need you to write your representatives by visiting the link below and ask them to pass the clinical trials bill in 2010. This bill would ensure that people would not have to give up their primary health benefits if they choose to participate in a clinical trial.
The foundation has made everything so easy for you. The letter is already written. You just enter your info at the end and it automatically sends it to your state representatives. If you live in OK, it will go to Mary Fallin, Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe. You can also attach a picture with a caption at the end so I am posting a picture of Hayden below and you can use it if you like. Hopefully you can just right-click and save it to your computer. I love the idea of the three of them seeing Hayden's picture over and over!
There is also a place you can check mark to become an advocate for CF and receive further emails like this one. I really would appreciate your taking the time to do this on behalf of Hayden. It should only take a few minutes. There will probably be clinical trials she can participate in in a couple of years, so it is very important that this passes.
Thank you so much.

http://www.capwiz.com/cff/issues/alert/?alertid=14690921&type=CO

Great Strides/Hayden's Heroes

2010-03-28T22:42:00.004-05:00

It's already time for the Great Strides walk again! Nationwide, this is the largest fundraising event the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has. After Hayden was born, we created the Hayden's Heroes walk team and this will be our fourth year to participate. This year the walk is May 8th at Stars and Stripes Park in Oklahoma City. We need our friends to sign up to come walk with us and be part of our team!!! Typically, team members try to raise money for our team. Even if you can't do that, we want you to come in your HH t-shirt and be a part of our team!

Please go to this website to join our team or make a donation:
www.cff.org/great_strides/alyssasiler
Note: If you have signed up to purchase a cookbook, that is a donation to our walk team. All of the cookbook money will be credited to our team for the walk and then go straight to medical research.

Please go to our new store to purchase our new t-shirts (the design is different this year). I will not be taking orders for shirts individually this year. You can purchase your shirts at our website and they will be shipped directly to you. I realize the shirts are a bit more expensive this year but all profits go to the foundation.
www.cafepress.com/haydensheroes

Finally, here is the link to this year's video. The music and text are the same as last year - I just added new pictures. I usually make a new one every year but last year's still said everything I wanted to say and you just can't beat Mark Schultz wailing on that song!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=82156ac1ed91992a7b7f88&skin_id=701

I also hope to have the Hayden's Heroes cookbook published and ready to go by that weekend so I can sell them at the walk. They are hardback, 3-ring binder style with nearly 250 recipes. We are selling them for $20 and all profits will go to the CF Foundation. I am taking orders now so leave me a message if you would like to reserve one.

Here are some pics from last year's GS:

Print Ad for Mrs. O Program Book

2010-03-13T08:32:00.001-06:00

Drug Development Pipeline

2010-03-09T19:57:00.002-06:00

Wow! What an exciting title I just wrote! I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat to see what I have to say now!
First off, I want to say that I really did intend to write something on this blog every day or, at the very least, every couple of days. Unfortunately, my father has been in the hospital (and in an out of ICU) for the past six weeks now and things are not really calming down with his health. I am trying to keep up a Caring Bridge page for him right now and that is taking up more of my time. I am going to do my best, however, to update over here too!

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has something called the Drug Development Pipeline, which you can view HERE. I'm sure it will sound completely odd to you for me to call a bar graph beautiful but that's exactly what it is to me. This graph represents a hope for the future that drives me to get out and raise funds and awareness of the disease and the foundation.

The foundation calls it a "snapshot" of all the drugs and therapies, some in developement and some currently available to patients. They update it constantly. You can see that the most recent update just happened on February 22nd.

Each bar on this graph represents a drug that could save my daughter's life. Each time I see one of those bars move to the right, even just a little, it is a victory. Those bars are the reason we participate in a walk, a gala, a golf tournament and many other fundraisers each year. They are the reason I have twice gone to Washington D.C. for CFF conferences to learn what more I can do to further their progress along. A full ninety cents of every dollar raised by the foundation goes straight to what you see on that graph. I realize it may seem confusing if you are seeing it for the first time but there isn't a CF parent I know who couldn't immediately take you through it, drug by drug, and explain it to you. These medicines and therapies are a huge part of our lives or, in the case of the drugs already to patients, they are a huge part of our every day.

I want to highlight a few things for you. I hope you can feel my excitement as you read my words. If you look at the yellow section toward the top of the graph you will see what I consider to be the most amazing part of our current science. These drugs are the first of their kind to actually address the underlying defect of CF rather than just treating the symptoms. Every therapy Hayden does each day (Hypertonic Saline, Pulmozyme, TOBI, etc) are just trying to thin the mucus she already has so she can cough it up or, in the case of TOBI, they are trying to kill the bacteria that has harbored itself in that thick, sticky mucus. The drugs you see in yellow will actually correct the defect within the cells that the mutation causes - MEANING THE BODY WILL NO LONGER CREATE THE THICK, STICKY MUCUS. This is huuuuuuuggggee! Especially when you consider that these are oral medications! Hayden would take a pill three times a day and that's it! No more three hours a day of treatments and, basically, NO MORE CF.

If you'll look, you'll see that two of those drugs are already halfway through phase 3 drug trials. By the time Hayden is five years old she will probably be taking these medications. This is what the money we raise is accomplishing!!!!!! CF is an orphan disease and the foundation receives no government funding. Every dime spent on these drugs came from the foundation. I am so proud to be associated with a foundation that has as much drive and conviction as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundtion. We have a CEO who refuses to retire because he knows how close we are!

There are many things still to be done. Ultimately, we are still looking for THE CURE. Gene therapy has not come as far along as we would like but they keep trying! Bob Beall, our CEO, is also putting emphasis now on patient access to these drugs when they do come out. They are extremely expensive and he wants to make sure every patient has them, even if they have insurance companies unwilling to pay.

Every time you volunteer for a CF event or donate your money, you are making those bars move. I so badly want to attach the drug developement pipeline to my bio sheet for my pageant interview! Rest assured I will find a way to talk about it. I just wonder if 4 minutes is enough....:)

New Headshots

2010-03-02T20:56:00.005-06:00

I got my headshots back today and thought I'd post a few of my favorites:

New Hayden's Heroes Logo

2010-03-01T17:06:00.005-06:00

First of all, I had my photo shoot for new headshots this weekend so hopefully I can post them soon!

Ok, I created a new design for our Hayden's Heroes shirts this year. Every May we participate in the CF Foundation's Great Strides Walk. Our walk team is Hayden's Heroes and each year we get people to sign up to walk with us and raise money.

I'm really excited this year because, with my new design, I also created a Cafe Press store where anyone can go online and purchase HH gear! Proceeds go to the CF Foundation. I'll talk more about the walk here pretty soon but for now, here is the new logo and the link to our store.

www.cafepress.com/haydensheroes

Edmond Life & Leisure Article

2010-02-25T17:16:00.000-06:00

There is an article about me and my participation in the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant in this week's Edmond Life & Leisure paper. You can read it HERE. I want to thank photographer and writer, Anne Schmidt, for giving me this coverage.

Edmond Life & Leisure, Anne especially, has been so good to my family and the CF Foundation over the past few years by regularly putting information about the disease and our local fundraising events in their paper.

Right after Hayden was born, my friend Adrienne Nobles wrote a story about my family as a freelance writer for EL&L. Anne came to our house to take a picture of the three of us for the cover of the paper. We instantly connected with her and she immediately loved Hayden.
Since then, Anne has always made sure our gala photos had a page in the paper and she has come to the event every year to take pictures for us - free of charge. I can't tell you how much we appreciate Anne and Edmond Life & Leisure for helping to spread awareness of this disease and all we are doing to fight it.

Here is the story, written by Adrienne Nobles, that was the paper's cover story in October 2006:

It’s a quiet evening at the Siler house in Edmond. Ryan Siler prepares for his next day at work from his computer. Newborn Hayden Siler sleeps peacefully, rocking in her swing. And Alyssa Siler is catching up with an old friend (a.k.a. this writer) over a glass of vanilla ice tea.
As for me, I am discovering a new side of strength and determination in my friend as she and Ryan face a battle for their daughter that is anything but quiet and peaceful.
“What I have realized is all the paths I have taken have not been for me to be a famous Broadway star or a successful model. Rather my life has been preparing me to be a mom to Hayden, to use the tools, experiences and connections I have to help save her life.”
Though you couldn’t tell by looking at her, Hayden Siler is one of approximately 30,000 Americans who have the life-threatening disease Cystic Fibrosis or CF.
For people with the disease, a defective gene causes the body to produce a faulty protein that leads to abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and can result in fatal lung infections. The mucus also obstructs the pancreas, making it difficult for a person to absorb nutrients in food and can block the bile duct in the liver, causing possibly permanent damage in approximately six percent of people with CF.
Nurses knew almost immediately after Hayden was born on July 5 that something was wrong.
“The nurses only left her on my chest for a couple of minutes, saying they had to get her to the nursery as soon as possible,” explained Alyssa.
Hayden’s abdomen was distended, meaning, at the very least, she had not passed all the toxins out of her body.
She was taken to surgery the day after she was born. Doctors removed eight inches of her colon because of a blockage of bile in her intestines and soon suspected she had CF.
What followed was an agonizing week wait for test results and visits to Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit to see Hayden.
“But every time we were feeling down, it was Hayden who lifted us up. There she was hooked up to all kinds of machines, and she would just look up and smile at us. She showed amazing strength from the beginning.”
That show of strength from little Hayden is a trait she must have inherited from her parents.
The week after the Silers learned of the diagnosis and took Hayden home, Alyssa contacted the local Cystic Fibrosis Foundation office, offering to volunteer and help any way they needed her.
They called a few days later, enlisting Alyssa’s help in securing silent auction items for their Breath of Life Gala, one of the foundation’s largest fund-raisers, set for Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Oklahoma City Civic Center’s Hall of Mirrors.
“So, I’ve been using the three hours I have a day between feedings and breathing treatments for Hayden to get these silent auction item,” added Alyssa.
Luckily, Alyssa’s past experiences have made getting the items a bit easier. She’s used her connections from her past experience as a model (you may have seen her featured in the Style section of The Oklahoman), as a judge on “Gimmie the Mike, Oklahoma” on Channel 9, as a Miss Oklahoma top 10 finalist, as a music theatre performer (she appeared in several productions while a student at the University of Central Oklahoma) and as an advertising sales person (she sold ads for the UCO Performing Arts Season brochure as a student) to successful get a variety of items donated for the auction.
Celia Palmer, director of development for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Oklahoma City office, is excited to have found a resource like Alyssa.
“The thing that continues to impress me and touch me about the foundation is the commitment of the families. On top of the thousands of dollars they spend in treatments and care for their children, they are the first ones to step and donate their time and their money to find a cure for this disease.”
She emphasized that the foundation makes a point to take care of every dollar that is donated, and that 90-cents of each dollar given goes directly to research and treatment of the disease.
“When you donate to the CF Foundation, you are literally adding days, possibly years to a life. In the past 20 years we have been able to increase the average life expectancy for those with CF from 25.6 years to 36.8 years thanks to the research funded by others’ generosity,” added Celia.
One way — and possibly one of the most enjoyable ways — to help is by attending the Breath of Life Gala. In addition to a full Italian buffet, the opportunity to bid on a variety of silent auction items and music from Oklahoma’s own Chris Hicks, guests will get to see nationally-renowned performance artist Michael Israel perform live.
Israel describes his work as “Picasso meets Cirque du Soliel.” Basically, he completes a painting on a spinning canvas, choreographed to music. His works have been purchased by many celebrities and usually sell for $10,000 to $60,000 a piece.
Israel will auction off one of the works he completes live at the gala, plus guests will get to witness the debut performance of one of his pieces created especially for the CF Foundation, inspired by the “65 Roses” story.
“The 65 Roses story comes from the child of a CF volunteer. She was working on an event for CF and her child asked, ‘Are you working on that stuff for 65 roses’ because he couldn’t pronounce Cystic Fibrosis. So, now, 65 Roses has become a symbol of hope for us,” explained Celia.
Tickets to the Breath of Life gala are $75 each, and Celia promises you will be glad you came.
“Your gifts match someone else’s efforts. Your gift funds the research needed to find a cure.”
Right now, in fact, there are more than 25 promising therapy candidates for CF in clinical trials and laboratory development. Any one of them, or a combination of them, could make a profound impact on the lives of people living with CF, people like little Hayden.
”This is not a hopeless disease. A cure could be found in as little as three years — we are seriously that close,” Alyssa said.
Until a cure is found, Alyssa and Ryan believe one of the best treatments for Hayden is a positive outlook and all the love and attention they have.
“I don’t live wearing rose-colored glasses, but we refuse to focus on the ‘what-ifs.” We are taking it day by day. We want to give her the best life possible, and that means celebrating that today was an awesome day with no complications.”
For more information on Cystic Fibrosis, visit the foundation’s website at www.cff.org, or to purchase tickets to the Breath of Life Gala and to find out about other local fundraising and volunteer opportunities, call the Oklahoma City area office at 787-0056.

Meet my inspiration....

2010-02-24T19:43:00.000-06:00

Hayden Presley Siler. Isn't she precious? Now don't let this picture of a sweet and somewhat shy looking little girl fool you. While she is every bit as sweet as the picture implies, her personality is better captured here.....

She's not yelling in this picture. There isn't a mean bone in her body. She is just crazy energetic and more full of joy than any toddler I have ever met. While there are some days where all that energy overwhelms this mama..... I love it. When I look back at her beginning and what she has been through in her short 3 1/2 years, all that energy suddenly becomes a reminder of her strength and endurance - of a spirit that refuses to let anything hold her back.

Every pregnant woman dreams of those first moments when their child is born. They dream of getting to hold their baby for the first time. They can't wait for the chance to study their little face. They just try to imagine the feeling of that instant and very special bond that only a mother and child can have.

I had all those dreams. But after a picture perfect pregnancy and delivery, everything went horribly wrong and suddenly, all those dreams vanished. Immediately after Hayden emerged into this world, the doctors noticed that she wasn't crying. Instead, she was grunting and, on top of that, her belly was extremely distended. I remember so clearly the nurse coming to tell me they needed to take her to the nursery to look at her while trying to sound as if that was the most routine thing ever. Taking her to the nursery to be looked over turned into needing to put a tube down into her stomach, which led to Hayden's pediatrician coming in my room with a somber look on her face. She explained to me that Hayden obviously had an intestinal blockage of some kind because her stomach was full of bile that hadn't been able to pass through. Then came the words.... "She's going to need surgery, Alyssa".

Ryan and I were prepped for the fact that it probably was a twist in the intestines that has formed during pregnancy. They would go in and correct it and that would be that. We would move on with our lives. They also mentioned something about meconium ileus and cystic fibrosis but didn't spend much time on it. The chances of that were slim and they didn't want to scare us.

So Hayden was taken by ambulance to Baptist hospital and Ryan went with her. I was stuck at Lakeside Women's hospital...without a baby. I finally talked them into releasing me early so I could be there when her surgery was performed. Even though I couldn't pick her up and hold her, everything within me was needing to comfort her. I needed her to know I was there.

When the surgeon was finished and came out to talk to us I knew. I knew it wasn't a twist. It was written all over his face that it was something more serious. Then those words meconium ileus and cystic fibrosis came up again. Only this time it wasn't in passing - it was a probability.

The meconium ileus had hardened part of Hayden's intestines so badly that they were destroyed. He removed about 8 inches and reconnected everything back together. He told us that the genetic testing of her blood would take about two weeks to come back with a definitive answer but that we should start preparing ourselves. Our daughter most likely had CF.

Here is a picture of her in the NICU after surgery. I look at this and still can't believe that's her sometimes.She was in the NICU for two weeks and, while she was there, we were visiting with doctors about what CF was and what it meant for our new baby girl - the baby I so desperately wanted to pick up and hold. I heard "thick mucus in the lungs" and things about her digestive system being compromised but all the information was kind of running together - until I heard "life expectancy of 37 years old". I think that's the moment something changed in me. I instantly had a sense of "that's what you think". In my head I was thinking "that is completely unacceptable". I suddenly had a determination to do something about it. It was here that I felt God telling me "I chose you. I chose you because I knew you would do something about it".

Shortly after the blood test came back and her diagnosis was official, Ryan made a decision for our family that we still adhere to today. It showed his strength in this difficult time. He said that we were not going to be a "woe is me" family. That isn't the way to live life and it wouldn't be fair to Hayden. All it would do is hold her back. So the decision was made - instead of putting our efforts into moping or feeling sorry for ourselves, we were going to do what we could to beat this ugly disease.

We took home a two-week-old baby and began giving her enzymes with a spoonful of applesauce before every bottle. We started chest PT and breathing treatments. We did everything we could to adapt. The truth is, we didn't know any different. It was our new normal.

While Ryan and I starting taking on roles and responsibilities within the CF Foundation's OKC chapter, Hayden was taking on a strength that was noticeable to anyone who met her. At a year of age, she reached up and took the nebulizer out of my hand. She was going to hold that for herself, thank you very much. Shortly thereafter, she graduated from chest PT to "the vest". She began wearing it twice a day and, despite the intense shaking, she was fearless her first time wearing it. At age two she needed to have blood drawn for her annual test to check for CF-related diabetes. I was prepped and ready to comfort her. When I heard a gasp come from her mouth I instantly starting singing her a lullaby. A few seconds later I realized that she wasn't crying. In fact, she looked at me and told me "You don't need to sing, Momma". While a felt of moment of extreme pride for my daughter, that moments also broke my heart because a two-year-old shouldn't have to be that strong - but Hayden is different.

At age three she started swallowing her enzymes. She takes three with every meal and they aren't small. In fact, I'm sure there are some adults that couldn't take them. At her last doctor's appointment when it was time for her routine throat swab she shocked me by opening her mouth for Dr. Reyes instead of doing her usual lock-jaw. I knew the swab scared her and that she hated it. After Dr. Reyes was finished she looked at me and asked "Momma, aren't you proud of me? I was a big girl!" I was thinking to myself "Hayden, you have been a big girl since the day you were born."

She is just now starting to ask me why she has to do breathing treatments every day. I'm not ready to tell her she has CF. I tell her that it is to keep her lungs healthy and, so far, she seems satisfied with that answer. She has not allowed any part of her routine to hold her back. She is the fiestiest, most energetic girl I have ever known. She is a force to be reckoned with and she blows me away with her strength.

I wish I could go forever without her knowing she has a life-threatening disease. I wish that Ryan and I could just keep raising funds and awareness of this disease without her realizing what all of it is for. I don't want something to change in her mind that tells her she's different from everyone else.

But the truth is....she IS different. She is different in her joy, in her compassion, and, most of all, in her strength. There is nothing normal about my sweet Hayden Presley, and of that I could not be more proud.

Bringing you up to speed...

2010-02-23T16:51:00.001-06:00

I will write a post on Hayden and her story tomorrow but first I wanted to show all of you a video I created for our walk team this past April. I think it will give you more insight into what cystic fibrosis is, and how the CF Foundation is saving lives. Just click on the link below. I hope it moves you...
P.S. make sure your speakers are on :)

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=82156ac1ed91992a7b7f88&skin_id=701

Allow me to introduce myself...

2010-02-22T13:57:00.000-06:00

I'm Alyssa Siler, Mrs. Greater Edmond. That's me you see up there (just take away the bangs and picture the hair much longer. I promise new headshots are on the way!) I am competing in the Mrs. Oklahoma America pageant on April 17th in Guthrie, OK. My main reason for competing is my daughter, Hayden. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth three and a half years ago and since then, I have been very driven to do what I can to help find her cure. I have been involved in many different committees and events within the foundation but this year I felt called to do something on a bigger scale - something that could reach a larger number of people. There is no denying that having a "title" of some kind can open doors for you that never would have opened otherwise. I can't deny the new opportunites to raise both funds and awareness for the disease that could come with winning Mrs. Oklahoma. That is what led me to this pageant (it certainly wasn't a strong desire to wear a swimsuit in front of hundreds of people!) and I am excited to be a part of it. I plan on having a lot of fun on this journey!

I thought I would take up some space to let you know a little about me. I grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma and am proud to still live there today. I have been married to my husband, Ryan, for almost seven years (we are a blind date success story!) and we have a beautiful little girl, Hayden, who is three and a half. I am primarily a stay-at-home mom but I also model part-time. I am the leading female vocalist in the band True North and we lead contemporary worship each Sunday at our church.

I grew up performing in music theatre and actually chose that as my major at the University of Central Oklahoma. Well, for the first three years anyway. The summer before my senior year, reality hit. I realized I was too much of a princess to move by myself to NYC and rough it as a waitress, running from audition to audition just trying for a chance on Broadway. Now, had someone offered me a lead role in a Broadway musical and a loft in the Upper East Side things might have been different...

Anyway, since (shockingly) that didn't happen, I switched my major to public relations. While I don't recommend switching your major in your senior year, I'm glad I did. Making the decision to stay close to home paid off because the next month I met Mr. Ryan Siler. Six months later we were engaged and, a year and a week from the day we met, we were married. He is my best friend and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

During my time at UCO, I competed in the Miss UCO pageant and I won! This was the first pageant I had ever done so it was kind of a shock to me. I went on to compete at Miss Oklahoma that summer. I did well for a first year girl. I won Rookie of the Year, the Newcomer Talent Award and I made the Top Ten. Everyone assumed I would want to go back the next year...but they were wrong.

At that time, I was a sophomore in college who was pretty much wrapped up in...well, herself. My life was all about performing and, at that time, I looked at the Miss UCO pageant as another opportunity on stage. More importantly, it was an opportunity to get a new pretty dress! Now I still love pretty dresses, don't get me wrong, but as I look back on that time I realize that it wasn't about much more than that. It was at Miss Oklahoma that I got a dose of reality. I had a platform issue that I had chosen because I had to have one. When I got there I was surrounded by girls that were passionate about their causes. In fact, it was their reason for being there. I was humbled. I didn't want to go back the next year because I would have felt like a fraud. That system was about way more than talent or wardrobe - something I didn't realize until I was there.

And now here I am - in another pageant. The difference this time is that my platform issue is my biggest reason for competing. I didn't want the title of Miss Oklahoma because I could not picture myself traveling the state to speak to children and adults about my cause. Now the thought of traveling and telling people about cystic fibrosis is what is driving me to win. I WANT TO WIN THIS TIME. Better than that, I want to win Mrs. America! Now, don't get me wrong, I still have a pretty dress to wear (omg, I love my dress!). I still love fashion and makeup (major understatement) as much as anybody - but it's not about me this time. It's about something much bigger. From the time she was born, I have felt that God blessed me with Hayden because He knew I would do something to fight for her. So here I go.....I'm ready to fight!