God's in the Driver's Seat

I just got back from my board meetings from Portland.  When I first joined the Board of Directors for Holt International, I didn't know what to expect.  I sure got my fill of what was going on...surely not at all what I had expected.  Since that first meeting, my six years on the board have been quite the ride. Needless to say, these meetings are not boring!

Boring is one thing, but these six years have been very stressful.  It takes at least two to three years to get comfortable with all that is going on with the entire organization and get used to everyone that is serving along with you.  With my own experience joining the board and being involved, I made some changes for those just joining so they wouldn't feel as overwhelmed as I had.  I'm hoping I have made an improvement in the process.

After our first half day of meetings, I knew it was going to be a stressful weekend.  After our first full day of meetings and after a wonderful dinner together, I decided I needed to be alone and just be in a quiet atmosphere to think and pray.  As I was alone in my room, I received several texts and emails from friends.  That did it.  Though my friends didn't know what was happening during my meetings, they were sending me prayers of support for me to be strong and praying that I would remain steadfast and calm in what I was doing.  I began to cry.  I texted and emailed thru tears.  It was great timing that my friends had sent me messages of such great support.  It was just what I needed at that moment.  As the night continued, I knew all I could do was pray and let God take the driver's seat.  He was the one in control, not me.  It's amazing how my faith comes into play during these meetings.  I know God has always been with me during my life and I'm forever grateful He continues to guide me during the happy times and the trying times.

In the end, God lead the way during the meetings and a sense of calm and peace was present for everyone in the room.  The outcome was what was best for everyone involved.  Now we can all move forward.  

I had not gotten much sleep over the weekend, it was nice being home and sleeping in my own bed.  I think I got ten hours of sleep.  Now I'm refreshed and ready to tackle my family's busy schedule!!  Bring it on!!

Omaha Did it AGAIN!!

Saturday was the Holt Auction and Gala.  Last year, Omaha held the record for not only the number of guests, but also for the highest bid for one dessert, yes, one dessert.  This  year, let's just say that the second winning bid for one dessert was a record too, the bid was over $4,000...you read that correctly!! So, imagine what the first bid was...I'll leave it at that, but know that Omaha still holds the record for THE highest bid for one dessert.

What a great event, as usual, and I was able to share it with friends that were pretty darn amazing.  This was their first time attending the Omaha event so it is always exciting for me to share in an event that is so important to me.  My house was full of people all weekend, but I loved having everyone at my house.  The auction was like a mini reunion of friends that went on the Gift Team tour in December.  It's always so much fun to get back together after a few months.  We have created a bond that will last a lifetime, we are now one big happy family.  I can't wait until next year...let's BRING it Omaha!!

The End of Cheerleading Season

What a way to end the cheerleading season!  Besides the hectic week leading up to Myrtle Beach, the competition was exciting AND stressful!  Kora joined a second team just over a month ago, so competing on two teams makes it double stress for me.  Not that I don't think she can't handle it, but going all out for one routine then having to rest up for the next routine, I get nervous that she will be too tired for her tumbling runs. 

At least this competition, we were all able to sleep in since there were only three teams from the club that were competing.  Makes a world of difference when it comes to being rested for a full afternoon of waiting around.

Kora's second team, Fusion went on and was a little shaky, not bad though, but the team looked scared and unsure of themselves.  Kora then had time to rest a little, then time for her first team, Blaze to perform.  They rocked it out!  

With a two day national competition, all the teams wait until late night to hear the results of day one's performances.  Fusion was in 3rd place out of five teams.  Blaze was in 1st place by four whole points out of four teams.  Needless to say, we were all very excited for Blaze.

Day two of competition and Fusion performed great!  What a way for the team to rock it out on their very last performance of the year!  It was great to see the team so happy.  Then Blaze went on and they were a little rocky.  It appeared that their lead for first place could end up in jeopardy.  

Fusion's team awards were at 3:00pm.  Talk about a long awards ceremony, well it seemed like it anyway before they got to Fusion's level.  When third place was announced and it wasn't Fusion, everyone got excited because they could win second place, but then their team wasn't announced for second place so that meant they won FIRST place!!  It was so exciting to hear them get first place and the National Title!!  The entire team and all the parents were extremely excited an quite surprised, but what a great way for the team to end the year, on such a great high note!

Then came Blaze's team awards...we were not too sure about where the team would end up, I was thinking second place after seeing the current second place team perform, they did a great job.  Third place was announced and it wasn't Blaze...second place was announced and it wasn't Blaze so once again that meant Blaze won FIRST place and the National Title!!  We were all soooo excited and so was the entire team, I think we were all in shock and that they only won first place by .3 of a point!!!  OMG..that was way too close!!

So the weekend of competition was a huge success for Kora and her two teams and a great ending to a great season of cheerleading.  Now it's time to celebrate three National Titles and back to tryouts for Kora to see if she can make THE team...crossing fingers....here we go again!!!!