Happy Thanksgiving!

There's so much to be thankful for! This is simply one day out of the year to strategically think about our blessings. What has the Lord blessed you with? Wonderful family and friends? A quality education? A great job? Take time today to thank the Lord for all He has done for you! He deserves our endless thanks. :) God is so good! Enjoy your day everyone! :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Nebraska Movie Premiere

I feel so blessed to have attended the Nebraska movie premiere last night! It was a wonderful night filled with amazing and talented people as well as great memories made! :) God is so good, and I will forever be thankful for this opportunity!

Director Alexander Payne, actress June Squibb, and actors Will Forte and Bruce Dern

All ready for the Nebraska movie premiere!

Red carpet

Nebraska movie premiere with my sweet friend Melanie! She worked as a hair stylist on the set of the Nebraska movie! It was so neat seeing her name in the movie's credits!

It was so great meeting Mr. Bruce Dern last night! He is one of the stars of the Nebraska movie! I was so fortunate as to sit next to him, his wonderful assistant, and my sweet friend Melanie at the movie premiere!  God is amazing and works in neat ways! 

I feel so blessed to have met Academy Award winning director Alexander Payne last night at the Nebraska movie premiere!! :) He is such a sweet man! I was also so blessed to sit right behind him during the movie premiere! In 8th grade, I actually did my "Famous Nebraskan" project on Mr. Payne! :) He is from Nebraska, and he is a mega successful individual in the film industry! He is proof that you can make your dreams come true - no matter where you're from! :) Thank you God for this opportunity!

Norfolk High - Battle of the Bands

I absolutely loved getting to speak at Norfolk High yesterday! Even though I only spoke for a few minutes, I pray I still made an impact on someone! It was great seeing everybody, and I want to say great job to all of the Battle of the Bands performers as well! I was super impressed with all of the talent displayed during the show! :)

Mr. & Mrs. Luhr - Principal & Assistant Principal

I adore my amazing friend Taylor!! :)

I miss my sweet friend Haiden! :)

Miss Teen USA Gown Drawing

My amazing pageant big sister is so talented!! She drew me in my Miss Teen USA competition evening gown, which Winning Crown Boutique graciously sponsored me with! It was my dream dress!! :) Thank you to Ellie Lorenzen for this amazing drawing!! I'm going to treasure it forever! :)

A little more of a close-up :)

Flashback to Miss Teen USA 2013!

I feel so blessed to say I have a friend in every single state! I am truly missing all of these girls right now! I pray they are all doing well, and I'm so proud of them and all of their accomplishments already! :)

Updated Pageant Website

Here's the updated pageant website with my placement at Miss Teen USA! I feel so blessed and honored to have been voted Miss Congeniality! God is so good! :)

Royal Image Salon & Spa

I spent this past Friday evening at Royal Image Salon & Spa's awesome sales event! They are so gracious and kind as to sponsor me throughout my year as Miss Nebraska Teen USA. I loved getting to talk to all of the customers and spend my night with the sweet Royal Image staff. They're the best! Royal Image has it all… Great people, great services, and great products! Be sure to stop in when you get a chance! :)

I got to meet this sweetheart! :)

Norfolk Catholic's Sacred Heart Elementary

I absolutely loved speaking at Norfolk Catholic's Sacred Heart Elementary School this past Friday! They were such an awesome group of K-6th graders! I feel so blessed to have gotten to speak to them! :)

One of my favorite scriptures (Philippians 4:13)  was on their gym's wall, so I had to take a picture with it. :)

Here I am with this sweet 6 year-old explaining that I was 6 years old when I watched the pageant for the first time and decided it was a dream of mine to be crowned Miss Nebraska Teen USA someday… and I'm living my dream 11 years later. :)

Packing Meals for the Philippines

Yesterday afternoon I was so fortunate as to help pack meals at Mercy Meals in Norfolk. The meals will all be shipped to the Philippines. It was a very eye-opening, incredible, and rewarding experience! I encourage you all to contact Mercy Meals (or a similar organization in your community) and volunteer your time to help pack meals for individuals who are desperately in need of meals.

Speaking at Osmond

Yesterday morning I was blessed with getting to speak to the Osmond K-8th graders! :) I absolutely loved it! :)

Naturally,  I wanted to give hugs and high-fives to all of the kids on their way out of the assembly. :)

Here I am with the elementary and high school principals at Osmond - Mrs. Brummels and Mr. Brown. What fantastic people!

I just had to take a picture with their mascot - the tiger!

Speaking at NHS

Last week on Friday I was able to speak to Mrs. Shively's two classes at Norfolk High School! It was great to be able to come in and speak to them! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share, but I just wanted to write about it and say that I feel very blessed to have been able to speak to her students!

Norfolk Arts Center Guild

Last week, on Thursday I made an appearance for the Norfolk Arts Center Guild! The fall luncheon's theme was "Travel in Style," and I was the model in the display area. I got to pretend like I was traveling to England! It was definitely super fun. I also got to model an outfit during the show to help out as well. :)

Modeling an outfit during the show

The lobby display area

The lobby display area - notice the photo of London being projected on the wall! :)

Thank you, Veterans!

In honor of Veteran's Day, thank you to all who have served or are currently serving! I will always be grateful for your service! You shouldn't just be honored and thanked once a year; you should be honored and thanked every single day. So to say the least, thank you so much!!! God bless the USA!

Westside Elementary

I absolutely loved getting to speak to all of the sweet kids at Westside Elementary today! I had an adorable 6 year old girl who volunteered to help me out with my demonstration. I had been dreaming about becoming Miss Nebraska Teen USA since I was 6 years old. So with that being said, I had her come up with me and wear my crown to show that sometimes your dreams take a lot of time to actually come true, but if you are patient and put in the time, energy, and dedication, it'll happen. :) I talked about several different topics, and I had a blast! I even got to give each of the young ones a high five on their way out of the assembly. :)

Veterans Home Visit

Today I attended the Norfolk Veterans Home with my darling grandma where I was blessed to have been a part of a great program for the veterans. I can honestly say it was one of the most rewarding and touching appearances of my reign so far! :) Thank you Veterans for your service!

It was so great getting to see this sweet gentleman again! I got to meet him last year at Norfolk High's Veterans Day assembly.

This couple was so sweet and precious!

The newly dedicated memorial

My darling grandma