Oh What an Incredi-BOWL Night!!

(Warning: Exclamation point overload ahead!!!!!!!)

We did it again!  We had fun with family and friends, all while raising money for LLS!  I love that throughout this campaign we have united, we have bonded, we have laughed, and we have made memories, all happy and all good!  We have done it together and we are making a difference!!!  Blood cancers DO NOT stand a chance against us!  They will not survive our love and joy!

The Friends and Family Roll and Bowl could not have been more perfect last night!  From the weather only being bad between the hours of 4-6, to the hospitality of the folks at Bowl on Bellaire, and the generosity of Little Matt's and Galveston Island Brewery, to the amazing raffle prizes put together by Casey Redd and The Shops off Westheimer!!  And then there were the people.  The most fun people showed up last night and everyone was ready to have a great time and it showed.

My very talented husband and Team Awesome member put together this video which sums up the fun so well!  I hope y'all enjoy it.  Its on repeat at my house right now!!

I do want to add a special note about Little Matt's and Jim Reid, the owner.  I just believe that the word should be spread and we should be doing all that we can to support small businesses in our community who do so much to give back.  Jim's son is a 2 time survivor of Acute Lymphoma Leukemia and he opened Little Matt's as a way to thank God for allowing his son to win over cancer (kind of the theme of this campaign, ya know!).  Proceeds from the restaurant go to Texas Children's Hospital to help support families whose children are fighting cancer.  Click here to read an article more about Jim and his mission!  And go eat at Little Matt's!!!

Finally, we are heading into the homestretch of the campaign!  Less than 3 weeks to go until the title is announced!  Please help me help so many others by "voting" for me through your donation.  We have already exceeded my expectations, but it only makes me dream about how far we can go!!  Thank you, thank you!!!

Raffle Prizes for Bowling Party - Get Your Tickets Now!!

The Friends and Family Roll & Bowl is just a few short days away!!  I am so excited about this event.  Its going to be a wonderful fundraiser as well as a celebration for all of the hard work and money we have raised so far in this campaign (which is a lot!! YEA!).

In addition to just the plain old fun of spending an afternoon bowling with a lot of really awesome people, we are also having a raffle for some seriously great prizes!!!  We have opened the raffle ticket sales for pre-sale so that those of you who can't come to the bowling event can still have a chance to win!

Here they are!

Prize #1: Purchase Tickets Here!

***All Things Boy - Indoor and Outdoor Summer Fun***

Total Value: $345

NFL Limited Edition Texans backpack ($45)
NBA Certified Rockets Basketball ($30)
Two person inflatable blue and white raft ($35)
Air Hunter Mega Target, Z-Curve bow, and three darts ($40)
Disgusting Science Activity Box ($25)
Knock Knock Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott ($6)
The Slime Experiment by Weird Science Lab ($12)
Wood Game Super Set. Ten games including chess, classic and chinese checkers. ($35)
Totally Gross, The Game of Science ($25)
Nerf 3-Dart Micro Blaster Elite. Fires darts up to 90 feet. ($15)
Discovery Kids night vision spy goggles ($25)
Uncle Miltons Star Wars Science Jedi Force Levitator. ($30)
Zuru Bug Eliminator X-Shot. Darts fire up to 55 feet. ($22)

Prize #2: Purchase Tickets Here!

***Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Sleepover Essentials***
Total Value - $414
Ever Moda Grey/White Chevron (trimmed in hot pink) roller and matching duffle bag ($100)
Voucher for both bags to get monogrammed at Sand Oak Embroidery ($25)
Just 4 Girls lipgloss set of ten ($15)
Sleepover Party Game including over 200 stunts, performances, and activities for girls to do at a party or sleepover ($25)
Morgan Collection 50"X60" Micro Fleece hot pink throw ($25)
Dylan's Candy Bar Tin, "Candy is a girls best friend" full of candy ($40)
Sleepover Party Mad Libs activity book ($6)
Iscream Yummy Treats bubblegum scented Gumball Machine microbead pillow ($35)
Hot pink fur and flower tassel key chains ($18)
Worlds Best purple and white travel pillow ($20)
Pink Fizz Beauty Essentials make-up and manicure set ($20)
Treasures of India 4X6 hot pink and silver frame ($25)
Hello Tokyo lip balm set of 10 ($15)
Just 4 Girls 12 pack of nail polish ($15)
HT International over sized pink owl plush toy ($30)

Prize #3: Purchase Tickets Here!

***Razor Flash Rider 360 - Fun for Boys and Girls***
Total Value - $169
Razor Flash Rider 360 Spin and Spark. Watch your world spin by as sparks fly with the Flash Rider 360. Dual inclined caster wheels offer the ultimate spinning action - throw fast 360 degree spins, then pull the spark lever to let them fly. Suggested age 6+. ($119)
HT International over sized elephant plush toy, 38 inches ($50)

Prize #4: Purchase Tickets Here!
***Pick of the Litter from The Shops off Westheimer***
Total Value: $650
Monogrammit - Collegiate pillow. Choose your favorite university!
The Smocked Frock - Rosalina Tulip Dress, Size 3
Two Friends Folk Art - German Scherenschnitte paper cutting "Parade"
The Silver Basket - Vintage French silver plate tray
Vintage Linens - Fine white linen cutwork cloth, size 34"x34"
Pewter Ranch - Star pewter dish and State of Texas dish
Sultana's Daughter - 3 pairs of crazy men's "Sock-It-To-Me" socks
This 'n That - Set of 6 brown and white transfer ware dessert plates, circa 1885

Great stuff right??? A little something for everyone!!

A VERY special thanks to Casey Redd (seriously - get this woman on your next auction team - she is AMAZING!) who put together items 1-3 and the Shops off Westheimer for donating all of the items in prize 4!

Please let me know if you have any questions, and please keep the support coming.  We are approaching the home stretch (and you will be hearing a lot more from me over the next 3 weeks!)!  If any of you have been waiting to donate, please do it this week!  They have given the candidates an incentive of $5000 dollars into our campaign account for the person who raises the most money this week!!!!  Think about how your donation could help me multiply it into $5,000!  $5000 is a lot of free money!!!!!!!  DONATE HERE!

Also, I have 3 new interviews in the works and they are going to be fantastic!  I can not wait to share them with you!  Please sign up to receive them by email or keep checking social media to see when they are posted.   

Mother's Day

So I am going to keep this pretty short, mainly because it's such a bittersweet day for me.  It's only my second Mother's Day without a mother and it is still very hard.  I only got 7 Mother's Days where I could actually understand what it meant to be a mother, and therefore truly appreciate, celebrate and love on my mother, and that wasn't enough.  But I am also a mother to 3 wonderful children who deserve to have a mom today that's joyful, and ready to be kissed and hugged and showered with homemade presents that they have been waiting for weeks to give me, so I will relinquish my loss for now, and relish in my blessings.  Mom was one of my most precious blessings and so today I choose to think of happy memories and focus on the lessons of love and faith that she gave me which make me the mom I am today.

I will end with this.  One of mom's favorite songs from one of her favorite musicals was "For Good" from the musical "Wicked".  The original cast members, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, recently reunited to sing this song.  I watched this video this morning and cried (I know - there I go again!).  The words are a perfect tribute to mom on this Mother's Day...

"It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart"

A very happy and blessed Mother's Day to all the mother's out there.


 XO - Katie
"I thank my God every time I remember you" Philippians 1:3

Photos from the Crawfish Boil!

John, me, Erin and Graham (I love him, but I guarantee that aggie sign is purposefully placed. Insert eye roll emoji) 

We had so much fun on Sunday at the Love Bug Crawfish Boil in Dallas at the Barley House!  It was a great afternoon with family, friends old and new, and a LOT of crawfish (and a fair amount of beer too!).  The crawfish, provided by LA Blue Crab and cooked up by Heads or Tails Crawfish, had their own cult following.  I am not kidding y'all!  People came to the event just to eat this duo's crawfish.  Apparently they follow the truck around every weekend.  They were all very happy to donate to LLS for the chance to get their hands on some of these mudbugs!  It was awesome!  The turn out was great which translates into $$$ for LLS!  A huge thank you again to my cousins Erin and Graham Upton who organized the whole event, rallied their friends to come out and support us, and for just generally being awesome enough to want to do all of this!  Here are some pics from the day!

Rolling in hot to Dallas!  Quick day trip!

The Barely House

Super tough bouncers!

They had a crane system that allowed them to cook and move 400lbs of crawfish at a time!

YUM!!!

TerTer wanted to know who the first person to try a crawfish was?!?  Ha!  Not sure it was her most favorite thing she's ever eaten.

Dave-O's First Selfie!

John torturing TerTer

My college friend Jamie Crofford, who is a survivor of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and his sweet son Wesley.

Katie Irwin was our counselor at Laity Lodge Family Camp last summer and is now a nurse in Dallas!  My kids are going to be really jealous they missed her!

Working hard for our money!

Graham and Erin had even put together some great items for a raffle!

TerTer and me.  Terry was my mom's best friend growing up, and when my mom and dad started dating, she asked if my dad had a brother!  Sure enough, my dad did, and the rest is history!!

Thanks again to everyone who made this event possible, and who bought tickets and came out to support us!  It really was so much fun!  Also, tickets are still on sale for the Friends and Family Roll and Bowl, but are going very quickly so snatch them up now while their still available!!  Also, please consider donating to my campaign if you have not already!  All of this money goes straight to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which is fighting so hard against blood cancers!  Every dollar makes a difference!  And if you want to keep up with these blogs posts, please make sure to leave your email address in the box on the left that says, "Follow me with the emails" (to the right if you are on a computer, if you are on a mobile click "view web version" and then scroll to the bottom of the page) and all of these posts will get sent to your inbox!