Momma's got a brand new 'do! (thanks to Spirit 105.3 and Salon & Spa Dolche!)

As a qualifier for the first week of the radio “Love Story” contest I received a gift certificate to Salon and Spa Dolche in Everett. We were going to be talking family photos over the weekend so I decided to make the trek and get my hair done! For those of you not familiar with the area, it meant an hour drive north - but oh so worth it! My friend Shelly took Katelynn for the whole day so I could take my time and not worry about her (thanks Shelly!!). Shelly even gave me a note as I dropped Katelynn off letting me know she remembered it would have been Kristen's 5 month birthday that day and this was a wonderful way for me to celebrate her - with a gift I wouldn't have had if it wasn't for her! Thanks Kristen!

My hairstylist was amazing! She took her time to listen and and then took it from there. I had no idea what I wanted and what I came out with was incredible and really fits me. I am so happy with the color (well, colors, four of them to be exact!) and the cut is really fun and easy to take care of. The whole “treatment” was a bit more than my gift card would cover but she said that since I was the grand prize winner, she wasn’t going to charge me for the haircut. Thanks Kelsie!!!

Before, During and After:

Update on "the grand prize"

I have been asked by a number of people about what the prizes were. So here's a run down:
As a qualifier I got a gift certificate for a salon/spa up in Everett.
As Week 1's grand prize winner I get tickets to the Chris Tomlin concert in March.
I also get a VIP shopping trip from Marci Jewelery in Bellevue. They will send a limo to pick us up and take us to the store for a catered lunch and a private shopping time (I'm assuming with all the other winners of the contest) where we each will get to spend $1000!! I have NO IDEA what I'll get!! I'm not much of a fancy jewelery person but I would like a watch with Kristen's two birthstones in it. (August for her birth to earth and September for her birth to heaven.) And I've also thought about getting something for Katelynn in honor of Kristen. But we'll see once we get there!
But as I've said since the start, I entered the contest not even knowing what the "prizes" were. I really just wanted a chance to share a small part of Kristen's story and the radio station gave me a perfect opportunity through a very fun (and rewarding) avenue!!

Kristen's Story Won! Thank you!

Yeah! Kristen's story won last week's grand prize on the Spirit 105.3 Love Story Contest!!
They called the house this morning while I was on my way to MOPS but Kevin couldn't get to the phone. I had him call back the number from caller ID and they said to have me call the studio line. I tried for three hours and only got busy signals!! So they eventually called my cell phone around 12:30 today and told me I won. They asked me to tell them more about Kristen and I was honored to. I love getting to talk about that little girl! I don't know if it was recorded or not or if it will be put on the web. The one thing I feel kinda bad about is not giving more glory and credit to God after their comments of "your such a strong and amazing woman" or "it's amazing you can tell this story without bitterness". I know He deserves the credit because it if wasn't for Him I don't think we would have been able to keep breathing after September 1st. But here we are almost 5 months later and life continues to go on, the world continues to turn, and I continue to have moments of healing....like getting to tell Kristen's story on the radio! So without further ado, Thank you Jesus for getting me to the point where I want to and even can share Kristen's story. And thank you for all the blessings that have been received in correlation to this contest.

I have no way of thanking all the people that helped in voting for our story - so I really hope that they will find out somehow! If you passed on the encouragement to vote, please pass on the good news! And if you have your own story definitely submit it! Just as a qualifier you get a pretty great gift!! They will be doing it for three more weeks (counting this week).

Again thank you everyone who voted! Thank you for allowing me to share Kristen's story with you and thank you for helping me tell so many others!

My "Love Story" Contest entry

Our local Christian radio station is having a "Love Story" contest and they are encouraging people to send in their stories, even those that aren't the typical boy meets girl story. I'd been contemplating it for a while and finally did it. Here's my entry:

Not all moms have an instant bond with their babies. My daughter Kristen was born with a chromosomal defect called Trisomy 18 and was taken to another hospital for care while I recovered from surgery. I didn't get to really hold her until she was almost 2 days old an I was well enough to go see her. There were lots of visitors in and out of the NICU my first day with her so at 5 in the morning I decided it was time for some mother/daughter time. I wanted to meet my baby and I wanted her to know who her mommy was. She and I spent almost 2 hours snuggling together in spite of the tubes and monitors she was hooked up to. Sadly, she was born into heaven about three hours later. I will never forget that early morning visit where I got to truly meet my daughter and we fell in love for the first time.