Meeting Kelly Clarkson

I don't typically talk about work on this blog because, well, it's work.  And while it's where I spend a good chunk of my time, when I come home, I just like to be home.  That being said, however, there are some things that are really big...like a walk that 40,000 people attend, and one Kelly Clarkson in particular.

While it may sound a bit cheesy, Kelly Clarkson actually had a rather big impact on my singing start.  While on a church choir tour/mission trip in high school, I pretended to be her in a skit our family group did, and knew that I'd really have to own "A Moment Like This" if I was going to be the "good singer" on our version of American Idol.  The rest of the week, I sang my solo "Here I Am to Worship" with a lot more confidence, and people started asking me to sing more often.  I sang at Baylor, at church, and now at weddings and any chance I can get!

{Me, Molly, Kelly & SMoo}

I shared this info about our special guest with my Dad the night before the walk.  He was so pumped and was determined to meet her and get a photo.  {Most of the time I try to stray away from being "Gary's Daughter" at work because I don't want to be treated any differently than anyone else.  However, he's been really involved in the organization and very instrumental in making a difference, so it's kind of hard to ignore, which isn't always a bad thing!}  He made sure that the girls got a pic with the very first American Idol.  Thanks, Dad!

Molly snapped this photo of me and Dad at the top of the bridge.  40,000 people cross under it as they move past the start/finish line, and it was my first time to be up there and see this part of the walk.  

I was born too soon and spent three weeks in the NICU with spinal meningitis after I was born, so our family has been involved with the March of Dimes for a very long time because it's near and dear to our hearts.  I started going to the walks with my dad every year growing up, and it was always fun for us to share that together.  While I don't remember each one of them, the last three stand out quite vividly.  As it turns out, the walk has become a way for me to mark seasons in my life, and each year I go back, I wonder where I'll be next.

In 2009, I was fresh off a plane from studying abroad.  I was about to graduate from Baylor and didn't have a job yet.  I was anxious and wasn't looking forward to graduating.  To say that summer was challenging would be an understatement.  But in August, the March of Dimes offered me a full-time job, and I was thrilled to work where I'd interned one summer in college.  

In 2010, I worked my first walk.  I learned all the behind-the-scenes tasks that have to be done by our small staff to pull of this event.  It was a cool day.  I had also been dating Adam for about a month, and couldn't stop smiling.  I wasn't sure where it was headed quite yet, but I was having a blast with him.

This year, I had more of a handle on what my role would look like, and I even got to drive a golf cart this time.  {People think you're quite helpful when you can haul them from point A to point B!}  And a year later, Adam and I are engaged, and we'll be married by the time the next walk rolls around!  

The Lord has continued to be so faithful in my life, and I am grateful for a way to look back and see how He works in our lives.  

  Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; 

   it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 

 Praise the LORD with the harp; 

   make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 

 Sing to him a new song; 

   play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 For the word of the LORD is right and true; 

   he is faithful in all he does. 

Psalm 33:1-4