Friday morning, I had the chance to visit the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital South Playroom with my two Miss sister queens, Erika and Katy. For the visit, I prepared two crafts for us to make with the kids: bunny ears and tambourines. My mom, Shannon, also came along and played the guitar.  I truly believe that music and play therapy can make an huge difference in the life  of a child battling an illness,such as those that I had to chance to play and sing with at Cardinal Glennon.  It was particularly heart warming to see one little boy’s face light up as I let him hold the guitar and accompanied him with the tambourine. These kids touched my heart in more ways than one, and it’s the opportunity make a difference in their lives and brighten their day that drives both my platform and my participation in pageants. The Miss America’s partnership with CMN is truly a fabulous one, and I’m honored to be a part of CMN’s efforts. Want to learn more about CMN? Visit:

www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org

That afternoon, my sister queen Kensie joined Erika, Katy, and I to visit some of the Miss Gateway St. Louis sponsors and personally thank them for their support of the organization. We had the opportunity to visit Service Metal Products, Steak n Shake, and the Hampton Inn of Chesterfield Valley. We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors, and they help make the Miss Gateway St. Louis Organization possible. Later that afternoon, we met up with Mary and Kerri, the directors for Kensie and I, for some shopping We ended the day with a round table discussion at the Stottlemyer home to prepare for the Miss MO pageant in June.  I had never participated in a round table discussion before, and I’m so happy I had the opportunity! Hearing the many different opinions on a number of topics was extremely helpful.

The next morning, all the Gateway Girls met again to take some group photos! The group photos were followed by mock interviews, talent practice, wardrobe discussions. This weekend was a blast! Thank you to everyone who helped out.

MMOT orientation and ” Stay and Play” at the St. Louis Crisis Nursery are coming up soon!  Check out my blog next week to hear more and see some pictures. In the mean time, I’ll be enjoying this beautiful Spring weather! It’s gorgeous outside!

God Bless,

Shelby