Inspiration

4 years ago I looked like this...

I had no idea that things were going to change in a few days and soon, my life would look like this...

Parker - 5 days old. The day he was transferred to UNMC for a bowel perforation weighing less than 2 pounds. 

Payton, - 9 days old. Her first time being held at 1.5 pounds. 

6 months later I was a little lost. A year later, I didn't want anyone else to feel lost that had to go down this road. After an early morning meeting over bad coffee and greasy hash browns, I had an idea and one of my best friends did not think I was crazy. In fact, she said she was in on it. And so, my next baby was born with her help...

Then I got another push to take it further. So last year I took another step. I finished that step this week, completeing my degree...BS in Nonprofit Management. 

The week my last class started, Quiet Light was the cause at the Omaha Baby Fair. We saw a couple thousand moms and were able to tell them that if they have a day when the unexpected happens, they aren't alone, they don't have to be lost. The last day of class, I met with a new preemie mom who's having some struggles and was just a little lost and needed someone to talk to. I would say that this one perfect way to come full circle. 

Get ready kiddos, we're going to go far. 

P.S. Kristin - thank you for believing in my idea. You helped make this happen. 

Milestones, Excitement and Plugs

Ok. There's just plain ol' LOTS of stuff happening around here. Lots. And there's a little bit of everything. So here's it all in a nutshell.

For the kiddos...
The awesome twosome will be starting the preschool room full time on Friday. Yikes! But yay!!! I will update more next week about the official transition over. :)

Also starting next week, Payton will be wearing big girly underwear all day long. Another yay!!! More to come on that too. Fingers crossed the transition to a new room and another big change won't cause any problems.

For the mama...
Life After NICU is a great place that helps support parents after their time spent in the NICU. They have honored the Quiet Light Foundation with choosing us as the Give Back group for January. Thrilled!!! Check it out here (and yes the pictures used in the little article are all really us) - Give Back

Up and Coming...
I won't gush about my love of Respite Care at the moment (I've done it enough and there's more coming soon). But, they have some really neat events coming up that support the center and are open for anyone. Check them out and go!

Mr. & Mrs. Burke Pageant

January 16th, 2013
7pm at Burke High School

Put on by the Burke High DECA club. Students from Burke will compete in 3 categories for the titles. School-age kids from Respite will be escorting the royalty at the contest. $5 at the door and ALL proceeds go back to respite care.

Friday February 1, 2013 Winemakers Dinner

4 Course Dinner & Wine Pairing
Scottish Rite Center
202 S 20th

Doors open at 6:30PM
Dinner at 7:00PM
Dinner is prepared by Hy-Vee Chefs

$75 per person
$500 for a table of 8
Seating is limited to 200.

For reservations contact Amber 402-895-4000
aburk@crccomaha.org

Children's Respite Care Center is thrilled to be one of the beneficiaries again this year!

Copy this link to view the events homepage.
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=eplaqkgab&oeidk=a07e6vcdv6xbb015e80

Hy-Vee Food and Wine Experience: February 2nd

Join us at the DC Centre
11830 Stonegate Circle, Omaha
1pm - 6pm
Tickets: $35 in advance at CRCC or any Hy-Vee
$40 at the door

Enjoy a day of sampling wine, specialty foods, and cheeses from over 75 booths.

For more information contact Amber at 895-4000 or
aburk@crccomaha.org

CRCC is excited once again to be one of the beneficiaries of this event. Proceeds shared between CRCC and Children's Square.

Art and Bake Sale Extravaganza

Wednesday February 13th
CRCC is having an Art and Bake Sale!
Stop by and see the kid's art on display and buy some yummy treats for Valentine's Day!

You can also bid on classroom designed canvas art work with bidding ending at 530PM

Proceeds help support classroom projects and employee incentives.


Ok...everyone's calendars marked??? Fun ways to do something different, get out of the house, and support a great place.

More to come soon!!!

Another round...

of shameless plugs. That's right, there's stuff going on and I want to make sure everyone knows what's happening and can take part if they want to.

Saturday, November 10th Quiet Light Foundation is hosting a Preemie Parents Night Out. It's not just for parents, though. It's for friends, family and even anyone who works with preemies to come and celebrate Prematurity Awareness Month and all the preemie families go through. If  you are reading this and you are around on November 10th, I'd love to see you there. It's a cheap night out - about $30 per couple and includes the works, even entertainment (improv comedy done like Who's Line Is It), tip and being entered into drawings some pretty awesome giveaways. This is a super special event for me for many reasons. Come see me! Let me know if you want to reserve your table (yes, reservations are needed because there is only so much room!) or if you need more info. Hope to see you at The Pizza Shoppe Collective on the 10th!

The other even going in is Bling for the Holidays. November 17th from 9 - 4 at the Westside Community Center (108th & Grover). It will be everything fancy, sparkling, etc. that you might want for Christmas. It is free to get it. The great part of this event though is that it is also a toy drive for Respite Care. If you bring a new unwrapped toy for Respite Care you are automatically entered into the great drawings they are going to have that day. And I won't bore anyone with how much I love Respite Care one more time.

Ok...November is filling up. Mark your calendars! :)

I came...I got colored...I got rad

Sunday morning, I snuck out as Chris made the babies waffles and sausage for breakfast and met up with my Quiet Light partners at the Mid-America Center for Color Me Rad. Weaving 5k and getting nailed, sprayed, wiped and dumped color on. All in the name of Special Olympics and Quiet Light Foundation. It was fantastic!

Thank you to all the QLF people that ran, and all the volunteers that came out and donated your time and your morning. You're all amazing and we wouldn't have had this opportunity without you!!!

Jason - thanks for coming in for the weekend to do the run from Colorado.

It was so fun to do this with my QLF partners, who are just as crazy as I am and who willingly got painted in the name of preemies. It was amazing...you guys rock!

P.S. - Here's the World Hearld's photos in case you missed them -
http://odc.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=5002&p=3741

Shameless plugs...

By now, you're all aware that I'm not above shameless plugs. So here are my latest, and of course, all for wonderful causes close to our hearts.:)

One week from Sunday, on July 8th, there's a great opportunity. Color Me Rad is coming to Omaha/CB and you can run/walk/hop/skip whatever you want all in the name of a few good causes. Beside supporting Special Olympics, which is the major group they're sponsoring, you can also support preemies and Quiet Light Foundation. If you register and use 'quietlight' as a promo code, you will receive 10% off your race fee, and Quiet Light will receive a donation of 10% of your race fee. Everyone wins. And what is a better way to spend a Sunday morning that getting spray painted. I will be running and I promise some colorful pictures to come.

Now flip your calendars ahead to August. Respite Care is having another fundraising event that looks amazing -

5th Annual Musical Revue-Back to Bacharach and David

Compelling musical theatre you won't want to miss!

One of the most popular songwriting teams is celebrated in this glorious revue. Features the Pop collaborations (1960-70), of composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Sexy, funny, hip and timeless this tribute includes rarely heard gems and such unforgettable favorites as "Alfie," "Walk on By," "The Look of Love," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "I say a Little Prayer," and "What the World Needs Now is Love."

All performances will be held at Mutual of Omaha-Auditorium, 34th and Dodge Street

Preview Night (Show only)
Thursday August 16th- 7:30PM
Individual Seating $35

Patron Gala Dinner & Show
Friday August 17th- 6:00PM
Individual Seating $250

Run of Show (Show only at 7:30PM)
Saturday August 18th
Friday August 24th
Saturday August 25th
Individual Seating $35

To purchase tickets call Amber at 402-895-4000

If you have time, a free evening, and a little spare money just waiting for your to pick your next "thing" to do, consider going. Besides the show being amazing, all the people that work there are pretty great themselves. We kinda love them. :)

Glamour Shots

Lsst weekend was full of craziness - it was the big Baby Fair weekend that we'd been working on for months. It was a huge success! If you're one of the people that helped support us in any way, you don't know how much you're appreciated.

One of the best things that came out of the weekend was the completion of our website - quietlight.org . If you haven't already been there, go look. It's just the beginning and it's already amazing. Jason and Nick - thank you for all your hard work on the site!

The other great thing from last weekend was the pictures. Jason, our marketing Director for Quiet Light, came in for a few days from Denver so we could get some work done. One special thing he did was photo shoots with several families with preemies of varying ages. I've seen just a few of the ones the shot and they are unbelievable. These are two of the ones he shot of my duo. I'm so graetful for these beautiful pictures, there are almost no words.