Alaina's Bear-a-Book Drive

Every year, each NAMiss state pageant contestant brings, to pageant weekend, a stuffed toy or book (new or gently used) that will be donated to fire departments, police stations, hospitals, etc. & given to kids who are going through difficult situations. Last year, Alaina gave many of her own stuffed animals & books. Because we enjoy getting other children involved with giving, we decided to enlist the help of Alaina's classmates & teacher to bring more smiles to more kids! Beginning two weeks ago, Alaina's classmates started bringing in donations. By Monday, May 21, we collected two huge garbage bags filled with everything from stuffed toys & tons of books! It was a huge success, the kids had fun & learned that it's better to give than to receive! And as a reward for their effort & generosity, the kids were rewarded with a pizza party!

Thanks to Mrs. Chasity Easley for the support, kindness and love she shares with all of her students! She makes learning fun & enjoyable for kids & she's truly an asset to our school system! And she's just the best darn teacher ever!

***pssst... sure you don't want to come on over to 3rd grade next year, Mrs. Easley? It was worth one more ask lol***

State Pageant time again!

Alaina at Pinkolicious Birthday Party Spa ~ celebrated with her BFF Alana (yep, same name)

It's Louisiana state pageant time again for Alaina & she's ready to go! This year, we'll be a lot closer to home; the pageant will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge, LA! We're very excited & can't wait! Since it's been awhile since we posted so here's a synopsis of Alaina's several months:

Lots of school productions

• December 2011 "Christmas Around the World" - Alaina was a dancer represented Europe! They were soooo gorgeous!
• February 2012 "Black American History" - Alaina danced in two performances
• May 2012 "Fire" - Alaina danced in one of the opening performances as a firefighter to "We Didn't Start the Fire" then danced again to Cher's "Believe" in the finale with her cheer squad

Cookie Dough fundraiser for Alaina

I started a pretty cool fundraiser for Alaina today! Please support her by purchasing your cookie dough today! It doesn't matter where you live: down the street from us, the next city over or across the country! For only $16, your cookie dough will be delivered to your door - chocolate chunk, white chocolate macadamia nut, triple chocolate, snickerdoodle, sugar & oatmeal raisin! If you'd prefer Alaina's pretty little face deliver your cookie dough & you live in the neighborhood or close by, let us know; we can deliver as well! If anyone is interested in supporting my little princess, please click this link to email me & I'll be happy to take your order! Thanks in advance & God bless!

Pretty feet, circle turn, smiles... OH MY!

Sunday's prep session was a blast! We arrived just about 12:30, paid Alaina's fees, got her packet & took a seat! The whole family went this time lol... I think the boys were bored a little - at least until the other pretty girls started appearing!

Alaina was a little frustrated when it came to doing "pretty feet" because she couldn't decide which foot should go at "12 o'clock" but once she finally decided, she did well! Doing the circle turn wasn't so bad, but she likes to put her head down so we gotta work on that. Now, when it came to the introduction, she was ready lol! She wasn't loud but she decided what she wanted to say quickly! After doing it for Chelsey & Kimberly (our current NAM Louisiana Jr. Pre-Teen), she came back to her seat to write it down so she wouldn't forget!

All in all, I think it went well. We were too busy to take pics inside, but we did manage to get one happy pic outside the hotel in front of the water fall (one even has a slight moment of pretty feet lol)!

Just Wondering...

Ever since we got Alaina's letter earlier this month, we've been wondering who might have submitted her name to NAM. Her letter, from the state director, simply says "You daughter has been referred to me as a possible candidate who may enjoy modeling, acting or learning stage techniques that will help empower and enable her to accomplish her future goals." Well, Alaina loves loves dressing up & looking "fabulous" lol! She's been in one school play this year & will be in a second in May. We thought over it again & again & could only come up with two people from her school & one other person that we know.

Earlier, I was looking at the NAM Rocks blog & I ran across a post entitled "National American Miss - How did you get my/or my daughter's name and address?" As I read through it, I found the following information:

1. On the bottom of that letter that you received, their may be some logos for various organizations. These logos are National American Miss's sponsors, who support what we do, and refer girls to us each year. These organizations are National Honor Society, American Cheerleader, Dance Spirit, John Robert Powers Modeling School, and Ford Motor Company

2. Another way is that girls who have participated in our program in the past have a chance to recommend outstanding young ladies to us, as they feel that this might be something you are interested in, are interested in gaining like skills and confidence, or have what it takes to be the next National American Miss. THIS is actually how I got that "life-changing" invitation letter in the mail years ago. A girl who went to the same dance school as me referred me to the pageant ( I didn't even know it until years later), and that's how I got started!

3. Lastly, we work with community leaders ( teachers, coaches, school counselors, etc) who know of National American Miss and refer girls to us. Often, neighbors even call us and tell us that their little neighbor girl is "sooo sweet and they want to recommend her to us!"

Bottom line, someone in your community thinks you are special and unique! You should be sooo proud of yourself, just for receiving this awesome invitation - not everyone gets one. Don't believe me - ask around at school!!

That basically answered my question! While I still don't know who thought enough of my little angel to submit her name, I really do appreciate it! This is a huge opportunity for her that, with God's grace & favor, will prove to be wonderful. The experience & confidence she will gain is a tremendous blessing. We're truly humbled!

Alaina's NAM Press Release

Miss Alaina Lakera Walker, age 7, has been chosen as a State Finalist in the National American Miss Louisiana Pageant to be held Thursday-Saturday, June 30-July 2, 2011 at the beautiful Lafayette Hilton Towers in Lafayette, LA. The National American Miss pageants are held for girls ages 4-18, and have five different age divisions. Alaina will be participating in the Princess age division, along with other outstanding young ladies from across the great state of Louisiana.

Miss Alaina Walker’s activities include reading, drawing/painting, riding her bike in the park and playing video games. She also enjoys modeling, participating in her church’s children’s group, spelling, science and maintaining a 4.0 GPA at the Math, Science & Arts Academy in Plaquemine, LA.

Sponsorship info - PLEASE HELP SUPPORT Alaina & JDRF!

Please support Alaina's dreams & children with Juvenile Diabetes by clicking here!
You can also click the "DONATE" button in the right column!

I've been trying to gather as much information as I can to share about NAM, the pageant & what your generous donations are supporting, so here you go (click on the photos to see larger versions):

Packet arrived!

Alaina's NAM packet arrived today! Inside is a cool certificate & ribbon congratulating her as a state finalist, pageant prep training information (training is in two weeks), sponsorship pamphlets & press release.

I've already contacted our local paper about the press release. Hopefully I can get that done for this coming week. Now I've gotta work on sponsors. Currently, we have a donations set up through PayPal! Anyone can sponsor her. The sponsorship fee is $440 but any donations beyond that will go toward helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as well as her preparation for the pageant (I'll post that link shortly).


We appreciate everyone's support, small or large! Thanks in advance for helping to make this dream come true!

YAY! She made it!

Please visit www.namiss.com for more information!

Today was the final day for calls to participate in the NAM Louisiana state competition! Calls were scheduled to be received between 3pm & 7pm. At 6:56pm, Alaina got her call! They said they were impressed with her interview & they thought she'd be excellent! We're all sooooo excited for her! Can't wait! She'll be participating in the NAM LA Princess division because as of January 1, she was 6 years old - her birthday is January 27. I should get her packet in the mail in a few days! Time to get started! Woohoo :)

*excited Mommy*

Casting Call Day

Alaina & current NAM Louisiana Junior Teen, Mirandy Li

Alaina, her brother - Jalon, former NAM Chelsey McGinnis - works for Disney Channel on the show "Shake It Up"

Alaina's casting call went well... We checked in about 12:30pm, got her application & number then we took a seat in the banquet room. We watched a video with all the kids who've entered the pageant; it was very interesting & informative! We got great insight into what to expect!

Alaina's NAM Louisiana casting call

Alaina has been chosen to participate in the National American Miss Louisiana Casting Call on Sunday, March 13, 2011 at 12:30pm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, LA! We're so excited & so is she! She's a little nervous also, so we're praying that she overcomes that & allows her huge bubbly personality to shine!