Heart & Sole

Driving through the country back roads on a Sunday afternoon, dust clouds in my review mirror I squinted my eyes at numbers on mailbox's of the farmsteads we were passing.
  Finally the right number came in to view and our two vehicles pulled up next to barns that looked like they were meant for a country calendar.

  Tall grass brushed my legs stepping out of the vehicle and our kids screamed with delight at the wide open play space and new things to discover. A door creak caught my attention as the person we were supposed to meet headed our way.

  We skipped the handshakes and headed right for the hug. After all, we are Soles4Souls family.
Meet Kathy Buhrman. 5,780 pairs of shoes were packed into two barns...three years worth of collecting.

I brought out some balloons from the car and a medal to put around her neck. Because of Kathy you see, we were able to break the world record for Most Shoes Collected to be Recycled.
How does someone accumulate SO many pairs of shoes?

  Kathy's father grew ill three years ago and after passing away she wanted to do something good in his honor because he was a man who liked to serve people. "Shoes, I have shoes I can give away" she thought and so began her search of where she could donate them. Then the spark came...someone suggested to her to do a shoe drive and so it began. For the last three years Kathy has driven all of the eastern Nebraska collecting shoes. Girl Scout troops, races, friends, family.....you name it, she poured all of her heart & soul into finding soles!

   June 2nd, 2014 Kathy's husband passed away. Her mission...to get these shoes on people's feet.
She knew it would be a while until she could continue the drive again and could not bear the thought of the shoes sitting in her storage while there are people in need.

  Amidst her own pain, her heart was aching for others and the longing to put shoes on the feet of people in need to change their lives.

  This is Heart & Sole.

It took us six hours to load the shoes and Kathy was with us every step of the way as we overloaded a U-Haul and ended up tying the rest on top of our vehicle. As we loaded shoes she told us stories of her dad and husband. Her kids, friends, the people she met during shoes drives...she had been dubbed "The Shoe Lady" and rightfully so.

 As we loaded shoes, the Guinness World Records medal hung from her neck the entire time. I will always remember that.

   We unloaded the shoes at Eco Stores in Lincoln and finally finished around 3am, a total of 11 hours. I reference this because it was a time of joy and energy. If any kind of thought of tiredness rolled in to my mind, immediately I thought of how hard Kathy worked for 3 Years....3 YEARS.

 When I talk about Give Shoes, Give Love, this is it right here. There is ALWAYS so much more than shoes being collected. That Sunday our family was able to collect a memory, share in another's memory and receive the legacy she was passing on to share with thousands around the world.

 Thank you Kathy Buhrman.

Love People and Live Your Dreams,
  Maggi
Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014

Kathy and I before we started loading the shoes celebrating her donation!

Post shoes loading in the U-Haul. It was some very strategic packing :)

We ran out of room in the U-Haul and thanks to my Haiti travel seeing Tap Taps, we strapped them on top of our car!

The FINAL addition to the container at Eco Stores who hosted it at their store. That is a lot of shoes friends!

Pageant Panic

As my mind started thinking about Mrs. International last year and all of the wonderful memories, I began to chuckle as one particular memory came to mind....waking up interview morning.

Before laying my head to sleep the night before our interviews,  I received a spray tan from Standout Salon and they reminded me when leaving to wash my hands and feet when getting back to my room. Walking out the door my mind went right into next day mode and wouldn't you know it I forgot to wash my hands and feet.

Interview Day. Sun rises...big stretch...............................pop out of bed and...moment of PANIC. My hands were not orange, they were brown. Dark brown. The panic left almost immediately because every problem has a solution and as some deep breath's exhaled, I immediately got on the internet and scoured for magical recipes to remove spray tan. The solution was found. Phoning my husbands room, he dashed to the store for me ( most helpful husband ever!). 

Ok, here it goes, if you ever need to get rid of self tanner for whatever reason, don't panic! A simple visit to a local store will solve it.

Supplies needed:

- Pumice Stone
- Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Baking Soda

After some elbow grease to scrub away, lotion up and your hands will even be amazingly soft.

Reminder: Life Happens. No worries, there is ALWAYS a solution!

Here is to wishing you a peaceful week and hopefully you had a laugh from this as well :)

Warmly,
  Maggi  :)
Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014

Independence Day

In America, typically July 4th is the day of Independence. It represents freedom and adopting the deceleration of Independence during the American Revolution.

 This was the note John Adams wrote to his wife on July 3rd, 1776:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more"

 July 3rd, 2004 was an important day for me too. Today I am officially celebrating 10 years of walking in faith with God. It is my Independence Day. A day when I was completely restored from a life I never thought possible to overcome. The day I got a second start at life....deliverance. A chance to devote my life to God and understand His love for me. I will never be perfect, nor do I want to pretend to be...but I know what it is like to not feel love, not feel worth, value and live with shame as I did in my life before knowing God. It is because I used to feel that way that now I do know how to love others and help them walk in Independence. Freedom.

July 3rd is my Independence Day. Do you have a day of Independence?

I am grateful as a nation we can celebrate Independence together on July 4th. So many have fought for our freedom's. Many in my immediate and extended family have served in the military and before entering in to sports, I wanted to enlist in the air force and to help continue the fight for others freedom.

I may not be in the air force wearing a uniform, but my uniform is a crown and sash and I still get to fight for others freedom. Same plan...the path is is just different.

These are freedom's other countries do not have. There is still much bondage in the world I see when traveling. Pain, Suffering, destitute poverty. I pray for their freedom some day as well and I am just grateful everyday to be a part of an organization like Soles4Souls who is intentionally doing something about poverty.

A reminder I love you. Even if we don't know each other yet it is so important for you to know how loved you are. We are all wonderfully and beautifully made.

Live in freedom. Live in Love.

Warmly and with deep gratitude,
Maggi
Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014

July 3rd, 2004. Cornerstone Music Festival. My day of Independence.

Soles4Souls bounces back

Greetings Friends!

   Yesterday and article was released about the amazing work Soles4Souls has been doing. Being one of the top non-profit's to work for in 2014 named by Non-profit times, Soles4Souls is taking powerful steps to wear out poverty!

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2014/06/29/solessouls-bounces-back-hit-reputation/11575127/

"International shoe charity Soles4Souls hired a new CEO, recruited heavy hitters to its board of directors and launched a marketing plan that moved a once-understated enterprise to the forefront.
And today, the Nashville-area nonprofit is announcing a 43 percent increase in net assets......."

Read full article in link above!

Below is a re-cap of the #Countdown #ByTheNumbers including the AMAZING 30 day "Kick-Off" collage feature people across the globe who are "Team Maggi Thorne Mrs. Great Plains International Soles4Souls"....anyone can change a life with the simple gift of shoes!

Warmly,

Maggi

American Ninja Warrior

Before writing anything else, a HUGE thank you to the producers and casting crew of American Ninja Warrior for the opportunity. There are soooooo many amazing athletes and good hearted people in the world and to be selected as one of the 125 for our region our of only 5 regions is such an honor I am truly grateful for. Thank you!

Well friends, by now you have either seen my fall or this is how you are finding out that yes, the first obstacle took me out!

How did it happen? Simple....Overconfidence.

Normally in competitions I get so nervous...extremely focused, kind of off on my own and pacing around. No moment is taken for granted. Every step is one at a time.

As they called my name when waiting in the holding area, I was doing sprints, jumping up and down and finding a place to take a knee and say a prayer. Riled up more than you can imagine before competing. My mental preparation was in overdrive...I could literally see myself hitting the buzzer at the top of the warped wall, arms up in victory. Pointing at my son in the stands with tears of joy. Hmmm.  That was not reality.

I stepped up to the start. Crowd cheering, waving and greeting them back (What an awesome crowd by the way, Denver has great people and I appreciate everyone who came to watch! ). I took deep slow breaths in anticipation of my name being called as you cannot start the course until the buzzer sounds. Quintuple steps? PIECE OF CAKE I thought to myself. My legs are stronger than strong, my agility amazing and I did steps like those at Worlds Toughest Mudder for 24 hours....first obstacle, not a problem rattled around in my mind as I approached the stairs to take the helm.

Horn sounds. At the crisp cold hour of 2am with a slight breeze in the 32 degree weather, I launched to the first quintuple step, then the next...and the next annnnnnnnd......splash.

WHAT? What just happened. As my arms scraped down the side of the step, no where to grip in site I could not believe it. Fail. All the build up, all the hype and one big splash.

Overconfidence. I could find plenty of excuses if I allowed myself of why I did not make it past 3 steps, but I refuse to live in a life of looking back and not taking responsibility for a failure. Lets look at that word one second further....I also don't believe in it. As Thomas Edison said, " I have not failed...I just found 10,000 ways to successfully not do something" when he talked about his repeated attempts to invent the light bulb.  So, Denver American Ninja Warrior was just me figuring out how to successfully not do the quintuple steps. Time to keep moving forward because at the end of the day....there are millions of people that needs shoes on their feet and love in their hearts! #GiveShoesGiveLove

I cannot thank everyone nearly enough for all of the support, encouragement and belief in me to make it through the course. That course has a piece of my heart on it and next year Lord willing I will try to reclaim it and hit that buzzer for Soles4Souls....for my family, my brother, my best friend, for you.

Never ever be afraid to try something. It was a risk to try American Ninja Warrior. It was do or die in front of millions of people, but to take a chance for Soles4Souls...worth it. Falling in freezing water in front of world wide audience. yes please, because now they know...and you know of a hope for a new day tomorrow and more chances.


 A personal thank you to Noah Tal Kaufman, AKA NinjaDoc and his wife for  allowing Charlie and I to stay there along with some others while getting ready to compete. The Kaufman's are just really, really good genuine people. One more note to all the competitors I met, ALL of you are wonderful and amazing. You inspire me!

Here are a few fun pictures from the journey:

Thank you to Jesse Graff who helped me train, she is amazing, watch out for her next year on American Ninja Warrior! A Huge thank you as well to At Dunn and Chelsea Cooley Altman from Toned To Win who helped prep me physically and mentally. They are amazing at what they do!

Climbing is a must training for ANW

Lots of climbing. Lots of blisters.Worth it.

This is what hours....and hours of training late at night result in. There is not a funner person to train with than this woman!

Heading out to Denver mother's day weekend with my family cheering me on :)

Charlie and I making our way over the Colorado border

Ready for producer interviews

Behind the scenes interviews, fun crew

Denver lunch date competition prep

Training Fun pre-event

Competition day lunch with fellow competitors

"Ninja Cowboy" showing Charlie how it is done :)

Filming pre competition

Resting up before we go. We did not film until after sunset, so we had a while!

Post competition...still smiling! Until next year friends! #GiveShoesGiveLove

Advantage of not making finals....Spending the day hiking in Colorado with your son. Love Him!

Cheering on the other competitors the next night for finals with some really amazing people who are fun to hang with!

There it is....the Ninja Warrior Experience!
Thank you for your support of Soles4Souls and my family!
Warmly,
  Maggi
Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014

Track Spike

I am so excited to share some wonderful news with you friends!!!!  This week's by the numbers countdown come is featuring the number 16. Why this number?

In October that will be the number of women in El Capitan's High School's Hall of Fame after I am inducted! Yes, you read it right, I am SO honored and blessed to join such an elite group of women and men from my high school in San Diego.

 When I received the news from Sandy Martinez who is a former teacher, and someone considered a mentor to me who paved the path for many women at El Capitan, I fell to my knees in gratitude.
There have been tens of thousands of wonderful, deserving young students who have walked the halls of El Capitan. Fellow students who poured their hearts out in their sports, as a part of the student body and in the classrooms. As someone who is a loyalist, yes I still bleed the black and gold of my high school alma matter! Go Vaqueros!

 I am excited to make the trip this October back to the halls of good ole EC. Even more exciting is to see Sandy Martinez. Why is she so special?  From the moment I met her she was someone who I connected with. She was always encouraging. Always. If there is a teacher people should learn to be a role model from, it is her. Motivating me to not be afraid to take chances, encouraging me to run for the role of club president's, associated student body and inspiring me to run my heart out as she did when she was at El Capitan. One day nearing my last days of High School, she gave me something. As I opened the box and looked inside it was a single track spike on a chain. Grasping it in to my palm, she told me it's story.

When Sandy was in High School at El Capitan, she became one of the first women to compete in sports. How scary that must have been! I am sure there were differences in opinions of what a girl should or shouldn't do, but if we stopped when we faced adversity, where would we be?
  This spike was from her track shoes when she broke a school record. She made one of them in to a necklace. I am not sure Sandy knows how much of an impact that small token meant to me. I am a person who LOVES when people make a thoughtful gift. My affection cannot be purchased and to me, this is one of the most priceless items I will ever own while on earth.
  What Sandy probably does not know is I wore this when racing in college and to this day keep it in my jewelry box to look at often as a reminder to never doubt and how much someone believed in me.

Senior year track banquet surrounded by the coaching squad. Sandy Martinez to the right of me with dark hair.

Our high school hurdle squad

All of the track shoes from my career at El Capitan posing for senior year

Oh, the memories. Graduation day in 1999!!!

Follow every single dream you have. Every single one...and of course, Never Give Up.

With deep gratitude to my alma matter, El Capitan,
  Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014
Maggi