Bring in the New Year, MOA EOT article

Hello once again,

            The Christmas Season flew by once again! I hope you all had a wonderful time with your family and loved ones over the course of the weekend. I know I sure did. Patrick Murphy and I had a marvelous time at the Mall of America as we shared Christmas music for last minute shoppers. The view in the Best Buy Rotunda was outstanding. Seeing shoppers gather on all levels of the mall to hear our music gave us quite a thrill. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m a bit sadden as I now have to wait another year for Christmas. However, I am excited for the new year.!

            As I think back and reflect on 2011 a lot has happened. I’ve graduated from high school, was crowned Miss Perham, and moved to college to begin studying Music Education. I’m always a bit sad when a year closes. For me it’s a reminder that life is going faster than I can control. However, it’s always exciting to see what the new year brings. I could go on and on about new year resolutions, and goals, however, I want to focus on the little aspects in our lives that will make 2012 great. Appreciate the daily activities that always seem to keep us busy. Be thankful for the hustle and bustle in the mornings, the extra time homework takes, the time you spend waiting for your children to finish with practice and lessons, and the simple “I love you’s.” I hope you can make 2012 your best yet!

            Safe travels and celebrations as you continue to bring in the new year. May you reflect on 2011 and be thankful for all you have encountered. I wish you the best as you bring in 2012. Blessings to you and your family!

Blessings, 

Paige  

The Mall of AMERICA :)

Hello readers,

I hope you ALL had a wonderful Christmas holiday. From family, friends, food, traditions, and gifts I flew from house to house to be with the people I love. Even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, I hope you found the reason of the season.

On December 23rd, Patrick Murphy and I brought Christmas music to the Mall of America. I arrived 45 minutes before the show to get ready. I was greeted with the beautiful silver trees that stretched to the ceiling. The silver benches, and white sparkling floor added to the beauty of the space. I must say the site was intimidating, but very exciting! From mic check to mic check, to moving the piano, making sure photographers were in place, our prep time flew. We began right at 10 AM and continued for an hour.

While performing selections of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, O Holy Night, I'm Dreamin of a White Christmas, Breath of Heaven, What Child Is This? etc, I was thrilled shoppers stopped to take in the music. The view of all the levels of the mall from the bottom of the Rotunda was incredible.This appearance has surely been one of my favorites!

Special thanks to Patrick Murphy for joining me for this performance!

Much Love,
and Happy NEW year!
Paige

EOT article. :) Merry Christmas!

Hello Perham,

            What a great week it has been to be back and in my community. I had forgotten how much I missed this place while I was away at school.  Here is your update on how many of my appearances went. It was a blast, and I must say quite a ride!

            I arrived home from Jamestown Thursday afternoon in perfect time to celebrate my 19^th Birthday on Friday. I had a spectacular time with friends and family. Last Saturday I traveled to the Cities to support our Miss Minnesota, Natalie Davis as we celebrated her journey to Miss America. Be sure to stay in tuned and watch ABC Live on January 14, 2012 at 9 PM EST to watch Natalie compete for the title of Miss America. Sunday I spent my afternoon at The Wild Goose promoting the lovely chocolate produced by KLN Enterprises here in town. On Monday I had my Miss Minnesota preparation photo shoot with Thru Him Photography. We had a fabulous time! I can’t wait to see how they turn out. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I juggled from school to school, and business to business. Spreading the message of “It’s No Joke, Say NO to Smoke” was a fabulous experience and one that I always look forward to sharing. Just a note for all of you parents, discuss with your child or children about not smoking and what they learned at school this past week. I hope my presentation presents a good time for you to bring up a touchy, but important subject to address. Tomorrow Patrick Murphy and I are headed to the Mall of America. To be honest, I’m a little nervous! But I am more excited about the opportunity to share Christmas cheer through the music we share.

            I wish you all a blessed Christmas Season as you travel and prepare to spend time with your loved ones this weekend. I am anxious to spend quality time with my family celebrating our wonderful Christmas traditions. This has always been my favorite time of year! “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” Merry Christmas! 

My oh my...duties of a queen continued!

Hello again!

My oh my…the duties of being a queen have kept me busy. On Tuesday my little “Tour of Miss Perham with Miss Perham” continued as I spent 2 hours with the 4^th graders in Perham. As part of their holiday week at school that had stations set up Tuesday morning to emphasize different things. I was one of the stations and enjoyed the many things I learned from the 4^th graders! Their charismatic attitudes, contagious laugher, and spontaneity left me encouraged and thankful for the time I had with them.

After spending time with the 4^th graders I decided to visit my lovely second grader teacher, Mrs. K. She was excited to see her little “angel” and I was thrilled to visit her kindergarteners. I took out my crown for them and all of the little girls where thrilled to try it on. I must say, we even had little kings in the room. It was great to visit with them as well.

That afternoon I visited some second grades at the Heart of the Lakes Elementary. After reading them a Christmas story they had all kinds of questions for me. They wanted to know why I had a “white thing” across my body. I told them it was my name tag. They also wanted to know who gave me the “sparkly crown” and how I got it. I took my crown off and passed it around. They were surprised at how heavy it was. Their smiles were priceless!

This morning I had a surprise appearance at the new hospital in Perham. I enjoyed a lovely lunch with Perham Rotary and Christmas music from the PHS Swing Choir right in the beautiful entrance of the Perham hospital. Gina, my director, and I toured the hospital. We were both astounded at the intricate details of every department. The state of the art technology and care was evident in every part of the hospital. It is exciting to know that Perham Health will be saving many, many lives. I am proud of this new addition in our community. Perham Health will open in January of 2012.

After many hours of rehearsals Patrick Murphy and I are going to unveil our Christmas Music at the Mall of America tomorrow morning at 10 am in the Best Buy Rotunda. I can’t wait!!

3 more days until Christmas!

Much love,

Paige 

My oh my!...The Duties of a Queen :)

Hello readers!

Wow! It has been a crazy few days since I have arrived home. Here is a quick update to share what I have been up to.

Last Thursday morning morning I finished my last final at Jamestown College. I had a successful first semester and I am looking forward to second semester. It's been quite a character building experience. On Friday I celebrated my 19th Birthday! I spent a day with family and friends and used every free minute to relax and enjoy the day.

Saturday I headed to the Twin Cities to attend Natalie Davis, Miss Minnesota's, send-off party to Miss America. I am so excited to see how Natalie does! I know she will represent our state well on the Miss America stage. Be sure to stay tuned to ABC on January 14th to watch the competition! Sunday, I spent a few hours at my favorite business in Perham "The Wild Goose." I was there sampling chocolates and visiting with customers. It felt great to be back.

Today I spoke with 300 kids from the Perham Area about not smoking. I covered ages from 3rd grade, 9th, and K-6. Every time I have the opportunity to speak I am fascinated by the different people I encounter. They all have so many unique stories. One that never fails is that they know someone who smokes, making the message of my platform so relatable for everyone. My main theme today was get my audience members thinking about the things they love, and how they would need to make good decisions to achieve their goals and develop their talents! The dynamic of age groups always keep me on my toes while presenting! I had a fabulous time. After 3 hours of speaking and 300 kids later I spent an hour visiting with customers at the Station House in Perham. I enjoyed and interesting conversation with the "Red Hat Ladies" and even met people who knew who I was from my EOT articles. It's crazy how small our world is!

Tomorrow morning I will be spending time with the fourth graders at the Heart of the Lakes Elementary. Can't wait to share how it goes!

My oh my!..the duties of a queen! are keeping me busy! I'm loving every minute of it!

Much love,
Paige

Announcement of "Tour of Perham with Miss Perham" in the EOT Focus

Greetings Perham!

            I have some exciting news for all of you. I have officially made it through my first semester of college and am back in Perham for 3 weeks! It feels wonderful to have a semester behind me. I’m really looking forward to being in the community.

            I am going to be very busy lady this week. I am excited to announce I will be presenting my platform “It’s No Joke, Say NO to Smoke,” in all of the schools in our community these next few days. Tuesday I will begin my “Tour of Perham with Miss Perham” at the Heart of the Lakes Elementary with the 3^rd graders, moving to the high school to spend time with our freshmen, and then on to St. Henry’s as well. Wednesday I will return to HOTL to speak to the 4^th graders. In the afternoons, I will be busy at the Specialty Shops in Perham wrapping gifts, and greeting shoppers. It’s going to be a great time. I am looking forward to celebrating the Christmas season and seeing many of you. I will be posting my stories of my “Tour of Perham with Miss Perham” on my blog at missperham2011.blogspot.com. Be sure to stay in touch and to find out where I will be next. The 23^rd I am headed to the Mall of America in Bloomington to perform with Patrick Murphy to celebrate the Christmas Season through song at the Best Buy Rotunda. I’ll also be sure to let you know how the performance goes.

            As we are enjoying this Christmas Season may you enjoy the time you have with friends and family. Even in the midst of our busy lives, and the excitement of gifts, food, and celebration may we reflect on the Reason of the Season.

EOT article from this past week. :) "And Wonders of His Love" Christmas Concert at JC

 Hello my friends in Perham, 
> We are already into the first half of December. My, oh my! I must say we have 
> been incredibly blessed this fall with gorgeous weather. I might be ready for 
> snow pretty soon. As long as it waits until I arrive home on the 15th. 
> I now have just one more week left of 1st semester here at Jamestown College. 
> I feel as though I could write a book about all the things I have learned in 
> my classes, and about life this past fall. It’s been a great ride. I am 
> anxious to finish here so I may be in Perham once again. As soon as I arrive 
> I’m going to be a busy girl making appearances at the schools, and businesses 
> throughout the community. The details are just about right. I’ll be sure to 
> give you final dates next week. I am so excited to feel the thrill of 
> Christmas with all of you. 
> This weekend I will be performing with the Jamestown College Concert Choir at 
> the Basilica right in Jamestown, ND. I am looking forward to the experience of 
> celebrating with the season with fabulous choral music. The Concert is 
> entitled “Wonders of His Love “and will be performed this Friday, Saturday and 
> Sunday. As the Christmas season is approaching may you take time to appreciate 
> the wonder and majestic reason for the Season. 

Great start to the Christmas Season (EOT article)

Hello Perham,

            What a great week I had while I was home. It was so good to see many of you as I was in the community. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and were reminded of the things you are thankful for.

            Last week the community hosted a wonderful Parade of Lights in downtown Perham. Miss Heart of the Lakes, Caitlin and I, had a wonderful time riding and waving on the Perham Express during the parade. The weather was perfect, as I didn’t get cold until the end. Seeing the streets lit up by the floats was an exciting reminder that Christmas is on its way. Congratulations to Perham Family Dentistry for taking 1^st place in the parade competition. Keep Rockin’ and Rollin’ over at the office! 

            Speaking of the Holiday Season, my family and I set up our Christmas tree, not to mention my tree is up at college as well. It’s been the tradition to put it up as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Have you set up your tree yet? Christmas is right around the corner. My Christmas music is on, my trees are up, the wind is chilly, and I have my countdown ready. I hope you are getting excited for the Holiday Season. Blessings!