Thank you Angela from North Dakota for walking on behalf of team "Rocky"!!!! The letter below was written by her 1st grader.

North Dakota raised 90,000 for the March of Dimes

_______________________________________

Dear Carter,

Today we walkd for you becase you r too little to walk yorslf.
It was cold on the walk and my legs got tired. My legs rn't vry long but they r bigher then yours.
We talked about you the whol time we walked. That helpped.
My mommy shoed me picures of you. You are vry litle and vry cute.
I hoop you get that thing out of yur nos soon.
Please grow big so you can walk wif us next time. Lots of us r prying for you. Grow good.
Love,
AnneMarie

Warmest Wishes,

Angela Smith
http://www.hopehealingempowerment.blogspot.com
http://www.thevictimsvoices.blogspot.com

I am happy to report that my son is doing GREAT!!!! I am so proud of him and so excited to be in a place of happiness as he has been through so much.


I am Mrs Alabama Int'l 2009 and very excited. I understand the thoughts that are out there about me competing but as I walked last week with great friends, my husband and my furry family, I was once again reminded of the beautiful people I met through pageantry.

My story is not one that I lived alone. There are many that go through this daily yet move on. People ask me how I do it. It is my SON, Carter, (my biggest hero)MY HUSBAND AND HIS REMARKABLE SERVICE, Tiffany Berg and her husband, Laine Berry and her family, Cay Stout, Ryan and your beautiful daughter, my sister and my parents, AJ and your heart and Lori...your soul, CJ...my point is I am so not alone in my story and my life. When I lost my parents, I picked up the phone everyday hoping my Mom would answer. I am soooo blessed to those who answer the call.

If you let the world tear you down, it will because it doesn't get better until you make those strides. YOU ARE BETTER if you fill the shoes you walk in, not judge them.

Good morning-

I had a great weekend with family and friends which started off with a walk for the MARCH OF DIMES. Laquisha Hall (Mrs MD Galaxy 2009), Peta Gay Lewis, Heather Ablondi (Mrs MD Int'l 2008) and of course my wonderful husband, Halo and Jack all joined in. It was a great walk and very warm. The turnout was amazing and our team raised $500 for the MD walk. Go team "Rocky"!!!!

Thank you to all work donated and walked this weekend on behalf of Carter (aka- Team Rocky)

Connie Sharp in Ohio, Amy Gregario in Illinois, Angela Smith in North Dakota, Joy Wadsworth in Alabama.

Love to all!!!!!!

I wanted to thank my wonderful friends and family who have donated to the March of Dimes for Carters walk this Saturday and my incredible friends who are walking too! Carter thanks you, I thank you and all of the babies born everyday thank you!!!!

Amy Gregario- Walking in Illinois
Joy Wadsworth- Walking in Alabama
Heather Ablondi- Walking in Baltimore, MD
Laquisha Hall- Walking in Rockville, MD
Peta Gay Lewis- Walking in Rockville, MD
Angela Smith- Walking in North Dakota

Darlene Deeben, Meredith Boyd, Dr Bonnie Jeffries and of course my wonderful husband!

http://www.marchforbabies.org/teams/CarterThomasLinz


Its not to late to donate or walk!!!!!

You looking at me?
Guardian Smurfs!


I have a thought!


It is hard to believe Carter has been in the NICU for 106 days, but he is doing well. We love the NICU staff and I continue to praise them for all they do EVERYDAY. I have to tell you, one thing I noticed in the NICU is there are A LOT of twins out there!

Easter was celebrated with Carters 100th day of life and also Andy and I's wedding anniversary. We technically celebrate two each year but this is the "official" one:)

Carter is still on hi-flow but is getting bigger each day. He is up to 4lbs, 16 oz. We are doing the March of Dimes walk for him next week. Excited.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/teams/CarterThomasLinz



Many positive things on the horizon and I will post more later!

Love to all-

Deanna, Andy, Carter, Halo, Josie & Jack

So today I was watching the news and I have an issue....

Everyone, including President Obama states that we are coming home from Iraq. It makes a great speech and he does it well but there is one point that seems to be out of the spot light.

My sister is deploying to Afghanistan for 15 months, Carters Doctor deployed and his nurses have deployed and are deploying.

I realize in the economic state it is easy to forget and the media is not covering it as it was.

We continue to deploy daily. There are over 20K in Afghanistan.

I love you Mommy!!!Really 1st runner up! Yeah!
Beautiful Amy & Carter
The stunning Mrs ladies...Ginny Meerman, Rebecca Crosen, Amy G and Laura Price
Clay Spann and the gals!
Clay, Joey and I giving me the "Competitive Image":)))
Beautiful Laine Berry, Mrs International and I
Joey, Clay and I! Thank goodness the dress zipped up!
My love and baby daddy....Andy...my love
Andrienne Carver, Mrs MD Intl 2009. You rocked beautiful lady! Congrats!
Cocktail Party
Orientation
Laine Berry, Heather Ablondi and I.

I had such a nice weekend with family, friends and the contestants. The Miss Teen, Preteen and Mrs Categories had some remarkable women and young ladies competing. I am sure it was hard for the judges to choose and as we all know…there can only be one winner!



In the Mrs:



Adrienne Watson Carver- Winner and winner of most people in the audience

Deanna Linz- First Runner up and Photogenic (Clay Spann did my photos and ad and he is AMAZING!!!)

LaQuisha Hall- 2nd runner up and Congeniality



I did my best and I have no regrets. I love the International system and family. Clay Spann, Joey Rutherford and Terri came in from Alabama to do my hair, make up and to GET ME INTO THAT DRESS))) After having a baby in January, I am not “Mrs Fitness” yet so some things were a bit tight….who breathes in a pageant anyway….right? They are remarkable people and geniuses when it comes to wardrobe and makeup. I have been working with them for 4 years now and feel so lucky to have them in my life. There links are at the top of the blog and I highly recommend them!!!!



My good friend Amy Gregario also flew in from Illinois for support. She had quite the spread in the hotel room for after the pageant. SOOOOOO sweet! Love you AMY!!!!! You have been such a wonderful friend to me and I thank you so much for ALWAYS being there. Not sure what I would do without our daily calls and text for motivation. You look AMAZING!



I have to say all the contestants were so sweet. What an amazing group of caring and sincere ladies.



The beautiful Mrs Laine Berry was also in attendance and judged the Teen category. She looked STUNNING (of course) and I am so proud of all the work she is doing for Go Red and the International system.



To Joe & Dimitri….ahh the journey….thank you for believing in me. Hugging you all the way from Maryland!!!! With both arms!



Andy, I won’t tell you I will never compete again because that would be a LIE))))) I still have one more chance to be Mrs International!!!! After that I am done...no REALLY!!!!!


I know there was a lot of question about me doing the pageant and I am glad I did. I will continue to do my work with America Supports You, Go Red and various other organizations. It is important to get out there and make a difference. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed because lets face it, we wouldn’t enter a pageant if we didn’t want to win; however, I am also very excited for Adrienne. She will do remarkable things for the state of Maryland and I think will shine in Chicago. Supporting her all the way!





Carter is doing well and growing daily. I am so proud of him. Thank you to all who came to see him this weekend. High five from Carter!



Much love to all….Deanna, Andy, Carter, Halo, Josie & Jack

So I just got back from visiting my little perfect man and very excited for the weekend to begin. Today we have check in, rehearsals and a cocktail party. I am very much looking forward to seeing my good friends this weekend and celebrating marriage with my husband. As I said to him this morning, "Thank you for loving me, giving me Carter and being so incredibly special".Of course I told him this about 4am so I am hoping he remembers...which is why I am writing it down!

This also would have been my Fathers birthday weekend. Happy Birthday and I miss you daily.

I am off to get ready and then drive up. I must be crazy because I spray tanned this morning and IT IS RAINING!!!! So far this week, my dress was altered wrong, the hospital was hit by lightening this morning so every siren was going off and my friends who are coming in had a bumpy road and almost didn't make it at the airport!

But...God is great, Carter is great and life is great.....there are far worse things to worry about, right!:)

If you are coming to the pageant, it is at Kent Island High school. Pageant is 8-11pm tomorrow night!

Many thanks again to Joe and Dimitri for sponsoring me and believing in me. Without you, this would not be possible. I love you always....

To the sisters I am competing with, could you be any more beautiful? Inside and out. Thank you Peta and Laquisha for walking with me for Carter. You are incredible ladies!

God is great...safe travels-

Deanna

Mrs Rockville Maryland International 2009 and proud Mommy to Carter!

Well as you can imagine, I am on cloud nine and feel so blessed...God is GREAT!


I have made the decision to compete for Mrs Maryland International. This was a decision I made right after Mrs International last year (literally) and then God gave us the beautiful gift of Carter and everything changed. Because of our journey, I have learned and grown so much. There are days I thought my heart would break and I just wanted to crawl in a hole. As I look around the NICU and see how many babies come in EVERYDAY, I am far from alone in my story as many have gone through it before and will continue to even after Carter is home. Feeling sorry for myself is not an option. What good would I be for my son if I did that. I fell in love with the International system because of the people involved in it and the extended family it has given me through my sisters in pageantry. The amazing women I have met humble me. I have seen them come together through tragedy and rally when needed. The love and support I have felt for Carter leaves me speechless and so blessed I could not have gotten through this without it.


I have choices in life. I remember after I lost my parents I felt so alone but I knew my parents would want me to live my life and make a difference, which is why I became involved with the American Heart Association. Through my sisters battle with breast cancer, I became involved with various breast cancer events and walks.Even after walking so many miles, I realized I did not walk in her shoes. Through my husband and his 5 deployments in 9 years, I have learned the value of our military and the sacrifices they make everyday.

My journey through life is one that many people live everyday. The challenges we face, the tragedy's and the beautiful gift called life. My choice is to stand up for my family, my son, my husband and my God and hopefully make a difference.


I am humbly inspired by people like Cay Stout who lost her husband to ALS, Jervaun Trier and her husband for the missionary work they do, Lindsey Brothers for her work with the Armed Forces, Laine Berry for all she has gone through with her parents health and her ability to make a difference, Amy Gregario for doing so much for so many, the doctors and nurses that take care of our beautiful babies everyday and save lifes....and the list goes on and on.


So I am competing for my son, my husband and those who make the choice everyday to stand up and make a difference. I realize a crown is not what you need to do that but it does offer the platform to be heard on a broader level. If I can just touch one person, then my job is done....


The Maryland International family is a beautiful one. There are so many incredible people involved and competing. The ladies are beautiful and frankly it is anyone's pageant. I encourage and ask to please support all of us who are competing. We are all excited and support each other, which again, is what makes the International family so special. We all have stories so don't judge until you walk in someone shoes. We all know what we can handle.

To Joe Peri & Dimitri, love you guys! Thank you for continuing to sponsor my journey. I'll do my best!

To my little hero Carter and my big hero Andy, I love you both...with everything I have. You make me want to be a better person everyday....