Thankful for Thankfulness: November 14

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Freckles

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It's Photo Friday and today, I am thankful for freckles.

Need I say more, really?

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~
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Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Sometimes

This is my favorite hat. Some days I feel it, some days I don't. But all days, it reminds me that even when you're feeling a little bit tattered and a little bit worn, there's always a SuperGirl inside you. Have you hugged your inner SuperGirl today?

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Photo Friday: The Sender of the Ladybugs

I was brushing my teeth before bed last night when I remembered... August 28th... Seven years since Heaven welcomed Grandpa through it's gates. My first reaction was to be ashamed, that I hadn't remembered earlier in the day. My second reaction was that "ashamed" was the last reaction Grandpa would want me to have. He'd probably be thrilled that my life goes on, that my family goes on, that I go on. He knows how much I loved him, admired him, respected him, both then and for eternity. Nothing was unsaid between us, there are no regrets.

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Take a look, that's him on the right. (Cute, isn't he?!?) The ladybug story didn't start with him, but he gave it meaning. He's the reason I feel it, believe it, and try my best to live it. He, my friends, is the sender of the ladybugs. In my heart, I know he's always dancing in the rain, and no one in Heaven or on Earth has more ladybugs beside them.

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Photo Friday: My Something

We all have a "something"... a smell, a taste, a view, a blanket, a person... a "something" that reminds us to stop for a minute, take a look around, remember all that is good, all that is right, all that is important.

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This is my something. This something always stops me in my tracks and reminds me to kick my priorities back in order. Little bug, lotta power.

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What's your something?

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Photo Friday: Makes a Lousy Week All Better

Sometimes, all it takes to make a lousy week all better is one little smile. I hope your weekend is full of them!

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Photo Friday: Can't Hide from Mommy's Love

Try as you might, you can't hide from a mother's love. (Or a mother's camera, as the case may be.) And you know what? Even when you're grumpy, Mom will still always think you're beautiful.

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~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Photo Friday: Joy!

Drop all your cares and worries at the doorstep… and just revel in the fun. Jump in with both feet!

Photo and words by Mel Instefjord, June 2008. Bree Instefjord is 4 3/4 years old, and LOVES soccer!

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Perspective

In our crazy, run-a-round lives, it’s so easy to overlook the simple things surrounding us. Take a minute… walk in the footsteps of a child… check out the beauty right there waiting to be discovered.

Photos by Bree Instefjord, Christmas 2007… 4 1/2 years old. Words by Melanie Instefjord.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Going Home

Tomorrow I leave for a week-long vacation in New York. We fly into Albany and will spend a few days in the Adirondack Mountains (my favorite place in the world), then a day trip to New York City (including Yankee Stadium) and then spend the rest of the week lounging and visiting friends in the small town where I grew up.

This is a photo of a clock in Grand Central Terminal in New York City, taken by my friend Alan last year. Though I'm not actually from New York City, I've spent a good deal of time working there and we will pass through Grand Central during our visit.

1:36pm. That's the time showing on the clock. It's also about the time that tomorrow, I'll be pulling in to my parents' summer camp, the place where I spent every single summer as a teenager, the place I most love to visit and the place I most desire to take my kids. It's a beautiful place, a relaxing place, a place where my family and friends are near, my mind is calm and my heart is happy. We all need a place like that, whether it's a physical place or a place in our mind... a place we can call "home," a place where we can go when life gets too crazy, a place where there's nothing but love and calm and happiness. I wish for you this same kind of place.

Who says you can't go home again? Tomorrow, I'll do just that.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Stairway to Heaven

Even the gloomiest clouds and the darkest storms can provide rays of light, of hope, of promise. And after the darkness, the sunshine always looks that much brighter.


This photo was taken by my mom, many years ago. She named it "Stairway to Heaven," but I like to call it "Heaven Shining Down."

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Happy Birthday, America!

Tonight, my family will celebrate the birthday of The Greatest Country on Earth at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Whatever your 4th of July plans, take a few moments to pause and reflect on all that you're thankful for today, all the blessings you have, all the freedoms you enjoy. After all, isn't that what America is really all about?

Alan, bespren, thanks for the photo!

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: The Other Side

My mom took this picture many years ago, back when we all still used film. It was taken in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, at the family campground where my family has spent the past 25 summers, where my parents still spend all their time from "school's out" (they're both teachers) through Labor Day weekend.


I love this picture, I have a large version of it framed and hanging in my home. This is a path I've been down hundreds of times before, and it leads from one beautiful beach to another. In the daytime, it's a short, pretty walk, only a few hundred yards with a gorgeous beginning and a gorgeous ending. But, I've also walked down it at night, in the dark.

When it's dark outside, this path, though familiar to me, is still scary. There are lots of tree roots in the path, it's easy to stumble. There are a few small curves and if you don't see them coming, it would be easy to end up with your face planted firmly into the side of a tree. A few feet to one side is a lake, so a few wrong steps and you'll end up in the water. And the mosquitoes? Merciless!

Isn't that so true of life? When it's darkest, even the most familiar path can be difficult, sometimes frightening. If it's a path you've never been down before, it's even worse. But sometimes, you just have to trust that the path really does end, in a safe, sometimes beautiful place. Trust and strength and courage aren't always easy, but if you take your time stay the course and pull yourself back up if you fall, you'll always make it through to the other side.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Photo Friday: Perfect Moments

Let me preface this by saying that I do not claim to be a "photographer." I have a very average camera and though I'm gifted in many areas, photography is not one of them. The camera is usually an afterthought and if I do get a decent shot, pretty much all I know how to do is upload it to my laptop and take out the red eye.

Photo Friday is not about picture quality, it's about picture content. I hope to be able to include photos that others have taken in the coming weeks, where the quality is as good as the content. But in the meantime, don't focus on if the picture is in focus, if the lighting is right, or if it's a little off center. Focus on the subjects, the intent, the story and the emotion. If you've got a photo to share, please let me know!

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Nine months is a long time to wait when you're an expectant parent. But when you're only two years old and you're waiting for you new baby sister? Might as well be forever. My husband took this picture of my daughters and me during their first meeting. Jessica was 15 hours old, Rachel was 2 months shy of turning three. This photograph doesn't do it justice, though. Jessica had her eyes wide open, presumable planning how to get her hands on Rachel's head of curly red hair. Rachel just smiled and smiled and stared and stared at "her" new baby... the one she'd waited for, planned for, and loved in a heartbeat.

If you're a parent, you probably have a memory just like this one. Whether you captured it on film or not, you can relate to this first introduction, this first look, this first love. For this moment, the rest of the world melts away, nothing else matters, you have everything in the entire world that you could ever want or need. It's a perfect, pure, unconditional moment, one that you want to hold on to forever. It doesn't matter what's going on outside the walls of the room that you're in, it only matters that you are a family, and that you are forever.

This photograph, this is my perfect moment. What's yours?

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat