Thankful for Thankfulness: November 7 - 13

November 7: Home
No matter where you live, no matter who lives with you, home is where the heart is. How amazing to wake at home last Friday (after being away for a few days) with my very favorite people in the whole wide world -- my husband and two beautiful little girls. Doesn't matter where our house is, our home will always be where they are.

November 8: Sharing my home with others
One of the best parts of my job is working with people from all over the world. Some of these folks come onshore to work for several months at a time and on Saturday, I invited my team over for a barbecue and a bounce in the bounce house. They are so wonderful to my children, so wonderful to me, and it's always a blessing to share my family and my home with others. Even more a blessing still to watch my children learn about new places, new cultures and meet amazing new friends.

November 9: People who are as silly as I am
Maybe "silly" is the wrong word, and the backstory is too long to post here. Short version is that when I travel, my older daughter doesn't like me to be alone and always sends me with 2 of her "friends" to keep me company. I started taking pictures of them at the places I visited and made her a story book. On my trip to Atlanta last week I didn't have a lot of time so I "wished" that the concierge would help me out taking some pictures around the hotel. Not only was he willing to do so, but told me his family does the same thing and their doll has her own Facebook page! The picture below shows the princesses at Bliss Spa in the W Hotel in Mid-town Atlanta. THANK YOU to the wonderful staff there for showing Rachel's princesses such a fun time!

November 10: Gainful employment

Until this week, my job allowed a lot of flexibility in where my work got done. Since we have team members all over the U.S. and around the world, most of our work is virtual to begin with. I enjoyed the great privilege of being able to work from home 2 days/week, which was a true blessing given that my commute to the office is 60 miles each way. This week, though, for a variety of reasons, the overall policy changed and now we are all required to be in the office 5 days/week. This is a huge blow and requires a lot of adjustments not only for me and my team, but for our families. I started out bitter on my drive to work Monday morning (which should have been a "work at home day"). However, I decided to look at it from a different perspective. In today's economy, there are many, many people who would give anything for a job to go to and a paycheck at the end of the week. I have both and for this, I am truly thankful.

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November 11: Our Veterans

I have always felt an overwhelming sense of pride for and gratitude to the men and women who so bravely serve our country. Because of them, I am granted many freedoms that so many people can't imagine. For their service, their sacrifice, their honor and their heroism, words cannot begin to express my thankfulness.

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November 12: My amazing family

I was going to try to stay away from the "cliched" things to be thankful for, but I am just so blessed. Rachel had a school assignment this week to make a Family Coat of Arms to display in her classroom. It had 4 quadrants, and each needed to be decorated with something specific: A picture of the people who live in her house; a picture of where her family originally came from; something her family likes to do together; and something that makes her special. Working on this project together this week, as a family, I am reminded just how blessed I am to have not only a family, but this unique, special, amazing family who, even when times are challenging, can always pull together as one with our love and devotion and commitment to each other.

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November 13: Flexibility and Fun

I said earlier that our work-at-home policy changed and I have to be in the office 5 days/week now. Well, there are some exceptions. Rachel has an early release day from school today and her aftercare program is hosting a Fall Festival for the children and their parents. Today I'm working only in the morning (from home!) then leaving to go spend the afternoon playing games with my favorite redhead. Though I'm sure I'll still check emails this evening, I'm thankful to have the flexibility to take some time and have some fun with one of my favorite people on a random Thursday afternoon.

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What are you thankful for 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

Meet Rachel

I have been blessed with two beautiful little girls. Rachel is the older of the two, and today she turns five. I mentioned in a post last week that I don't have many heroes, but Rachel is one of the few. She inspires me daily with her kindness, her wit, her bravery and her innocence. She makes me want (more than anything!) to be the best mommy I can be, the best me I can be. She puts my life, my work, my stress, my every single action into perspective, and she truly makes my heart smile.

Children are amazing. Life is so different through the eyes of a child, so much better than through my own, I think.

If you have children, take a special, intentional look at them today. Remember how amazing they are, how inspirational they are, and how blessed you are to have them.

To my sweet, beautiful, amazing little Rachel, may your next 95 years be as wonderful as the first five have been, for both of us. Happy, Happy Birthday! And most important of all:

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

Blessings,
Kat

Some days 'ya just forget

Well, my goal was to post every week day, and I even had something lined up for today. Alas, it's after 5:30pm my time and it just occurred to me that I forgot to post it. **sigh**

I could beat myself up over it but instead, I choose to focus on what I did do today:

I remembered to get up this morning - Thankful to be healthy enough to do so.

I remembered to feed my kids breakfast and get them dressed -- Thankful to have enough food and clean clothes to do so.

I kissed the big one goodbye before her dad took her to summer camp -- Thankful to have the best husband I could ever have, that he's the best dad my kids could ever have, that he's actively involved with them, and that my daughter is going to a fun, safe place that she loves when we can't be with her.

I drove the little one to her grandparents' house for the day before going to work -- Thankful that her grandparents are close by, actively involved in my kids' lives, and that I have gainful employment to help pay for the food, the clothes, the summer camp....

All in all, it was a beautiful day, even if I did forget to post. Sometimes it's the little things.

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

Blessings,
Kat