In the month of February, I am grateful for...
nature and the beauty of the 'largest icicle EVER,'
her infectious laughter,
her ability to turn mere paper into a crown,
that I bit the bullet and bought that overpriced hunk of light up plastic at the circus,
that she has so much 'wonder' left in her... may it never fade,
for letting me take this shot before pulling off his fashion statement from the groomers,
for the iPhone which allows me to capture selfies with my little girl,
and her drawings in the tub when I don't feel like getting out my dslr,
for the movie Frozen that has brought the joy of hearing her sing to a whole new level,
for the fact she 'had enough' outside in the snow before I did,
my husband who never has a 'snow day' + heads out into storms (literally) to provide for his girls,
for her love of cooking that her Daddy nurtures,
for her morning silliness of trying to steal my breakfast as I adjusted camera settings,
for amazing friends who give you unexpected gifts { Facebook recap of 5 years of my life in book form},
for using screen time to learn - in this case the lyrics to Let It Go,
for lazy Saturdays,
and for sleep indented faces on Sunday morning,
for the unexpected capture,
for snow days and someone to look forward to seeing and playing with after I shoveled,
gratitude moment of the month
A little over two years ago, at the I Heart Faces Conference in Dallas, I met two people that would greatly impact the way I viewed the world.
Kelle Hampton, author of Bloom was to be one of the keynote speakers. A photographer whose life was changed in a way she never imagined with the birth of her second daughter, Nella. {And I'd be remiss to not post a link to the trailer of this book. Because the gratitude for human life after seeing the trailer and reading her book is off the charts immeasurable.}
Kelle and I bonded quickly- lost luggage for me and her penchant for shopping had us at Dillard's within 15 minutes of meeting her.
After coming back to the hotel from our quick shopping excursion where the attendees were staying, we both came face to face with Heather Rodriguez, who I previously only 'met' through Facebook as she would write the most prolific feedback on my images. As if she took them herself.
Heather is the type of person who you hang out with and walk away with a 'face ache' from smiling and laughing so much.
Fast friends and the rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward to this past weekend. Heather was hosting Kelle at her home in Syracuse as they both prepared for the Gala at Gigi's Playhouse in Syracuse celebrating the fact that those with down syndrome have a voice. Kelle was to be the keynote speaker, and Heather, a board member of the playhouse, was filming the event.
Yes, it was a 4.5 hour drive. Yes, I had to get back the next day for 'mommy duty.' But I wouldn't miss seeing the two of them together for the world. So I filled up the tank and road tripped.
Our shared 24 hours was filled with goodness. Long talks, sushi, wine/beer, sunshine filled morning coffee, playing with the kiddos... it was like cramming a week into a day.
And it was glorious.
And for them and that time, I am most grateful.
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Want to join in on my project: gratitude focus for 2014? Hop over to the public Facebook page and feel free to post.
We love to share what others are grateful for as well over there.
To gain perspective and remind ourselves no matter what is going on in life, we. are. grateful.
