A Name and a Blessing

On September 4, 2011 Kathleen Michelle Ladwig was given a name and a blessing by her daddy. This blessing was very special for me because of who she is named after.



Kat gets to be the third generation Kathleen. The first started with Kathleen Hill, or as we know her, Grandma Kitty. When my Grandpa was in WWII the song "I'll Take you Home Again, Kathleen" was a popular song. My Grandpa said he really liked it and it reminded him of home and that he would get to go home again soon. My mom went by Kathleen all through elementary school. About the time of junior high she had shortened it up to go by Kathy. When she was a junior in high school they moved to Pocatello and in my mom's group of friends there was already a Kathy Hill, so she changed it up and began going by Kitty.


When it came to naming me my mom, aka Kathleen the First, did not want to name me Kathleen. My Dad was the one with the idea and insisted that I be named after my Mom. He threatened to repeat a family occurrence. When my Grandma Hill was named her parents could not decide on a name. My great-grandpa wanted her to be called Mable (after an old girlfriend) and my great-grandma wanted her to be called Illene. Well on the day of my grandma's blessing she was blessed....Mable Illene, unbeknown to my great-grandma. So, with my dad threatening a repeat of this incident my mom agreed but insisted that I be called Katie. I have never gone by anything except that.

I have always thought it would be fun to name a daughter after me just like I am named after my mom. It took a little bit of convincing to get Landon to agree, especially to the idea of calling her Kat, but he came around. We hope to have her be known by both Kat and Kathleen, like my sister was known by both Michelle and Shelly.

The middle name of Michelle came from my sister. This was not a debate at all for us. Both Landon and I really wanted to honor my sister by giving our daughter her name for a middle name. My sister's name doesn't really have any big reasoning. Michelle was a popular name at the time that she was born and my parents liked it. It is a very beautiful and classic name that we are happy to use. My niece, Eve, also has Michelle for a middle name.

Kathleen Hill Kunz & Michelle. Mother's Day 1975 & 1995 in front the same tree in my Grandma and Grandpa Kunz's backyard. These two women are to of the most important people in my life. Much of who I am today is because of them. I am honored to name my daughter after them. Landon and I have kind of made a tradition of naming our children after someone we love who has passed on. Michelle fulfilled this "tradition" for us, but when we decided on the name we did not know that it was foreshadowing the death of my mom as well. Sadly, the reality is that my mom will probably not be around for many of the big moments in Kat's life. I am just happy that she will get to know her and hopefully remember what a fantastic woman her Grandma is.

Kat has much to honor in her namesakes. Grandma Kitty is one of the most amazing and motivated people around. She is able to accomplish twice as much as most people and do it all with a smile. My mom lets things roll off of her and forgives easily. She loves with all her heart and has always been my life saver. I fully admit that I am a Mommy's girl and still rely on her to help pick me up when I am down.

Shelly was more Christ-like than many people who attend church every week. While she did not believe in organized religion, she knew what true charity and Christ-like love was and showed that to all. She spoiled her nieces and nephews and then Morgan beyond belief. She was the glue that held our family together, especially the siblings. I have always been grateful for the relationships I have with my brothers and sisters and I have realized that most of that is because of the way that Michelle taught us all to be siblings. She was our example and we could not have asked for a better example.

As the mother to this sweet baby girl I cannot think of a better gift to give my darling little one than to name her after two such remarkable women. I will be the proudest mother ever if my baby girl can grow up to be like the women she is named after. I love these three women more than anything and am so grateful that I can call them all mine.