Our Thankful Tree

As the Thanksgiving season approaches, my deepest desire for my family is that we are filled with hearts of gratitude.  While I do love turkey and mashed potatoes, there’s so much more to Thanksgiving than that. 

It's easy to forget as we get into the hustle and bustle of the holidays and

I want more than anything for my kids to realize just how blessed they/we really are.

More importantly, I want them to remember WHO those blessings are from.

One simple way we are attempting to do just that is with our "Thankful Tree". We made one last year too, but I think I waited to the week of Thanksgiving to get it done. This year, I tried to start a little earlier.

I had three adorable little helpers assisting me in our project.

From the gathering of the sticks, to the painting of the leaves, the "sweet three" helped me do it all;)

 After their masterpiece was dry, 

I cut out all our leaves, but they helped me by punching holes in each one.

Every night, after dinner is over, the kids grab a leaf and write down one thing they are thankful for that day and hang it on the tree.

Our tree is quickly filling up with reasons to be thankful...

 and so are our hearts;)

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence a gift of grace.”

~Thomas Merton~