Giving thanks

As the Halloween candy supply starts to diminish (with some help from mom and dad, and a stash ending up in the freezer), it is time to look towards Thanksgiving. November, the month that everything gets a little more dreary, and skies are a little more gloomy, the month where kids have fallen into a boring routine at school, and the newness of the year has worn off, the month that we are supposed give thanks. I think it is great that we are encouraged to focus on our blessings at a time that has a lot of potential for sadness and depression.

In our family, we spend the month visually counting our blessings. One year, we had a tree taped to the wall. We had leaves that we added that each said something we were thankful for. Another year. it was a turkey with feathers. This year, we are doing a paper chain.

I love hearing what my kids are thankful for, from underwear to ice cream to Jesus. I also love reflecting with my husband what we are grateful for. It really brings our family closer together.

We also ask all those who visit our home to add to our tree/turkey/etc.

I'm always sad at the end of the month, to take it down, even though I'm quite excited to see the Christmas stuff go up. I always write down what the kids said that year. It is fun to look back on them.