I cannot imagine not celebrating Thanksgiving. Wherever we go, I know we'll celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with others whether they are Americans or not...and maybe moreso if they're not, because I think it's important for all Christians to set aside time to reflect and celebrate how God has blessed our lives.
Today, in addition to sharing the blessings I've experienced in the past week, I also wanted to share some Thanksgiving traditions that have evolved in our family...and tell you about a new one! As Charlotte gets older and as we have more children, I'm sure other traditions will be added...but always pointing us towards thanks to God.
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| Our Thanksgiving Journal |
The first year Brendan and I were married we began a Thanksgiving Journal. I found a simple kraft journal at Barnes & Noble and decorated it a bit. Each year we include a picture of all the people we gathered with on Thanksgiving Day and then give everyone the opportunity to write down what they are thankful for that year. I love having this record of thanks. It's so simple, yet such an important part of our Thanksgiving celebration.
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| Inside look at the journal |
Our second Thanksgiving tradition is one that many families are familiar with...but associate it with a different holiday! We send out a Thanksgiving card and letter every year instead of a Christmas card. We love the chance to share what we are thankful for with our family and friends. This year, we're taking that tradition a step further...
On our blog Thanksgiving Day, we're asking all our family & friends to join us in a Thanksgiving Celebration - a celebration of gratitude! Brendan and I are going to post some of the ways God has blessed us this past year, and we'd like to invite you to do the same. If you have a blog, you can write a gratitude post of your own and leave a comment with the link to that post - OR - if you don't have a blog, just leave a comment on our blog telling us and others about how God has blessed you & your family this year!
We're excited to invite others to join us in gratitude to our Lord this Thanksgiving! And we hope this becomes a new Thanksgiving tradition!
My continued counting of everyday graces...
543. flat horizons as far as the eye can see
544. autumn colors in the Texas sunset
545. Little Girl's attempts at words
546. relief from allergies
547. Charlotte "talking" to 2 little friends on Skype
548. Charlotte spending time with her Papa & Popo - free time for Mama! :)
549. fun ladies shopping day
550. beginning to really communicate with my 13 month-old daughter
551. my parents' hospitality & generosity as they've welcomed us into their home for 2 months
552. hearinng Baby Girl whisper "be-be" during the night - in her sleep? :)
553. flocks of migrating birds
554. Charlotte running to her daddy at the airport
555. the end of a too-long time apart from my husband
556. watching Charlotte show off for her daddy
There have been some days when I get pulled down by depression by some events that have happened in our life in the last 2 1/2 years. Usually it lasts for a short while and something or someone will snap me back to reality and the present instead of the past. Last night was one of those times times when my thoughts were just taken back to things that I could never change. I was sitting outside watching my 3 year old play with her friends and I saw her introducing her neighbor friend to her other neighbor friend. Of course they already knew each other but it made me smile to see my daughter being polite. She said "Lesly this is my best friend who lives right over there and this is my Lesly." Then another thing happened, her little friend called her "poopie". She cried and when I asked her what was wrong she said he had "hurt her feelings". That night as she was going to bed she told her stuffed animal (mimi) that Tyson had called her a poopie and he had hurt her feelings and her heart and that Jesus didn't like that. I was blown away at how this is the little girl God gave me. All this to say, I have been thinking about all the things I am thankful for instead of dwelling at the things I don't have. I do love Thanksgiving because it makes you realize how much God has given you. Thank you for this post and I will be writing my own Thanksgiving gratitude post soon.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post Anne! I still remember the first Thanksgiving I spent with Brendan and your family in Houston :)
ReplyDeleteI wish our families a wonderful Thanksgiving and so thankful that they get to come together in Plains. :)
Ann, I love the idea of the Thanksgiving Journal! What a sweet tradition to look back on over the years.
ReplyDeletePs - Last week Billy told me you were moving to Hong Kong. I said, "SEE, I TOLD you Brendan was in the CIA!" I got your letter yesterday and laughed out loud at your comment about Brendan's job.... I'm still suspicious ;)