Give Thanks

My mom made this banner for us last year; it says "give thanks."  I was tempted to hang it up back at the beginning of October, but I wanted to wait until this month and actually talk about gratitude every day.  Have you guys read the gratitude studies?  People who show gratitude are actually happier on the inside, which is just fascinating to me!  (Yes, that's simple-Kristi-talk which doesn't even touch what the studies show, but you've got Google.)

I remember one weekend when we were first married, Jarod came out to Spring to spend the day with us and we ended up at Barnes & Noble.  I picked up a "gratitude journal," because at that time I was looking for some meaning and trying to figure out how to be happy since my job was KILLIN' me and home was a very confusing place--turns out, being married grown-ups wasn't nearly as FUN as dating a fellow undergrad.  (Shocking, right?  I told you before, we were young and dumb.  But in love, thank God for that!)  Anyway...I had read about gratitude journals somewhere, about how just taking time to be grateful for a few good things in your life each day would make a huge difference in your outlook.  So I gave it a shot.  And in true Kristi fashion, when things lined out and quit feeling so bleak, I put it away.  Fast forward a decade, and that same journal sits on my desk every day.  (I found it again a while back and decided to be purposeful about gratitude again.)  Well, it's fallen by the wayside this fall, but it fits in with what I want to focus on with my kids this month--being grateful and giving thanks.  We are so blessed, but I think...no, I know...that we take 99% of our blessings for granted.

When I saw Lynn's Facebook posts this week, I was intrigued--I love to read what other people are thankful for!  Several other people are doing it, as well, and I think it's awesome...you guys give it a try.  I decided to do it here on my blog as we journey toward Thanksgiving Day this month.  We'll see where it goes!  I'm toying with the idea of a neat way to do a gratitude list with my kids each day this month; last year we used a paper leaf banner and wrote something on each leaf.  It was cool, but I'd like to try something different.  Maybe I'll get motivated and have something to show you tomorrow!  :)

For today, back to giving thanks--here are the 4 days in November so far:

1.  I'm thankful for my family, near and far, who make me who I am, good and bad.
2.  I'm thankful for our little house and the life we have here.
3.  I'm thankful for the friends, new and old, who share that life and make it more fun.
4.  I'm thankful for a new day and a chance to work again at getting things right this time.

What are you thankful for today?