Our Thankful Tree

Can you believe just one week from today is Thanksgiving!?!?

With that in mind, we're trying to be intentional about giving thanks. One great way to do that is to work on thinking of things we're thankful for, and putting them somewhere to remind ourselves -- and each other! Last year, I had an idea about cutting out leaf shapes and letting friends and family write things they are thankful, and collecting them in a basket, but... I didn't follow through. So when I saw Kris' idea to do a thankful tree, I knew we had to do it, too!For ours, Kathryn helped me roll out white paper to cover the inside of our front door. We taped it on, then I drew a tree with a brown marker. I filled in the sky with just a little scribble of crayon (which you probably can't see in the photos). Kathryn and I found a few leaves in our yard, and I traced them on construction paper. She helped me cut them out, and we put the blank leaves in one of the baskets I bought in Botswana (love it!). A fine-point Sharpie marker and a roll of clear tape sit nearby.When a "thankful" pops into mind, we grab a paper leaf, write on it, and tape it on our tree. Any guests who come by are required to add to our tree, too.
We have quite a wide variety of thankful things on our tree...Some of our thankful leaves say:

• tea -- the girls and I each have one that says this!
• cheese -- Lindsey
• lots of games -- Kathryn
• our home and everything in it -- me
  
• for being homeschooled -- Kathryn
• our church family -- me
• beds and blankets -- Kathryn
• good health -- me
• Mac [computer] -- Brandon
• colorguard -- Diane (Brandon's girlfriend)
• the perfect girlfriend -- Brandon
• my own bedroom -- Lindsey
• that Jesus died for my sins -- Ken
• chewys, beds, petting, running, and all other stuff -- Lacy the dog
• CLC [Christian Leadership Concepts] group -- Ken
• that I got adopted by the perfect family by God's will -- Lindsey

Lindsey suggested we keep going through Christmas. I would have to find a new place to put or hang our greeting cards, but I think it's a great idea.

What are you thankful for?