Thankfulness

I had meant to blog about this when we did it last week but didn't get around to it. Thanks to Farrah for reminding me! Last year I went over to my friend Heather's house and saw that she had a Thanksgiving tree that she did with her (then) almost 3 year old daughter. I loved the concept and loved it especially much because at that time I had such a desire of my own to do those things with Anne but she was just too small still. (Barely 18 months) So this year, the Thanksgiving tree was something I wanted to make sure I did with her. I sat her down and talked to her about what it means to be thankful. I wasn't sure how to explain it to her so I said that being thankful is sort of the same as being happy, and then used a few examples: "Are you happy you have Ducky? Then that means you are thankful for him." "Are you happy you go to church? Then that means you are thankful for it." She didn't get it entirely and in true Anne form, she didn't participate too much in the tree, but she did come up with a few things. She actually said she was thankful for the outside and there were a few other things too that I can't remember right now. I put down everything I knew she was thankful for: toys, ducky, mommy and daddy, Winnie and Elanor, etc. And for the rest I picked things we were thankful for as a family. (John was at work didn't do this one with us.) But I made Anne sit with me the whole time and we talked about everything I had written down. It was actually a really really good experience. I know that Anne didn't get it and that's ok. She was still able to participate and that was good. But I think the good thing was that every single year, I am determined to make the Holidays more than just getting together, eating, and presents and every year I walk away and feel like I haven't done anything at all. The Thanksgiving tree at least allowed me to sit for a minute and think about the things I am truly thankful for and I think I came just a baby step closer to making the Holiday more meaningful.

Some of the things on the tree that I wanted to mention are:
-We are thankful that we have a Mommy and Daddy who love each other-not just a mommy and a daddy but ones that get along, enjoy each other and create a good environment for our child(ren) together.
-We are thankful that we are Saved by Grace-that God in His goodness gave us the free gift of salvation through His Son, even though we did nothing at all of worthiness to deserve it.
-We are thankful for Christ's life and "imputed righteousness" (John-who is really into theology especially liked this one)-that means we are thankful that Christ lived a perfect life and because we have accepted Him as our Savior, God now views us as perfect-as having never sinned, as having wiped our sins away. What a glorious reason to be thankful! Thank you Lord!

And some other cute ones:
-We are thankful we get to go workout
-We are thankful we do fun things together as a family

It was a really good experience-so thanks Heather for being the one to spark it for us!