Thanksgiving

I love this time of year! I love baking and cooking yummy family recipes, I love getting together with lots of family, looking at all the ads for a great deal, talking about our Christmas wish lists and reminiscing about past holidays. There is always too much food consumed and the kids are really loud all playing together and this year wasn't any different :) We got together with all my sisters and their families at my sister Heidi's house in San Marcos. My folks were at my brother's in Georgia and my step mom and uncle were with my Grandma in the hospital, so it was us girls, our families and my brother-in-law Erik's family was there too. Between us we had a 4mo. old, two 1 yr. olds, two 2yr. olds, and a 4, 6, 8 & 9yr olds, 9 kids in all and 11 adults; it made for a loud, but fun afternoon! In our rush out the door, I didn't think about my camera and left it at home, so I have no pictures of our day :(

On the way down there we started verbally making our Thankful lists and at first the kids said the typical items, like "my family", "my toys", etc... so we talked about really expressing our gratitude for the things were are thankful for and they started to dig a little deeper. It was really fun to hear all the things the kids are thankful for, their little minds are amazing. I thought it was so cute, so I jotted down a few things from each kid I'll share.

Zachary- was thankful that "we can eat together as a family and that my aunts & uncles live close to us so we can drive there to visit."
Gracie- was thankful for "Hands of Mercy, so that all the people who go and work can help out the poor people who need houses." (we've been talking about going on the next build to Mexico)
Hoper- was thankful for "dinner that we all eat together and for family nights"
Grady- was thankful for "Ethan, my best friend"

It is hard in this world we live in, where there is always plenty and most kids hardly want for anything, to teach your kids about truly being thankful and then showing that gratitude. Looking ahead at the coming year, I want to work really hard on having grateful hearts and being content with all the many blessings God has given us.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, spent with the ones you love. Happy leftovers! ;)