20ish Days of Thanks

This year, we jumped on the bandwagon for the month of November and came up with a little family version of 30 19-26ish Days of Thanks. It started out with great intentions, but like most things around here, the follow-through was pretty meh. We missed a night here and there, caught up sporadically, went on vacation (more on that soon), and eventually just let the last few days go. I also planned on having us cut out numbered slips of paper each night to put in our Thankful Basket, but scissors, bedtime, and strong-willed children don't exactly mix well, as we discovered after a few rounds. So we just wrote it all out on our half-cut papers, which made it easier to keep track of the things we'd already written and avoid duplicates (because mommy brain).

Marie's own creation

But for all our lack of effort, the message still got through to the kids; they quickly started coming up with there own reasons to be thankful each night, and (in Marie's case) even snuck upstairs unprompted to write down a sweet thankful thought of the day that melted our hearts. The things they dreamed up were a great combination of funny, random, sweet, and profound. And they reaveled a great deal about each of their personalities. So, in no particular order, here are our lists:



Me:

• Getting to be a SAHM
• Our incredible marriage
• Health/NFP knowledge
• My 3-mile radius with everything I need
• Advil

  

  Not only is it upstairs, it
  babysits, too!
  (Note Spiderman's presence).

• Grocery store car carts
• Teachers & therapists who care about my kids
• My relationship with my mom
• Safety from natural disasters
• Getting to coach gymnastics
• Stunning Rocky mountain views 
• My faith
• Those who have fought & died for our country
• Healthcare that I can choose/that aligns with my values, and the insurace coverage that allows us to afford it
• Reliable transportation
• Technology
• All the memories made & years spent with my grandmother
• Gorgeous CO parks filled with God's amazing creation that are perfect for quality family time
• Upstairs laundry
• Strong relationships with my family (mom, dad, brother, sister)
• Nice neighbors
• The means to travel and spend Thanksgiving with extended family
• Good books

Marie:

• PJs
• Nice big house
• Mom and Dad
• My flower blue dress
• My bones PJs
• The Broncos
• My school
• Money
• Piggy Bank
• My guardian angel
• Grandma & Aunt Chica
• My bed and furniture
• The colors light purple and light pink
• Tinkerbell
• Hello Kitty
• Holly (a friend from school)
• Visiting Grandma, Yabba, and Aunt Chica at Thanksgiving
• Auntie Beej & Jamie (her great aunt & cousin who she loved being silly with at Thanksgiving)
• Santa & Elfie (our Elf on the Shelf)
• My desk
• George the turtle (pet turtle belonging to her great aunt and cousin...she bonded so closely with him in the two days we were at their house that she cried when she had to leave him)

Erik (with a few copied from big sister):

• Spiderman
• A bed
• "I love you" (said to Mommy)
• Hot dog buns
• cupcakes
• My birthday Spiderman case
• Bones PJs
• Pizza, pizza sauce, and cheese
• Potatoes
• Family Olympics (Daddy set up a little competition one night that involved a long jump and relay races, complete with a baton handoff. Talk about Family Circus.)
• Volcanoes
• Carrots
• Guardian Angel
• Movies
• Books
• Gran & Grandad
• Noses for smelling
• George the turtle
• My snow Crocs (fleece-lined Crocs; he begged me for weeks to get him some)

Ethan:
Let it be known that everything listed below actually came out of this kid's mouth. We asked him either "what are you thankful for?" or "what do you like?" and these are the things he rattled off without hesitation:

• Elmo
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Chocolate Milk
• Thomas the Train
• Ham
• Erik's piggy bank (guess we should get Ethan his own...)
• Cars
• Dinosaurs
• Sleepies
• My bowtie

• Daddy
• Airplanes
• Bailey's House (said woefully the day that big sister went to her friend's house and he didn't get to go)
• Hiking
• Gran & Grandad
• Riding the train
• "LMNOP"
• My "stroll-der"
• Oatmeal
• Beej & Jamie (Great aunt & cousin)
• Marie

Peter had a good list going too, but I'm being a nice wifey (<--that made the list!) and respecting his privacy. Let's just say that the things that made the cut were alternately endearing and snort-worthy. I'd expect nothing less!

Hope your month was just as full of blessings and gratitude!