Gratitude Rundown

Welp, it's that time of year again when we put up our Thanksgiving or "Gratitude Tree". I put it up the Monday after Halloween and that night for Family Home Evening the message was the story of the 10 Lepers (and always is for the Gratitude Tree activity). 

Then after the kids each got 8 leaves to write things they are especially thankful for this year.

We made a new rule this year though that you can't write down something that someone has already written down. To make it easier on the younger kids I let them go first.

I took a picture of 1-2 things that each child had written down of the 8 they were given because I like to remember ...well, and it's awfully entertaining.

KELLYN

I'm glad she went first because I was worried someone was going to take her's.....

whatever she wrote.

ROYCE

Royce didn't understand "What are you grateful for?" So I asked him the question, "What are you favorite things?" and he told me things like his blankey, the corner on his blankey, pizza, baseball, ice-cream, McDonald's......you know, the essentials. But my FAVORITE he told me to write down was this:

"What is QT?" you ask? Only the thing he thanks Heavenly Father for in EVERY one of his prayers! (without FAIL!!)  Only the place he begs to go everyday! Only the coolest ...

GAS STATION IN TOWN!!!!

We didn't know such a classy and AWESOME gas station existed until we moved here. (Did I just say "classy" and "awesome" and "gas station" in the same sentence?!?!? Oh yea, I did.)

Let's just say if you have NEVER been in one, you are missing out on the cheapest, most variety and better-then-slurpees slushies around.

IRIS

She continued on with some of the essentials like "tag", chips, chocolate milk with the surprising addition of "school" since it's hard enough to peel her off the sheets in the morning. 

Oh, and this:

"Cake". Duh. How could she have forgotten that?!?!?

With most of the "good" ones taken it's going to be harder and harder for the older ones to think of the "un-takens" for SURE!!!

Aleeya

She came through for me in writing down Church though

I decided NOT to bring up that the VERY day before she was bawling because she didn't want to go to church that Sunday. Benefits of short-term memory I guess.

Aleeya DID stick to the crucial things though: Thanksgiving, food, water, earth, mangoes, kiwis.

Her last one was my favorite though.....it just describes Aleeya in ways I just can't.

She wrote down...

That girl's confidence never lacks.

Emerson

Since our high-class-ness has already been shown in the gas station-fettish and McDonalds being listed, I will NOT be embarrassed that Emerson put this on the tree.

Because it's true. I too am SUPER grateful for Kmart.

Camden

My favorite of Camden's is pretty typical of him and the first one he quickly wrote down:

Climbing Trees.

Bronson

The one that warmed my heart from his leaves was this one:

His siblings. How nice to know he isn't tired of them because I rely on him a ton. They all look up to him and Kellyn prefers him (or Camden) to put her to bed at night. She will jump out of my arms to have her older brothers put her to bed instead. Bronson is so good at watching them and can calm the crying Everly down easy when he takes her out at church.

And because Brooks and I are such saps I put our two side-by-side:

So sweet huh. Or is it? The fact that 7 of my children filled out their leaves before and no one wrote down our names?....hmmmm.....if I'm going to be after something I'm okay with it being after QT.

Brooks and I both wrote down things like washer and dryer, dishwasher, car and things that just make our lives so convienent nowadays. We are so spoiled living at this time...and it's NOT just because I'm reading books based in the 1800s and what they had to do daily....okay, okay, it kinda is. But I'm STILL so thankful to be living now.

On top of those conveniences it was a no-brainer for me to put down books and....

for obvious reasons!

Oh yea, I also wrote down something I'm BEYOND thankful for and truly am grateful for MULTIPLE times during the day. Because without this, I would have to confront the 2 (or 3!!!) of my least favorite things of my kids' many many times.

You have no idea how grateful I am for those.