Give Thanks....

Gratitude can transform ordinary days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.

William Arthur Ward

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home,  a stranger into a friend.

Melody Beattie

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earn, worn, or consumed.  Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

Denis Waitley

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

Brian Tracy

As we begin one of my favorite weeks of the year I thought I would share a little bit of something that has been happening in my life. I have been on a journey that past few months, making changes, lots of changes and one of the changes I have been working on is trying to have gratitude for everything....everything!  I am trying  to have gratitude for everything, even the stuff I don't like to do, like laundry, emptying the dish washer (my most unfavorite job), taking out the trash, you get the idea.  Here is what it looks like for me.  I dislike emptying the dish washer, but I am so grateful to have a dish washer...It may seem silly or small, however, the change in my attitude and how I feel and view my life has been amazing. Gratitude is a noun and means the quality of of being grateful or thankful.  Many of you may practice this daily, and I have always felt  grateful in general, however, I have not applied this practice of  feeling grateful to the ins and outs of my daily life and it has been a game changer for me.  I just wish it didn't take me so long to figure out!

So, what does this have to do with the pictures you are asking yourself.?  I host our annual Thanksgiving celebration and am adding a new tradition...The Thankful Tree.  We all get a leaf to write a personal thanksgiving on and we will attach the leaves to the tree.  I know some teenage boys may give me a hard time, but if they want some turkey they will fill out their leaf (just kidding), and if the boys don't want to participate I know two small girls who can't wait to get their hands on those leaves and Sharpies.  Hopefully, this will be just another part of a special week and a reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.

PS: So "grateful"  I grabbed those branches out of the yard before  2 feet of snow covered us yesterday and turned our beautiful Fall into a Winter wonderland!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!