an attitude {of gratitude}

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I sat down to write about things I am thankful for and realized this was going to take me a lot longer than I thought, plus I am very busy burning two Thanksgiving pies right now, so I'm sure I won't be able to finish here before something in the kitchen needs my attention. But in all seriousness, there are lots of things I am thankful for this year.

I am so thankful for our family. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles (cousins too!) who just spoil our kids silly with LOVE, and are always sharing enduring memories with us. For our three girls, I can't feel anything except gratitude. Joy just spills out of them {sometimes without explanation, and most often when someone in the room is trying to do something that requires quiet} and for that I could not be more grateful. Joy in the simplest things. It is very refreshing. Alyssa was writing thank you cards for the birthday gifts she received, and I looked over her shoulder to see her writing: "Thank you for the gift card, I hope to buy a platter of cheese. Yummy!" ( I won't say who the card is to, I'll let that be a surprise in a few days when you get the card in the mail.) It was funny though, and a reminder to be thankful for all the small stuff ~ like cheese!

I appreciate all the funny things the girls say when they are not even trying to be funny. Lately, Rebekah wants to bathe 3-4 times each day. She'll come up to me, knowing full well she's already had a bath, and she'll bat her big brown eyes and say, "I think I need a soothing bath." Of course she does. We were also trying to get her to try a new food recently (sorry, I can't even remember right now what it was) and Dave got her to take a small bite. Initially she was pleased, "This is yum," she said all surprised. Then she stopped chewing and politely spit it out, "With a little bit of yuck!" She wasn't trying to make us laugh in either situation, she was just being her little self, so honest, even in her attempts to spit out food she doesn't like or get something she knows she doesn't need.

One of the things I am most thankful for the girls' pure faith, the impact this faith has had on them, and all the people that have contributed to it. I was holding Emma the other night during worship and she had a huge bear hug around my neck as we were singing. Suddenly out of her mouth flowed the perfect chorus: "How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be--How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me." I was thinking to myself wow, she knows that song? and not just knows it, but sings it like that? What an amazing thing to come before Him, so simply, so grateful for His love. I am thankful.

Last week I heard a list of about half a dozen questions, that if you could answer "yes" to them, you were in the top 5% of the wealthiest people in the world. The questions rolled by me so quickly that I wasn't able to get them all, but the ones that stood out were: Do you have a house? Do you have access to clean drinking water? Do you know where your next meal will come from? Do you have a bank account? {just have one, not one with a certain amount of money in it :) } I was struck that answering yes to these things alone could constitute wealth. It made me think about the simple things that I take for granted. I have much to be thankful for, much more than I could write about in one short post. And if you're still reading this: Thank You :-)

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!