Thankful for Thanksgiving

Could there possibly be a better holiday than Thanksgiving?  A whole month of reflecting on how grateful a person is for their blessings followed by the biggest feast of the year?  I absolutely adore Thanksgiving, and here is how we have been celebrating this month...

For Family Home Evening at the beginning of the month, we made a naked turkey and then gave each kid 10 feathers.  We all took a moment and wrote down the many things that we were thankful for and then dressed our turkey.  I thought that 10 feathers per kid might be asking a little much, but my kids are awesome and they had their lists of gratitude done so fast that I couldn't keep up with putting them on the turkey.  I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.

The kids have awesome teachers at school, who have kept them coming home with festive crafts.  Here are some turkeys by Tanner and Ian.  Thank Heavens for wonderful teachers, my kids lucked out!

Charlotte got in on the craft scene too with Mom.  She LOVES painting and especially when it involves painting your body!

Ashlyn started to make a sidewalk chalk turkey, but quickly realized her color pallet was limited, and so came up with this Thanksgiving Peacock instead.  I am just so impressed to see how artistic she is.

The twins had a Thanksgiving feast at school today with the whole third grade.  They made Pilgrim and Indian hats.  I was able to help prepare the feast.  It was quite a site to see over 150 Pilgrims and Indians sitting cross-legged down the hall of the school.  I felt like I had a glimpse of that first Thanksgiving.  It was magical.  When they got home from school they invited Ashlyn's friend, Eriq over to continue the magic in a game of Pilgrims and Indians on the trampoline.

And of course, no holiday is complete without some sort of holiday snaft (snack + craft).  This is what I will be bringing to our Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, among other things.  Thank you Pinterest and how you provide us with unlimited ways to celebrate the holidays.

My top 10 Thankfuls:

1. The Savior and ALL that he has done for me.

2. Family (not just my amazing husband and kids, but also moms, dads, sisters, brothers, in-laws, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and all those that share blood with us that we truly love!)

3.  Temples that make it possible to remain forever with blessing #2!

4.  Modern technology, especially including medicine.

5.  Good health for me and my family.

6.  A job that provides the necessities for our family.

7.  A country that provides us with freedom and the ability to live a comfortable life as we see fit.

8. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the happiness it brings into my life.

9. Education and the opportunities that it has brought to me and my family.

10.  Nature and the beauty it adds to this earth life.

My heart is full of so many more thankfuls.  But I think it call all be summed up into how grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who sees fit to bless me far more abundantly than I will ever deserve.  I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving season full of family, friends, and of course lots of food!

Happy Thanksgiving!