Thankful Trees

This year we started a new family tradition. Through the month of November we write things we are thankful for on strips of paper and we put them in our Thankful Box. Then in December we make a chain out of the strips of thankful papers. We decorate our thankful tree (this year we are decorating 3 mini alpine trees with our chain) and on the end of the chain is a picture of Christ. All the things we are thankful for anchor us to Christ because He created the earth and made it possible to return to live with Heavenly Father someday. Next year we will come up with some rules for our strips of paper. I don’t like the idea of limiting writing the things that we are thankful for but it has become apparent that Abby needs a limit to her strips of paper. She really caught the vision this year and when others wanted to write what they were thankful for, often the strips were all out and I had to make new ones because Abby had filled them all and put them in the box. She is a very thankful girl and I am so glad that she feels gratitude for so much. In the month of November, Aunt Mindy died, so we felt a deep sense of gratitude in our hearts when writing things pertaining to the knowledge we have of all that our Savior has done for us. These are the things that were written on our word strips this year.

Rob- the gospel, Rachel and the kids, Hayden’s sense of humor, my sweet daughter Abby and all her sweetness, I am thankful Bastian says, “excuse me,” after passing gas every 10 seconds, the tornado called Weston and all his cat sounds.

Rachel-the feeling of love, laughter, health, Malinda Larie Wadley, Heavenly Father’s plan, kind and loving friends who comforted me when my sister passed away, Robert Anthony LeBaron, my sweet children, Jesus Christ, my parents, motherhood, Primary, washing machines, the great men and women in my ward.

Hayden-temple, Christmas, prayer, steak, gravy, family, chicken, Sprite, Jacob (Olson), Fablehaven, Nintendo DS, church, water, potatoes, Trenton (Teasdale), houses, trampolines, k’nex, life, pizza, cars.

Abby-feelings, houses/home, video games, trains, storage, decoracions (decorations), Heavenly Father and Jesses (Jesus), life, plants, church, world, my family, safty (safety), money, Philo T. Farnsworth, school, my pink blanky, food and water, couches, pigs, pets, veaiaculs (vehicles), compeny (company), memery (memory), jobs, cities and towns, thankfulness, cars, airplanes, maps or gloabs (globes), islands, freedom, bandaids, paint, books, wood, nacher (nature), lether (leather), rags, medasen (medicine), scriptures, friends, elactrisity (electricity), plastic, diccionary (dictionary), math, time, shapes, Aunt Mindy, shoes, trees, feet, Novoo Temple (Nauvoo), resaurekshin (resurrection), prophets, stores, fabric (fabric), words, trust, rocks, chosecies (choices),voieses (voices), body, beds, family members, colors, pjs, prayer, Santa Claus and Christmas, weather, sheep, places, Haeven (heaven), objecs (objects), boxes, mateireyal (material), manners, people, bags, Holy Ghost, Temple, docters (doctors), Snowflake Bentley (a man who studied snow flakes), Heavenly Father’s plan, cell phones, prophets, mountains, that we exist.

Bastian- hous (house), Jeesas (Jesus), food and wodr (water), I’m thankful for cows, flowrs (flowers), Aunt Christa (Krista), N-strike Long Shot, beatiuful day (beautiful), for sheep, cousins, whole world, our house, the weather, my whole family, Aunt Mindy gets to be on earth again.

Weston-toys, mom, dad, Jumping Jacks, Hayden, I’m thankful for trains, Bastian, Abby, shows, Isaac, trains (for the 2nd time).

We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

Decorating for Christmas

I put up our Christmas decorations later than I planned to due to my sister Mindy’s passing away. It was fun to bring out all the sparkly, shimmery, shiny, and nostalgic trimmings and also many new ones that I bought at after Christmas sales last year. I had forgotten about many of them. It took me hours and days to decorate but it looks beautiful…and quite magical. I had more ornaments that I could’ve put up, but I was tired and put them back in their boxes. Maybe I’ll do more next year.

Over the past few years a tradition has evolved in regards to our front room Christmas tree. I have received and collected several interesting ornaments that I hang on the tree and we play "I spy" with the ornaments. It has become an "I spy" tree. Some decorations that we spy are a tiger, a yellow lab, a chocolate milk shake, a snowman family, a clear star, a nativity, a picture of Jesus, a french horn, a cob of corn, a bird in a nest, a star fish, a rocking horse, an elf, and more. I like to look in stores and find things that are interesting to put on our "I spy" tree.