11.18.2011

Simple Friday: Graditude and a Tree

 Hello friends!! I'm not sure about you, but we are having the best mid November weather ever.  It was 65 degrees today and let me tell you I was out there soaking up as much vitamin D as I could.  I even got a mile of walking in with short sleeves on, again it's mid November....grateful today for the weather.

Speaking of being grateful, I wanted to show you my Thankful Tree I threw together for my table in the foyer.  I love thinking about and writing it down what we are thankful for and not just at Thanksgiving, all the time. The tree is full of little tags now, this picture was taken awhile ago.



Here's my inspiration for my Thankful Tree done by Cassie at Hi Sugarplum. I absolutely love the
yellow branches she used, it's gorgeous. I guess I did copy a little, but put my own creativity into it.
I found this Thanksgiving Subway art here.


This sums it up, doesn't it?

We've make it a tradition in our family to always "give back' and help others in need. This year we
joined hands with Samaritan's Purse through our church to pack shoe boxes. These are sent out to
 hurting children throughout the world who won't receive anything for Christmas.

My 9 year old packed one for a girl this year.  It has headbands, socks, toothbrush/paste,
small stuffed animal, hard candy, and a New Testament bible.  She loved putting it all together along with gentle reminders from me about how blessed we are and to imagine being in these children's shoes.  Humility, it's never to early to teach this virtue to our children.

Her girly box has headbands, socks, toothbrush/paste,
small stuffed animal, hard candy, and a New Testament bible.


My 12 yr old packed a box for a boy between the ages of 5 to 9 years of age. She wanted to be sure it had a ball in there and an etch a sketch with a personal message from her saying "God loves you!"  It's amazing how much you can give without spending a ton, thank goodness for the Dollar Tree.

So the boxes are done, closed up and somehow Layla has to be the center of attention...
she just looks at me like "what, what's the problem?" 

Thank you for stopping by. I'm gearing up for the holidays, how about you? 


9 comments:

  1. Love the thankful tree. I think the leaves are a pretty touch! Happy weekend!!

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  2. Hey Andrea!

    The last couple of weeks have really gotten away from me... but I'm so happy to have a chance to visit you today! I love your Thankful tree- your are right - it's so important to be grateful for what we have than dwell on what we don't. I love the care boxes your girls put together- what great messages!

    We've had an amazing November as well, and I'm going to try to get all my Christmas shopping done by December 1st. We've already had Thanksgiving (Canadian) and so I hope your family has a wonderful holiday! Happy weekend! ~Yvonne

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  3. Really does not get much sweeter than that! Such a nice tradition to teach your children. Thanks so much for sharing with my newbie party. Please add my ling too so that others know about it too. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

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  4. Andrea, what a great blog you have! Love the Thankful Tree...so inspirational! I am now your newest follower, via the newbie party. I hope you will follow me, too! Many blessings to you!

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  5. visiting from Debbiedoos- what a fun tree! love the matching framed word art in the display too :)

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  6. I love your Thankful Tree and the Thanksgiving Subway Art.
    What a nice tradition you have and are teaching your girls to help others in need.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I emailed you about my table redo. Let me know if you have any other questions.
    Have a Happy Thanksgiving
    Barb

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  7. I like your Thankful Tree and it's a wonderful tradition to pass on. Thanks for sharing. I'm your new follower, please drop by for a visit when you can.

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  8. I love Operation Christmas Child...what a simple way of making a big difference! Thanks so much for following Hating Martha...happy to do the same on your great blog!

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  9. Love the Thankful Tree! Our family is doing one as well!! Thankful Time is my FAVORITE time of day!! Hopped over from Debbiedoo's Newbie Party!!

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I appreciate your comments. I love interacting so please let me know your thoughts. Thanks for hanging with me