Thankful

Although I consider the real Thanksgiving to be in October, we still celebrated the other Thanksgiving...you know, the American one :)  

We started off our celebrations at the beginning of November with a "Thankful Jar".  Every night after dinner we would each write something we were thankful for on a piece of paper.  By the end of the month our jar looked like this...

Kai was very thankful for things like "my friend Ellie", "my bike", "our hike", "strawberries", "mountains", and "paper because I like paper".

Then, on Thanksgiving weekend, Bryon's parents flew out to visit us and enjoy some lovely Portland rain :)

On Thursday we got to cheer Bryon on in the neighborhood turkey bowl.

And, enjoy some time at the park before Thanksgiving dinner.

On Friday we went to the zoo.

On Saturday we went to Multnomah Falls.

And on Sunday Bryon finally let us kick off the Christmas season and we went to pick out our Christmas tree.

Kai thought the best part was yelling "Timber!"

Thanks Papa and Gramma for a fun visit!

It's taken me almost a month to get around to posting about our Thanksgiving, but the events of this past week in Newtown, CT have reminded me of thankfulness.  My temperamental oven, the stubbornness of my 3 year old, the never-ending pile of laundry, all no longer seem like a big deal.  As we mourn lives lost, weep with family members left behind, and cringe at the evil in this world, I am reminded yet again to be thankful in each moment I am given.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those left in the wake of this tragedy.