A heart of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is over and everyone is in full Christmas mode, I know.  Yet, here I am taking another pause to remember the ever so important Thanksgiving.  I look at Thanksgiving as the leader of the holiday season, a vital part of the celebrating to follow.  First, we center our hearts on gratitude and thanks and then we walk into the holiday season.  
This work of art was my contribution to Thanksgiving.  I could do this all day long!  Not just eat this lovely tray, but actually make it. This satisfied my creative craving as well as my appetite.  Bonus-everyone else at Thanksgiving seemed to enjoy it too. 

This photo makes me laugh because it's very much "me".  If you sorta know me, or just know me through the blog you might think I'm just super sweet and reserved and I'm actually not.  No one sees my true side more than Brett and wouldn't you know he's the one that took this picture. I was scrolling through my camera afterwards and said "Yep, that looks about right."  Brett gets the delight of seeing my many expressions and dance moves on a daily basis.  Lucky him! :)
I made the meat and cheese tray on a canvas! I simply turned the canvas upside down and then placed parchment paper on top of the canvas and placed the food on top. Worked like a charm!  
Our girl Bouncy, who rarely makes it on the blog.  We've had her since she was a tiny puppy and we adore her.  
We set up the timer and snapped some quick photos of us! 


After our Thanksgiving meal we took a long, long walk on the farm.  The weather was unseasonably warm and it felt so wonderful to stretch my legs and get some exercise outdoors.  This filled my soul up even more than the delicious food.
Lacking the time and light to be outside frequently this year really takes a toll on my body, both physically and mentally.  Can anyone else relate? 

I especially miss walking and wandering with my camera.  I have a date with my camera this weekend for that very reason.  
Us.  
Messy, far from perfect, always learning from each other, still very much in love, US.
Another capture from my camera timer! 

*****If you're coming to my photography class in late January we'll discuss using timers!*****
You can find more information on the class here! 

What are you doing to stay thankful and keep gratitude at the front of your mind this time of year?

I feel like tv and movies and music all make it look as if we should be the merriest/happiest/shiniest/prettiest all. the. time. this time of year and the truth is if you're like me the schedule is more packed than any other time of the year. 

We are keeping up fine, and I'm staying disciplined and hustling when I need to to make sure everyone is where they need to be and fed, clothed, taken care of, and loved on.
But at the end of the day all I feel like doing is sitting by the fire and catching my breath before the next day starts!  Exercise, stretching, and sunshine are just a few of the vital things not making it into my routine regularly enough this season.  While gratitude can't take the place of exercise (duh!) it does do wonders for our stress levels, deep breaths, and energy we're able to pour out to others.  Here's a tiny way Brett and I both said we'd been speaking gratitude/peace over ourselves-giving ourselves the gift of positive self talk.  We're not saying these things out loud but rather in our minds saying a positive phrase over and over. Mine is frequently "I am patient, I am patient, I am patient." 

So again, how are you keeping gratitude and a thankful heart up this season? How are you refilling your tank so that you can keep up with this season?  If you're a believer, how are you keeping Jesus in mind?  The First5 app has been awesome for me to get my bible studies in! 

No comments:

Post a Comment

I've got a new blog! Come see. :)

Room for the Rosy  is my new blog. I hope you'll come see.