Thankful

Have you ever thought about the word Thankful and it's meaning?  The teacher in me knows that to thank means to show gratitude or appreciation and the suffix -ful means full of,  so by definition, thankful means to be full of gratitude and appreciation.  Here is Webster's definition #1 of the word Thankful--  conscious of benefit received.  I like this.  In my mind, it's a fancy way of saying counting your blessings.  Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about??  A day set aside to be conscious of all the benefits (blessings) we have received?  Most definitely!! 

We had a great Thanksgiving!  We had something especially wonderful to be thankful for this year and that was having little Ella sitting at the table enjoying Thanksgiving with us.  What a true blessing.  We spent Thanksgiving in Dublin with Brent's parents.  Ella had a wonderful time playing with her Mimi and Papa and eating lots of delicious food.  She literally devoured her Thanksgiving dinner that consisted of turkey, dressing, squash casserole, peas, and a roll...I may be leaving something out... it was a lot.  To top it off Mimi fed her some of her famous blueberry crunch cake with ice cream (her favorite treat) for dessert.  She ate until she literally laid her head in her hand and sighed.  It was hysterical...see pictures below.  What an amazing experience to watch Ella discover the joy of Thanksgiving.  I don't think I've ever enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner more--she was hilarious!  Oh yeah...disclaimer...why is she in a pumpkin dress on Thanksgiving you ask??  Well...she was sick all of October and never got to wear the dress because the doctor banned her from school and the church nursery and other kids--and as many of you know, smocked dresses aren't cheap.  So I made a "thrifty" spending choice to have her use the pumpkin dress for Thanksgiving...I mean pumpkins symbolize the entire fall season, right??  Anyway, she was our Little Pumpkin on Thanksgiving and it saved us a pretty penny!  I thought she looked adorable.

We are blessed with so many things...Ella, each other, health, a roof over our heads, a reliable job, reliable cars, health insurance, clothes, food, the ability to provide a happy life for Ella, a wonderful family that loves all three of us...and so much more.  So, we are THANKFUL, so very thankful each and every day for this wonderful life.  We couldn't imagine anything better.  Don't get me wrong, our life isn't perfect and I'd never want anyone to think I am trying to portray my family that way on this blog.  There are many bumps in the road, elements of surprise and stress...but that seems insignificant at the end of the day because we have each other and love each other unconditionally.  So we are far from perfect, but even when things get choppy, this life is perfect for us.  

So, I started thinking, shouldn't you be thankful everyday...after all the Bible tells us to have Thanksgiving in our hearts...I'm pretty sure God didn't mean only on the fourth Thursday of November!! This spurred me to set a personal goal to show God my gratitude everyday just like I do on Thanksgiving.  I'm hoping this prompts me to be a better, more appreciative and grateful person :)  Happy Belated Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for each and everyone one of you that reads this!! 

eating

I'm stuffed...

I mean, really stuffed

Fun with Mimi at the table

Standing by my Papa

I love my Mimi and Papa