Blessings Leaf Garland

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I have been reflecting on all that I have to be thankful for. There are the big things like God loving little 'ol me with such an all encompassing, unfathomable love. The fact that He saw fit to put me in the family I have, in the country I am in, and at the time I live in. The beautiful home that we've been blessed with that is warm, cozy and comfortable. The food that I'm able to put on the table each night as my family gathers together for dinner.

Then there are the little things that are not to be forgotten. The changing leaves, and the crisp air that greets Grayson and I on our morning walks. The arrival of red Starbucks cups that signal the beginning of the holiday season (See, not everything I'm thankful for is deeply profound). The way my son giggles when I kiss his neck and tickle his toes.

God has given us much to be thankful for, and in this season I don't want to forget all of the big and little gifts.

Ever since I was a little girl my family has kept a Thanksgiving container which is really an old Pringles jar covered in pretty paper. Each year we write on slips of paper things we're thankful for, then we sit around the Thanksgiving dinner table and read all of the slips of paper. It is a tradition that I look forward to every year.

This year I decided that I didn't want to save that moment for that one day, but I want to remember my blessings throughout the month. So I made a leaf garland that I've hung in our family room. We will write our blessings (big and small) on the leaves, and each year we'll add to it until the leaves are covered in thankfulness.

I cut out the leaves from fall colored paper using this template among others. I added paint chips, ribbons, book page and hymnal leaves, and simply sewed them together in one long garland.

I love how it turned out, and I love the reminder it will serve for years to come of all we have to be thankful for.