Giving Thanks!

So much hustle & bustle this time of year! We’re all coming down from the Halloween sugar hangover, and gearing up for Thanksgiving & Christmas! I feel like this time of year, my love for lists REALLY kicks in!

Lists for what foods I’m bringing to all the different Thanksgivings we attend, lists for Christmas shopping for all our family & friends, lists for keeping my sanity, lists of names & addresses for our Christmas cards & of course, the list for my usual daily to-dos. While I secretly (or not-so-secretly) LOVE making lists & proudly checking things off once I’ve completed them, it’s easy for me to laser focus on all of the things I HAVE to get done.

In order to take a step back & slow down a tad, Jordan and I have a tradition we started way back when we were dating. Each November we compile an ongoing list. This one doesn’t include what items we need to bring to my family’s Thanksgiving, or what toys we’re getting our nieces and nephews to wrap & stick under the twinkling tree, rather it’s a list of what we’re thankful for.

Each day for the entire month of November, we write down one thing we’re thankful for. It may sound silly, but it is so powerful. When we started this tradition, we would just say them aloud, but I love that we’ve made a point to put pen to paper & WRITE them down. It’s so fun to flip through our previous entries from years ago & seeing the picture it paints. Some of them are happy, some of them are bittersweet.

The year my Grammy died, a lot of my thankful notes were about family, specifically the memories I had with her. The year that we got married, a lot of our entries were about starting this new chapter of our lives together & all the unknowns. Last year, when we were brand-spankin’ new parents, our thankful notes were about getting 3 hours of straight sleep or seeing Quincy smile for the first time. As we move through each season of life, a lot of what we’re thankful for will change, but there’s always those handfuls of constants.

Our faith, family & friends.

Something to note, not every entry is serious & loaded with deep, heavy meaning. EVERY year, I’ll write down how thankful I am for Jordan’s butt. It’s a GREAT butt & I want to give thanks to the good Lord for creating it! All in all, we have SO much to be thankful for & I love knowing that I’ll have these journals to share with my kids & when they’re old enough, have them join in with us. I can already see them rolling their eyes when they read all the thanks I give for their dad’s behind.

To kick things off, I want to share with you what Jordan and I wrote down for today!