We're starting a couple of new Thanksgiving/November traditions this year at our house that I hope will continue for years to come... or at least through our first try! A quote that I read somewhere that has always stood out to me because of it's overwhelming truth in my own life and memories is "The cornerstone of your child's memories of their own childhood will revolve around holiday traditions and family vacations." That is SO true in my life. Which is why I think traditions are so important to me. And why I'm obsessed with them and love passing them along (new and old) to my kids.
Soooo, after Halloween came and went and we were left with tons of candy and a 3 year old who wanted to consume it all within 2 days, I decided to "control" the candy while putting it to good use. Which means I kind of stole ideas from various blogs and added my own little tweaks so it would work for us. And what I came up with was our first ever "Thanksgiving Project". It's sort of like an advent calendar and countdown to Thanksgiving. Sort of. Everyday (or almost everyday) I've been asking Garrison what he's thankful for and writing it down... so that I can keep it and frame it or add it to a binder or something year after year. I usually ask him in the morning during breakfast or as soon as Austin is down for his morning nap on the days we don't have school. Then, a little later in the day, he gets to pick out 1 piece of Halloween candy to eat. That's the part that's like an advent calendar. We're not technically counting down to Thanksgiving, we're just being intentional about being thankful on a daily basis plus having a little discussion and sometimes a quick prayer. It literally takes less than 2 minutes but Garrison is already looking forward to it and reminding me to ask him what he's thankful for. And, he doesn't even ask for the candy!
Of course we try our best to thank God for various blessings on a regular basis, not just during the month of November, but this is a neat way to remind us all as a family to be thankful. Daily. And I LOVE hearing what my big boy is thankful for. I will most definitely have to share his list at the end of the month which he has come up with 100% on his own. There has been absolutely no prompting from mama or daddy. I just love seeing life through the eyes of my child. Most of the time, haha.
Our other new tradition/project is one that isn't new to Terrell and I but new to us as a family with our kiddos. For the first time in a few years we're filling a shoebox and participating in Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child. The deadline almost always sneaks up on us so we usally miss out. But this year we're prepared and ready and determined to make it happen. Garrison is going to fill a shoebox for a boy in the 2-4 age range just like him. I've already purchased a few things for the box but we haven't done our official shopping trip for everything yet. Once we go on our shopping trip, I'm thinking Garrison will become really involved because he's going to help me shop for presents for another little boy the same age as him. A little boy he doesn't know but that he'll be sending a Christmas present to and praying for and giving the opportunity to hear about Jesus and His love. I'm excited just thinking about it.
The tradition we're starting will be for each of our kids to fill a shoebox (eventually using some of their own money) for another child of the same age. We're going to pray for the child who will receive our box together and talk about giving to others and being a blessing to others. I'll have to prepare myself for deep discussions about the whole process I'm sure. Knowing my inquisitive child, he'll have lots of questions about why we're sending this present and why this little boy doesn't get presents at Christmas. I better start praying now about how to answer his questions and the words to say to my curious and compassionate 3.5 year old. I'm going to try to involve Austin a tad this year, but he'll get to fill a shoebox next year when he's 2. =)
So those are our Thanksgiving projects that I'm hoping become yearly traditions. Nothing major or over the top but fun and easy projects that remind us to be thankful and to be a blessing to others. They've already been a blessing to me and we're only 6 days in. I'm praying these projects are a blessing to my babies this year too.
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