Although I feel like I do a pretty good job of counting and noticing my blessings on a daily basis, I love that there is a holiday devoted to recognizing and voicing aloud those things and moments which make a life worth living. We hosted our first Thanksgiving and so I got the chance to try an idea I'd seen on the web where we passed around a bowl of prompts such as "I appreciate (insert name of fmaily member) especially when he/she ____." or "One of the best moments from the last year for me was when ____." It gave us a chance to recount small moments and blessing that would have otherwise gone unnoticed or forgotten. It was lovely.
Just after Thanksgiving we made our annual trip to the tree farm to get our Christmas tree and to visit Santa.
Just as we got to the front of the line my camera jammed and I missed taking pictures of the kids on his lap and of the beautiful tree farm. But, we had a great time and ended up with the most perfect tree which was tagged a "Charlie Brown Tree" but I love it and think it's perfect.
Just a few days after Thanksgiving we celebrated Miles' 7th birthday. I can't believe he's seven. He lost his first tooth a few days before his birthday, another milestone that he just seems to be bounding over these days. He decided to decorate his own cake to look like a ice hockey rink.
He has matured so much lately that I hardly recognize the toddler that I still envision. He is becoming such a kind and mature kid. He is concientious, creative, loving, attentive and when he is passionate about something that passion is intense. He wanted hockey gear and after receiving it on Sunday, he's worn it almost constantly since.
He even fell asleep in it on his birthday night. The box that all of the hockey gear came in has been a constant source of entertainment for Ben. He will spend long amounts of time in it. After one long episode of complete silence from the box I opened it up to find this:
Blessings. They are everywhere.