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November 15, 2010

Our Thankfulness Tree

I know, I know.  

It is ANOTHER thankfulness tree. 

There are so many of these out there but I really wanted to do one. I say that every year yet I never do it. And I wanted this to be about the kids so it is nothing fancy yet I think it is one of the most beautiful trees EVER because we did it as a family.

Last Sunday, we decided to stay home from church in order to heal up since all of us seem to have a cold of some sort. So we had Family Church with a theme of thankfulness.  Cati is learning this theme this month at school so we decided we SHOULD ALL focus on it too.

We sang songs, read a bible story about the 10 men healed from Leprosy and only one came back to thank Jesus. (Luke 17:11-19) We read books about being thankful (which I think was my favorite part).

We wrapped it up with a craft and made a thankfulness tree.

 We made leaves out of coffee filters which we colored using washable markers.
  And we had a grand time coloring as a family...
Uh, Ella?  You got something on your face there.
Some of us were VERY serious about their art.
 Then we strung out out our pretty coffee filters on a line of twine 
and had a blast spraying water on them.
 It was windy that day so we weighed them down with more clothespins at the bottom.
  Spraying the water was fun...and a bit messy.
Which made it more fun...for the girls, that is.
 After the coffee filters dried, I cut out leaf shapes and put them in a small white bucket on the table so at dinner we can write down the things we are thankful for.
Then we glued the leaves full of thanksgiving to our little tree.

Here is one of my favorites...
Okidokes.  
Napkins are always a good thing.

And the best one of all...
 HOORAY!
We just found out Friday and we could not be more excited!!
It took 3 months but I tell you the Lord is faithful.  I am so proud of my man who remained steadfast and purposeful.  He had low moments but always gave it to God.
I could not be more proud of my handsome, brilliant, Business Analyst.

And because it was so sweet I just have to mention it...
He brought home flowers Saturday night after Football (He is a football official on weekends) and said these are for being such a supportive wife these last 3 months.

(Romantic sigh).  God is just so good.

 So, do any of you do a thankfulness tree?

17 comments:

  1. aww! i hadn't a thankful tree like this!!
    cant wait to make this when my little peanut is old enough!
    and, HELLO, Ella and i need to hang out more! i cant even begin to express the love for nakins in my ♥ :)

    PRAISE THE LORD for NEW Jobs and New Beginnings!! Such an AWESOME GOD we Serve!

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  2. Love it!! And, congrats, again, on that new job!!! YAY!

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  3. Love this cute little tree! I am also sooooooo happy about your hubby's new job. That is sooo great!!! :)

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  4. JESS!!

    I am so excited for you and your husband. Praise God! His blessings are tremendous!! :)

    Also, you are always like 1.2 steps ahead of me . . . I've got my supplies for our little Thankfulness tree that we're going to work on THIS week. I love the idea of making the leaves out of the coffee filters. My daughter and I were just doing the same thing the other day with coffee filters and making them into butterflies. Not seasonally appropriate, but still fun. :)

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  5. Showers of blessings! Still jumping up and down for you about being published and now I find out about hubby's job!!!! YEY!!!! So so so happy for you guys. Love how you announced it to us all on your thankfulness tree. Love the tree - it looks beautiful.

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  6. Hmmmm... We NEED a thankfulness tree around here. Not sure what the problem is, something in the air maybe? BUT everyone is crabby in our house! Ugh!

    Sigh. Tomorrow is a new day with NO mistakes in it (quote from Anne) and I'm glad for that.

    Your tree is beautiful! Our glorious fall leaves have fallen to the ground and are now all covered with SNOW!

    Congratulations on your dh finding a new job. I'm so happy for him and you and your family. It's wonderful news! :)

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  7. oh I'm so happy for you guys about the job!! Thank you Lord! The thankful tree is very pretty, great idea! Hope your all feeling better!

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  8. You are right! that is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL thankfulness tree out there. Oh would the boys ever have fun spraying those little leaves with water :) They are little water "experts" I love how you photographed it too! Looking good!

    SO sorry I didn't write to you about Dan! I read it on my phone & then I forgot to write back even after you were so sweet to ask! Yes it was very scary couple of days but as of now we are so happy he has his pace maker in & that it is working. One scray thing is that it has had to kick in quite a bit! He is not himself yet & can't move his arm but we are praising God that they got him back after his hewart quit for 4 minutes! Lots of prayer & praise!!!

    YAY!!! A new job! That would be sooo exciting! I do believe you are gonna miss that guy being around! :) But I am sooo glad! I pray that it will be a perfect fit & that he will work with some good people!

    I better run but there sure is a lot to be thankful for huh? :)

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  9. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Your blog is beautiful! I'm excited to follow it. Your daughters are gorgeous. :)

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  10. i love this idea! i have been following you for a little bit. i bawled like a baby while reading your IF story. i, too, graduated from IF (i have PCOS), and so much of what you wrote is EXACTLY how i felt. we are similar, you and i, and i think my family will be doing a tree this weekend! blessings.

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  11. I just stopped by to say thanks so much for stopping by Shelleys! That was really sweet! I remember how exciting each visit was that first week!

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  12. Oh Jessica, misty eyes here. I love your family's tree, it is so beautiful. I love the last leaf, too. That is huge, and I can't imagine what a relief you must feel.

    Praising God and rejoicing with you.

    By the way, I have moved my blog from Homeswheremyheart is to www.itsgrace.com...some say hi.

    XO,

    Erin

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  13. I meant to say "Come say hi" :)

    Erin

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  14. I love this tree Jess. I keep coming back to look at it. I think I can pull this off. I goodness. Is it easy? You know I'm so not crafty. But I think we can do this. Love you girl.

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  15. Two things:

    Your thankfulness tree is outstanding, as is this entire post.

    God knew what was coming. He knew and helped you make a thankfulness tree to remember.

    Ok, three things:

    I love ya. Seriously.

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  16. Love this idea!

    I have been following your blog for awhile now--just love it!

    Please check my blog later, I am giving you an award.

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  17. I LOVE This!!! I think we could maybe still squeak this out before Thanksgiving. Why not?!? :)

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