Thankful Throughout the Year

My favorite Thanksgiving Day picture--Grandma Apple doing a puzzle in the floor with Will.

You may have noticed that I missed the entire month of November. Blog posts often run through my head, but the time and focus to sit down to write is not quite as abundant. For November, the month of Thanksgiving, I did try to focus more on being thankful. Since Will is old enough to understand the holidays a little better, I wanted to figure out how to impress on him the importance of being thankful. As in all parenting, I must lead by example. So here are some specific things I am especially thankful for...

Faith that tells me our circumstances are not forever
Hope that God will once again provide for what He has placed in our hearts
Will usually sleeps through the night :)
Though John's hours are unpredictable and downright yucky, he comes home every night, and isn't half a world away fighting a war or traveling often with his job
My husband works very hard (even though he doesn't get the credit he deserves) to provide for us so that I can stay home with my son
My son is not only adorable, but also Mr. Personality...I predict he will someday be the class clown
My parents are willing to drive 2 hours just to babysit Will when I need them
I have found a few other babysitters :)
I'm more acutely aware of the needs around me, making me more appreciative that I have exactly what I need, and much of what I want.
God allows me to help others. We don't always have the money to give, but I am amazed at the abundance of "stuff" I find that I can give to others in need. That may not seem so amazing to you, but this is coming from a mom who sold everything she could get her hands on at multiple yard sales to make money to bring home her little boy. I am frugal in my spending, more so with each passing day, so I don't buy a lot of junk. The junk seems to multiply!
Everyone who has encouraged us with our photography and let us take their pictures
Sneaking in Will's room and watching him sleep
The sound of Will's laugh
Will is basically potty trained!
A genuine smile on the face of my husband
Will has learned to say, "Yes, Sir." (And sometimes Ma'am.)

Now for Will. Since he began praying a few months ago, it is obvious that he has a thankful heart. We pray it stays that way! For the first several weeks of prayer, his prayers always ended with, "Now Daddy go to work." He misses his Daddy and that's big on his heart. While it broke our hearts, especially John's, we couldn't help but giggle when he said it.

But in spite of his growing and changing prayers, one thing has remained constant...Will's prayers always start with, and mostly consist of, the things he is most thankful for, in that special no holds barred way that only a child has. He is not only thankful for the things of the day, as you would think a little boy would be preoccupied with, but he mentions things that made a big impression on him months ago. For example, we only made it to 2 of his cousin's football games this season, but we have prayed prayers of thanks for those 2 games for at least 50 nights!

So here are few of the things that Will thanks God for, not just my speculations, but things that have actually come out of his mouth...
food
go to Josh and Steven's foot ball game
Steven (Josh's friend he's met exactly twice)
ride Papaw's golf cart
my golf cart
I play with my golf club and golf ball.
snacks
play outside
Joseph Beth
library
go to Mimi Papaw's
being ring bearer (which he's been begging to do again...actually shed tears over)
birthday
sing some songs (especially, Alright, Sideways, and Down the Road--He's a country boy.)
bird pooped on Mimi's car (we talked about that for months)
sit in Papaw's lap
Mimi Papaw coming
Will look good.
going on train tracks
backyard
read some books

May the spirit of thankfulness continue throughout the year. Why else would I be writing this in December ? ;)