Gratitude

With November quickly approaching I love to focus on being grateful. I know Halloween is just a few days away, but I like to think a little bit ahead. As a family we try to share at least one thing a week that we are grateful for. During bedtime, I make sure to tell my kids how thankful I am to be their mother. And they even reply that they are grateful that I'm their mother. It's pretty awesome.

Over the years I've seen many ways to stay focused on gratitude. Becky Higgins turned a large poster board into a place to write and draw their blessings. I saw a gratitude tree on Pinterest (from Martha Stewart) that we are going to make this year.  I think the kids will really love this activity.
Again, I saw this one on Pinterest. I love that each family member has a place to keep individual thoughts, and the envelopes can be used year after year. Finally, I've seen gratitude books galore. Some use plain notebooks, others create their own special books, which is what I've done.

Last year I started my gratitude album in just a plain notebook. About two weeks in I got bored; it wasn't visually interesting. So I went to my local scrapbook store and found supplies that fit perfectly:  Crate Papers Farmhouse Collection. I used an old mini album from 7gypsies that's been kicking around my craft supplies. From there I cut my papers to size, used a couple of border punches, mists, and started stringing them into little booklets. The little booklets nestled next to each other with waxed thread used to bind the book. A few embellishments here and there, a couple of pockets for extra space, and some ruffle ribbon completed the look. - Olivia