Gratitude Challenge

grat·i·tude \ˈgra-tə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd\
noun
-the state of being grateful: THANKFULNESS
-the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful: He expressed his gratitude to everyone on the staff.

(Saw this through Kelly's Blog, who saw it through Britt's Blog.  I liked the way Britt did her gratitude)

I can't believe that November is actually here!  Sometimes I wonder where LAST years Halloween went, let alone just two days ago Halloween!  But November may be one of my favorite months just because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday...I really love them all...but how can you not love the act of thanks? 

Working with my kiddos everyday at work can be a gruelling long day and at the same time so dang rewarding.  Yesterday, I had them write letters to my brother and his unit (who are currently deployed to Afghanistan).  We talked about respect and how thankful we are for the men and women who have served and currently serve our wonderful country.  The letters were fantastic and the drawings that the littler ones did were just precious!  I wish I would have copied a few of them to post, but I didn't.  Anywho, they absolutely loved getting to do something wonderful for others.  I think that charitable acts is a WIN-WIN situation.  My kids loved that they were getting to something meaningful for others. 

So back to GRATITUDE...I ran across the Gratitude Challenge today and it made me stop and think.  Here I am encouraging my kiddos to be more grateful and I need to practice what I preach, right?  It is very easy to take things for granted and since Thanksgiving just so happens to be in November, what better month to take some time to appreciate the big and little blessings in our lives and to become aware of how truly blessed we all are. I am going to take part in the Gratitude Challenge and I invite you to join in with me! "The Gratitude Challenge is created to help to take note of the brighter side of life. Sharing gratitude for everyday experiences can revitalize our commitment to living life in a sensational way." So join me and spend a few minutes for the next 21 days to count all of life's little blessings.

I am also going to have my kids do a rendition of the Gratitude Challenge starting tomorrow.  Maybe they will have some fun things to share and help open my eyes even more of what to be grateful for.