Good Things - A Yearly Project.

On January 1st 2011 we started our Thankful Tree ... it grew and grew for two years.  The first year, we were pretty diligent and added something to the tree every night at dinner. One per person, so basically, four little bits of paper added to the wall each night.  From 2012, the additions became a bit more sporadic.  But we still added. In December 2012, we added our last few and I added the sky that says this ...

"Two years of things we are thankful for and we haven't even scratched the surface of ALL THERE is to be thankful for.  Life is GOOD!  My hope is that in times where we feel that it isn't, this tree will serve as a reminder that it is!!  No matter what circumstance we may find ourselves in, there is ALWAYS, ALWAYS!, ALWAYS!! something to be thankful for.  Let's remember that as we move into 2013 and beyond ..."

I added a bible verse and a quote as well ...

"Be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it ..." William Arthur Ward

 

Unfortunately, our Thankful Tree had to come down. 
The puppy was eating it!!

See all the little bits missing?!  Maybe it's because it was so close to his food bowl? 

Maybe little slips of paper with THANKFULNESS written all over them are just yummy?!

In 2013, we went for something a little different.
We started our first "Good Things" jar. 

We wrote good things as they happened on little slips of paper all year long and placed them in the jar.  Last night, on New Years Eve, the kids read them to us!  It was so great!!

Here's a few of my favorite things that came out of the jar!

• January 12th ... Auntie Ellie, Uncle Ryan, Aidan, Jack and Charlie arrived in Australia to LIVE!!
• Going to the beach for Jack's bday
• January 16th ... Today I watched Jono and Alia both playing nicely with their cousins ... letting them choose the activities and go first!  It made my heart very happy!
• The Winter Edition of the GL magazine ... a good one.
• BARKLEY!
• January ... Mrs U and the girls got to come for a visit.  Even though the didn't get to go to the concert (Keith Urban!), we still had a fun time ...
• Jaylen came over
• Getting a puppy
• Water slide at GL
• Found my earrings (Alia!)
• Getting a school diary (also Alia ... that's MY girl!!) 
• Easter Sunday ... Nanny and Sabba come for a surprise visit!!
• March '13 ... Family picnic at GL! Big slip and slide.  Tons of fun!!
• Doing drawing with Jono 
• Nanny and Sabba come to Australia.  All the way from America.
• Mum turned 40 and we got to have a big party and see family and friends
• Coming to Alia's house ... this is from Aidan! (I love that he added to it!)

• "Advanced" copy of Craig's new album!  AWESOME! Apr '13
• Nanny and Sabba came
• Gone to the beach with Uncle Gregg and Auntie Cheryl
• Jan 20 ... Today Uncle Ryan preached his 1st sermon as  GL pastor.  He was really good!  I think he is going to be a great addition to the GL team.
• Feb 21 ... Today J&A swam in districts and did so well!  I was very proud of your for doing your very best!  And a big improvement for Jono from last year!!
• Getting out of piano lessons (ha ha - Jono!)
• Mrs U and the kids came to the Sunny coast!
• April 6, 2013 ... I turned 40!  Rory organized the best party EVER!  I loved it and had so much fun with so many of my favourite people!
• Eli came up from Bundy for 5 days and slept over and we got to play Fifa 11
• Sunshine - Finally!  After lots and lots of RAIN!

When the thankful tree came down, we popped all of the little bits of paper into a container ...

And with the "Good Things" jar, we popped them into an envelope ...

and then into the container with the thankful tree ...



this way,we can go back and read them ... and remember all that is good!

And now ... as we begin 2014 ... we start afresh ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

The Tree is Growing ...

This morning when I woke up I found a comment from a friend on Facebook. Don't you just love Facebook ? This particular friend is one that I went to high school with in Spain. Now ... for us military brats who moved around our whole lives, friends were something you had for a few years and then left ... most of whom you'd never hear from again. Until Facebook ! This Navy Brats DREAM COME TRUE !! I love being in contact with so many 'old' friends !! And of course, I love being able to be in daily contact with so much of my family ! It's like I'm there ... or they're here ... only we're not. You know ?

Anyway ... this is not a post about Facebook ... the comment from my friend said this ...

"Bonnie, love, love, love the thankful tree idea!!! I am totally going to steel it! :o) Can you elaborate on it a little more? You are so creative and I'm just not sure what materials to use, how it should look, what kind of tree, etc. I know, I know...I'm thinking too much and making it harder than I probably should, but any input you have would be appreciated. Love the blog!!! Thanks."

And so, in answer to her question, I bring you the following post. Here are the very basic materials that we use ... paper, scissors, blu-tack, and a pen. And a little container to keep it all in.

I didn't go out and buy paper. I just rummaged through my scrap paper drawer and tried to find earthy tones for the 'tree trunk' ... here's what I came up with ... If you don't have scraps around the house, I'm sure you could find some cheap packs of off cuts at a craft shop, or even a dollar store !

Our supplies live on the end of the kitchen counter ...



Close to the dinning room table ... since we write our things we are thankful for after dinner.

The 'tree' is on a wall just opposite the dinning room table. I wanted it on a wall that was visible to us regularly ... since we are at the table a few times a day, this works ! Also ... it's enough 'out of the way' that it's not something people see until they sit at our table !

I love how it is developing ! And I love the things everyone is thankful for. You can read them all in the picture but I'll tell you who wrote a few of them. All of mine have exclamation marks ! I just love exclamation marks !! (if you are a frequent reader of my blog that probably comes as no surprise !!)

We don't give the kids any ideas ... we haven't had to, they come up with these on their own !

Jono (8) ... natcher (nature), church, sports, life, games, toys, rip stick, and thankfulness. Isn't that adorable ? He's thankful for thankfulness.

Alia (6) ... pets, love, grandma and grandad, jono, mommy and daddy, water, friends, my house, and me. I LOOOOOVE that she is thankful for herself !!

and Rory ... bbq (we just got a new weber !), laughter, food, healthy bodies, eyes, family, music.

It's not really looking much like a tree ...

We all keep making jokes about it. But ... I don't want to stifle anyone's creativity so I haven't said anything about the TRIANGLES (!!) ha ha. And I'm not overly concerned that it look like an actual tree. Once it gets tall enough we'll add 'leaves' and maybe then it will look like a tree ...

But even if it never does ...

... i don't mind !

It is serving it's purpose ! I love the thankfulness that it is cultivating in our family. I love that it is there where we see it regularly and that it's a topic of conversation. I love that later, when times maybe are rough, it will serve as a reminder of all that we have to be thankful for. Because really, when it comes down to it ... we have SO MUCH to be thankful for ! I think even after 12 months of 'growing our thankful tree' we will not even have scratched the surface ...

The Thankful Tree

The same day we started the whole unprocessed thing, we also started our "thankful tree."

We've got a little box with all our supplies that lives just opposite the dining room table.



Each night after dinner we write one thing we are thankful for on a piece of the paper.

These are my favorites so far.
Alia ... first night is thankful for LOVE.
Jono ... second night (first night was his ripstick !) is thankful for LIFE.

Once we've written them down we stick them to the wall where our tree will 'grow'.

I'll share the progress with you from time to time ...
and of course, more of my favorite things that we are thankful for !!