Sunday, October 25, 2009

a grateful heart...

A grateful heart will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way. -Marjorie Hinckley, wife of President Gordon B. Hinckley I have wondered how we can teach gratitude and humility to our American children in the face of such abundance. Perhaps the best way is to be constant in the matter of family prayer.
It is good to kneel as a family and to hear daily expressions of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the blessings we enjoy. The Lord intended His children to enjoy the good things of life. With all that we have, we must also have grateful hearts. We must teach our children not to take all that they have for granted.
–Marjorie Hinckley
This is our gratitude or thankful tree that we are putting together the entire month before Thanksgiving. L was our Thanksgiving baby, born right on Thanksgiving morning after some years of infertility testing and many prayers. So this holiday has taken on extra special meaning to us. Our goal is to speak only positive things for this month (harder than you think for us!) and then daily write something we are thankful for on a leaf of our tree. I want to end in a culminating event during the thanksgiving holidays. Something they can look forward to. But I can't think of anything that would be meaningful for such young ones...any ideas, please? My blogging world always comes through for me, I'm thankful for you. :)

7 comments:

Sarah said...

what a great idea! the holidays seem to sneak up on me and i've been wondering how to make the meaningful ones really mean something. i love this idea for Thanksgiving!

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea! I love it!! I also love the quotes!

MarciK said...

Gratitude Tree - What a great idea! I might have to steal it for my kids. As for a culminating, event... maybe planting a real tree? or planting some plants and giving them away? Not sure why I'm stuck on the planting idea. I'm sure there are better ideas out there. Come on people.. :)

Holly Burnah said...

I like that idea too! I think if I were doing a culminating activity it would be something emphasizing what we are most grateful for... the gosple, Christ... I think I would do something that has to do with Christmas. Maybe go to temple square, see the lights, the Jesus statue... I'm sure there are things out there geared more toward little kids too.

Robin said...

That is a wonderful idea! What a great thing to teach them no matter how young! I like the planting idea!

John, Mica, Jackson, Grace, Kai, and Lucy said...

As always, my big sis. is full of creativity! I may steal your idea and adapt it for our family, as I always have, of course! :) like the planting idea... or maybe some giving activity, like taking something you're grateful for off the tree and giving it to someone else in need? (like if they are grateful for chocolate, they can give some to Grandma at the end, etc. or ice cream to Aunt Mica, since I really NEED candy)

hairprincess said...

That was such a cute activity I am so happy my daughter got to be there with you to show them she is always saying "I am thankful for gma, table, pumpkins, shoes, trees, chairs, grass.." and pretty much everything! Such a positive girl hehe:) Cute idea, I do love stealing your ideas too:) I think the planting a tree is SUCH a good idea, something they will always remember when they are some day swinging in the branches!:)