Cultivating a Life of Thanks

It's been quiet over here on the blog. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've been in a bit of a quiet and contemplative mood the past couple of weeks. Thanksgiving has become my absolute favorite holiday. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and some others, but there's just something about a time where you gather with family and friends to collectively reflect on your blessings. Other than the Black Friday mess (that's a WHOLE other story), Thanksgiving is largely untouched by the consumerism and frantic pace that can mar the holidays.


I try to spend the month of November slowing down to really taking note of all of the people and things in my life that I'm grateful for. And while material things sometimes enter the picture, the overwhelming theme to what I'm most grateful for centers around love. This year as I reflect, the verse that the Lord has brought to my heart repeatedly is Psalm 95:2.

How many times do I come to the Lord in prayer and open my mouth to recite a long list of things that I think I need or that I'm worried about before I even consider and thank Him for all that He has done for me? Even if He hadn't blessed me with my husband and children, wonderful family and friends, a comfortable home and a beautiful life, He has still been so good to me. His love has completely transformed me from an insecure, self-loathing girl looking for love, acceptance, and peace in all the wrong places to a completely different woman - a daughter of the King, confident of who He has made me to be and excited to be walking in the destiny He has for my life.

This year, I feel an urgency in my spirit to really strive to create a culture of thanks in our home that extends far beyond Thanksgiving into every aspect of our lives throughout the year. Pure thanks cannot be dependent on our circumstances, because circumstances change. When finding himself in a painful and seemingly impossible circumstance, Paul says:

I don't know about you, but often I can get caught up and focused on the "next thing". Whether it's the next season of life or the next purchase I want to make, my attention can be so consumed in the future. And often, once I get it, I'm not satisfied or at peace.....I'm looking ahead to the next thing! I want it to stop. I want to live each day (not just at Thanksgiving) in the peace and grace that stems from a heart that is truly thankful. I want to be present and engage in where I am right here, right now. I want to put down my phone more and appreciate who and what is right in front of me. I want to show my girls how to be content and thankful instead of telling them they should be. I want to be intentional in how I spend my thoughts, time, money and emotions. I want to give more and desire less. I want to be grateful for each and every gift in front of me because I truly am so very blessed.

Tooth Fairy Tears

A few weeks ago when my daughter Cora yelled into the other room that she could "bend her tooth", I gave an absentminded "Yeah, ok." in response. A few seconds later, I stopped in my tracks and realized what was going on. Sure enough, she had her first loose tooth a couple months past her 5th birthday and a couple of weeks shy of starting Kindergarten.

While she was super excited about it (which still remains a mystery to me as she cries over every hangnail), I was so sad. This was the first tangible sign that my little girl was becoming a big girl. So, I did what any sane mom would do. I choked back my tears, congratulated her, and soon threw myself into a sewing project as therapy. I'm a fixer by nature and for whatever reason, it helps me process things by doing something. ANYTHING.

I jumped on Pinterest to get some general ideas, then got to work crafting the best Tooth Fairy pillow this emotional mom could whip up.

1.  I cut out two 6" squares from some scrap fabric I had.

2.  I sketched a model of a tooth on a piece of paper to use as a guide and cut it out, then traced around it on white fabric.

3. I cut out a small square (about 2") from white fabric

4. I drew a smiley face on the white tooth fabric as a guide and used an embroidery setting to stitch a face on the tooth. Then I drew a C on the white square and used an embroidery setting to stitch her initial onto the tooth pocket.

5. I attached the tooth to one of the 6" squares with an embroidery needle, and then after stitching the top edge of the white square by itself, I attached it by the two sides and bottom to the other 6" square.

6. I took an old handle from a kids purse that was already in desperate need of repair and cut it about 5" long. I placed it upside down in a curve between the two 6" squares with the tooth/pocket sides facing each other.

7. I stitched around the edge with a 1/2" seam, leaving a 2" gap in the bottom. Then I turned it inside out and stuffed it, hand stitching the gap closed when I was done.

After the project, I felt just a little better about my little girl growing up. A couple of weeks later, on a beautiful day at the park, we plucked the tooth right out. Her smile says it all. She was so proud to put her tooth in her Tooth Fairy Pillow that night, and thrilled with the puzzle that replaced it the next morning. I think we are both ready for the next loose tooth now.