I love this blessed time of year! I love the cooler Arizona weather. I love the kitchen smells, the linger of pumpkins, the hint that something grand is just around the corner.

I look at Autumn and Thanksgiving as an appetizer of what’s to come. I don’t like to hurry it along. I have many friends who decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. And I have to say that I get tempted every year. It seems so smart to get a jump start on things so you can fully enjoy the holidays.

But I don’t know if it’s for me.

I just don’t know if I can easily bypass the holiday that invites us to pause, count our blessings, and turn with grateful hearts to God.

November is my thoughtful month. It’s a time to gain focus, project myself for the upcoming season, but to embrace the beautiful pause that is given to us for “thanks giving”. As I look back on this year and the beauties that have blessed my family, I am grateful.

I am grateful for:

MY FAMILY: my beautiful children, my tender husband, and our parents and extended family who continue to shape our lives.

MY FRIENDS: new and old. Friends near and far who continue to bless me with their words, thoughts, and examples.

MY FAITH: my testimony that I know God is in every detail of my life. And the comfort found in raising my family with that same knowledge.

My husband and I took a vacation back east this fall. The first day, we visited beautiful Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau spent a considerable amount of time. I love that it was there, in the silence and beauty of the pond that he wrote:

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

I love this reminder to truly “live” in each moment, to let God’s beautiful creations, (because God is in everything) encompass all that we are grateful for.

I’m very excited about what the upcoming holidays will bring, but I’m content taking this time to give thanks in everything. I hope I remember to do so.

I made a printable to help remind me and I wanted to share. Go HERE to download. (use the first download link directly under the image)

As excited as I am for all the Christmas festivities to come, I’m still perusing our The Vintage Mother THANKSGIVING BOARD to get ideas to celebrate with family this upcoming week. Come check out where some of our favorite images and ideas are from.