Thankful

During the month of November, I participated in a 30 days of thankfulness challenge. I had a lot of fun trying to capture an image each day of things I am thankful for. Plus, it was neat to acknowledge the things I'm thankful for beyond the "typical" Thanksgiving answers and pay tribute to some of the little things that make life more fun and easy. 

The thankful challenge seems fun! Day 1 (a day late): I'll start with my little family. We're a fun bunch! Photo credit: @nicole_lgh! :) #30daysofthanks

 Day 2: Thankful for this guy and that we get to do life together! We make a pretty good team. #30daysofthanks #mushytweet

Day 3: I'm soooooo thankful for hand-me-downs (and that our friends dress their kids nicely so we have cute clothes)!!! :) #30daysofthanks

Day 4: thankful for the freedom to vote! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 5: thankful for a sunny fall day so we can play outside and enjoy the leaves! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 6: thankful for some one-on-one time with my buddy playing "remembery." #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #lovemykiddos

Day 7: thankful for family movie nights and end-credit dance parties! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 8: I'm so thankful that our children have the opportunity to know and love their Great Grandpa and I'm thankful that we live close to both him and the cousins so we can have fun lunch dates! (and to be honest, I'm pretty thankful for McDonald's French fries, too) #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 9: thankful for the freedom to worship, for a wonderful church home, and biblical preaching! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 10: thankful for 70* temps and family walks! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 11: I'm thankful to be able to celebrate every holiday, birthday, and milestone with my family and to live the normal days in between freely and safely because those who came before me have sacrificed those very luxuries. Thankful for every man and woman, throughout the our nation's history, who has served to make our country what it is-- land of the free and home of the brave! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #veteransday

Day 12: I'm thankful for lunch dates with Dad and evenings spent with Mom! And also for the simple reminder that good memories don't always need a photo. #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #nopicture

Day 13: thankful for the time Derek and I have together after kid bedtime to watch our shows a few days each week! Our fall line up: The Blacklist, Scorpion, Agents of Shield, Survivor, and The Biggest Loser. 📺👫#30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #tvdatenight

Day 14: thankful for this gal and her big personality. I never know what to expect with this one, but I know I can count on a new adventure everyday! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #ninjabelleplayingcooties #supergirlbelle #sweetsmilesfordaddybelle #astronautbelle

Day 15: thankful for our newly renovated bathroom! The walk-in shower, heated floors, no bath toys to trip on... It's delightful! Thanks Dad for all the hard work! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 16: thankful that our Kansas City teams are rocking it this year!!!!! 🏈⚾️⚽️#30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #kansascity #kcroyals #kcchiefs

Day 17: thankful for board games and family time! Oh, and the Salvation Army where I picked up the game for only a couple bucks! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #familygamenight

Day 18: thankful for a nice cozy bed, flannel sheets, and a heated mattress pad!!! Even more, I'm thankful that it is finally bedtime. I've been looking forward to this moment all day. 😴 #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 19: thankful for my mother-in-law who has picked up Jackson and has taken him to school several times over the past week so that I haven't had to bundle and buckle up the whole family in these frigid temps!!! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember #isitspringtimeyet?

Day 20: of all the modern baby gear that we have, I am sooooooo thankful for the swaddling sleep sack. If this girl has even a millimeter of wiggle room, she won't sleep long. With the velcro, one swaddle will keep all night! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 21 (a day late): thankful for our wood burning stove and warm cozy fires!!! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 22: thankful for cousins that are good friends! And that they play well together so the adults can play board games. #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

{on the blog} Caroline is two months old today! We just love her sweet smile and her squishy little cheeks! Link in profile! I'm also super thankful for the precious alone time I have with this gal the evenings after the other kiddos are in bed. #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 24: thankful for Skype so we can keep in touch with Derek while he's away on business! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 25: thankful for the access to a great library system and I'm especially thankful to be able to put pick out books online or with the app and then have a stash of books with my name whenever we make it in!!! Easy peasy, time saver!!! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 26: thankful for the train game (Ticket to Ride)! Our family has had hours of fun playing this game over the past year! #weloveboardgames #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 26: thankful for the train game (Ticket to Ride)! Our family has had hours of fun playing this game over the past year! #weloveboardgames #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 28: thankful for fun games, laughter, good food (almost as good as canned chili) and #friendsgiving! #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 29: thankful for my dad who has always and still continues to work on my vehicles. From sports car to minivan and a few in between; in high school, college, and now married; sometimes at his house, other times he's driven across the city to help. I'm also thankful that for the time together when I "help." #30daysofthanks #thankfulnovember

Day 30: thankful for Christmas decorations and outfits!!! Some of my favorite childhood memories are from the Christmas season and family traditions (minus 8th grade Christmas jumper that matched my toddler sisters and my mom) and I just hope I can provide the same for my kids!!

Turns out I really like to play games. What I really loved about this challenge, was making a purposeful effort each day to acknowledge what I am thankful for! I hope to continue to make sure I think of something I'm thankful for each night before bed, even if I'm not taking a picture! What are some "non-traditional" things you are thankful for? 

If you're on instagram, you can follow me here!