As Thanksgiving gracefully approaches I find myself settling into a quiet place. A peaceful place that always seems to surface this time of year. My little darlings have fallen into their stride with their new school year routines and I find myself falling into a rhythm as well. We gather inside more often as the days grow darker and a chill takes over the air. We share dinners around the table rather than dinner on-the-run and my soul just takes a sigh as I savor the moments that I have with my girls who are blossoming into lovely young ladies right before my eyes.
I find comfort and quiet in the chores that accompany the change of seasons as I put my flower beds to rest for the winter.
I get lost in raking the leaves and marvel in how my once full yard has become so tidy so quickly.
I’m fascinated by each leaf …
engulfed in their beauty and individual shapes.
My mind wanders to the pile of blessings I’ve collected in my life. Blessings that come in so many shapes and sizes and sometimes go unnoticed until I stop long enough…become quiet enough to really see the pile.
Only then can I take a running start and jump right in.
I stood quietly and thanked the good Lord above for my pile of blessings. I made a quiet vow to remember these blessings and continued with my work. Later that day as my mind continued to swirl, I was astounded by the many blessings in my life that had gone unnoticed. It was then that I decided to make a “Grateful Garland” as a way to remind myself and my family of all that we have to be grateful for.
I hung a rope on my fireplace mantel and washed and dried some leaves.
I got some wooden clothes pins,
and a gold marker.
I then began to write the things for which I’m grateful on each leaf…
then clipped them onto the rope.
It was a beautiful reminder of the many blessings in my life. Each leaf seemed to capture and somehow express the very essence of what I was writing on it. Whether it was small or large, perfectly shiny or dull and haggard around the edges…perfectly symmetrical or slightly imperfect in some way, each leaf gently reminded me of the many different blessings that come to us in so many different guises.
Sometimes it’s the tiniest of blessings that can bring about the most.
A Grateful Garland.
I think I’ll be making another one with my family this Thanksgiving.
Wishing you a pile of blessings big enough to take a running jump into.
~Wenderly
Love to see things like this. These are the sorts of projects that I used to do w/ my students when I was teaching. Very sweet.
Oh Wendy, I just LOVE this idea. It’s beautiful and touching.
Your home is beautiful, Wendy.
I’m in love with your table Wendy!! Love this idea!
This is a beautiful idea and your garland looks lovely. I’d be tempted to press the leaves between waxed paper after Thanksgiving and put them in a scrapbook or frame them. Something so thoughtful and lovely should be kept in a special place. You have such a beautiful heart. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
What a great, simple, but meaningful way to decorate for the holiday.
You have a GORGEOUS home. And I love the idea of hanging leaves like this! I’d probably spill wine on my garland, of course.
so pretty!
What a lovely idea! I would love to try it, and even try to refresh it every season with different objects and leaves so I can be thankful year round! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I love this idea and I am going to made sure to do this with my three girls when they are off this week from school. Thank you for the inspiration!
What a lovely reminder of all our blessings. I miss leaves like that….but I am lucky enough to see palm trees everyday 🙂
What a beautiful idea – thank you for reminding me that we all have so much to be grateful for. It is in those daily pauses that we can see all the blessings we have been given. Love the way you wrote down what you were grateful for on your Grateful Garland – at Thanksgiving, we go around our table and everyone says one thing they are grateful for, but I like the idea of writing it down.
Oh my goodness – this is gorgeous on so many levels! Thanks, Wendy, for another wonderful post!
I love this idea! Your home is stunning!
So lovely Wendy! You’re so full of creative ideas. Still waiting for you to come to my house to help me.
How gorgeous! I love that his is something I could totally involve the kids in! They would LOVE this 🙂
What a beautiful idea so full of the spirit of the season.
the happiest of Thanksgivings to you dear friend . . .
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Love this! What a wonderful way to self reflect or a great family activity!! Happy Thanksgiving Wendy!
I love the natural beauty of this. We don’t have leaves just lying around here. When I moved to VA my best friends would just laugh at my fascination with the leaves! To this TX girl, they were HUGE!
This is such a great idea, so simple and yet so meaningful. If I weren’t moving, I will be hanging this garland somewhere right now! Happy Thanksgiving!
This is perfect Wendy! You’re so beautiful, inside and out love {{hugs}}
That’s gorgeous! And so simple. We did something similar but with cut out leaves that we hung from a dead tree branch.
Nicely done!
Beautiful post, Wendy! Happy Thanksgiving!
This is my favorite Thanksgiving post, bar none. What lovely sentiments, so beautifully written, and such a wonderful way to display the things you are thankful for. I just love you, Wendy!
beautiful! i love how simple, festive and stunning that garland looks! i wish we had gorgeous gigantic crisp autumn leaves here in Florida. with any luck we’ll be moving in a year, hopefully somewhere farther north with seasons!
happy thanksgiving!
What a beautiful garland! Love the gold marker to add blessings. Saw this on Pinterest and immediately loved it 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving week 🙂
What a perfectly lovely post. Your words along with your photos paint a very beautiful picture of gratitude. Thanksgiving blessings to you, dear Wendy.
You have a way with words, Wendy, and all things pretty. Love your thoughtful garland. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Yanni and the girls.
Wow, that’s such a touching project, Wendy! You’ve got perfect autumn leaves in your yard. 🙂