A few years ago, two researchers conducted what they called the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness. They found through science what most of us know intuitively: gratitude makes people happy.
For the study, several hundred people were divided into three groups and asked to keep diaries. The first group listed the day’s events in their diaries, the second group recorded any unpleasant experiences they had during the day, and the last group made a daily list of things they were grateful for.
The researchers found that the simple act of taking time each day to count your blessings makes a person more enthusiastic, determined, optimistic, and energetic. Those who expressed gratitude experienced less depression and stress, exercised more regularly, and made more progress toward personal goals. Researchers even noted a relationship between feeling grateful and feeling loved, and they observed how gratitude inspires acts of kindness and compassion.
Remarkable, isn’t it? All this from daily gratitude and thanksgiving.
Of course, the best way to discover the benefits of gratitude is not by observing them in an academic study but by experiencing the miracle for ourselves: When we daily count our blessings, we feel better about life, even in the midst of adversity; we garner a strength of character and largeness of soul that will help us through hard times; and we see life as basically good, despite its challenges and heartaches.
Gratitude does not need to be reserved for holidays and special events. Every day is filled with miracles and blessings. If we open our hearts and look, we’ll find reasons for gratitude and thanksgiving each day, all around us. (text found at http://www.musicandthespokenword.com/)
Not long before I heard this I had found a (scrapbooking) website, http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-album-2008.html, through another blog, where this girl, Ali, is making a scrapbook called "December Daily" to "celebrate the traditions and everyday blessings during the month of December." I'm not doing one of those--too much work this year for me--but it did give me an idea to maybe write down in our blog some of the things I am grateful for each day and the things I love about this time of year as a way to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas, and hopefully keep more of an attitude of gratitude at this crazy time of year. And I'm sure my boys are hoping that it might help make me a little more happy like it said, on those not so happy days I have sometimes!! Sooo, hmmm, today is December 4, and already I'm behind. It's the story of my life; what can I say. And I probably won't get to it everyday, but I'll do my best.
traditions
Every year for the past 5 or 6 years maybe, we have gotten together with Daren's family sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas to make gingerbread houses. It is a fun tradition everyone looks forward to each year. It has always been at our house, and for the first few years I actually made and cut out all the gingerbread for everyone's house, thanks to JoLee's mom's recipe and templates. Then came the glorious day we discovered the gingerbread houses at Costco!! And they come with the frosting already made--it's heaven! So here are a few pictures from this year's gathering.
This picture of Will and Gma Train needs a little explanation--as another yearly tradition, the boys love to watch the Charlie Brown holiday shows like 67 times before that holiday arrives. We have discovered that Will can really pick up well on movie lines and songs that he really likes. So all morning on Thanksgiving Day Will kept asking both of us, "Are we going to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving today?" He was sure our meal was going to consist of popcorn and toast! It was much MUCH better than that!! So I had to take a picture of Will and his "grandmother," even though it was the day after Thanksgiving at our gingerbread party. And I'll put a shout out to Barry and Susan, aka Gpa and Gma Train, since it was Susan's birthday on Thanksgiving, and then Barry's the very next day (gingerbread house day). They are wonderful parents and grandparents, and I'm very fortunate to be a part of this great family.
We did miss Brandon, Lori, and the boys, but everyone else came. We had all kinds of good food for our brunch, and then it was on to the decorating. Daren has taken the lead on making ours, and the boys LOVE to help out!! So it doesn't look too professional, but as you can see, it has been made with plenty of love!
And last, but not least, the finished product. All the boys did a great job helping each other. This is just one tradition I love doing each year.
1 comment:
Love the "Spoken Word" on Thanksgiving and Gratitude and will be making a copy for ourselves. Great to see Daren involved in the gingerbread project!
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