Call It What You Want...

Last year was the first year for a Thankful Tree.
Basically, we drew a tree trunk and branches on paper and then, throughout November, decorated it with leaves on which we wrote what we're thankful for. Mostly the boys are the writers, but there are a few leaves written by parents and grandparents that slip in. This year, both boys were able to write their own thankful leaves, which was a wonderful improvement on any previous Thankful activities!

There were quite a few "trains", "trucks" and other vehicles, and Adam frequently added "Yayyyyyy!" to his leaves. I found the entire thing adorable, and every time they asked to make Thankful Leaves, I encouraged them to do so.
A few translations are in order, I'm sure.
* At the center top, below the empty space, there is a leaf that says "Kramol!" Directly to its right, is a leaf that says "Cramol!" First, they are both pronounced "CAR-mul". The one on the left is the town, and the one on the right is the dip (caramel, of course), says Adam, the author of both. (I love his spelling.)
* Mark's leaves are all very legible, and, yes, at the bottom, there are two that say "trains". There might be more. Please, Mark, a little variety, if you please...
* Third from the bottom, on the trunk, is "Dr. Mason", the children's pediatrician. That's a ghost between the "Dr." and the "Mason". He is saying "Boo!" I'm not sure why. (Ask Adam.)
* At the bottom right is MY thankful leaf, from heroic Adam finding my wedding ring after it being lost for more than a year! I should have included more color or made it a bigger leaf, but that was a pretty big one for me!!!

I love the Thankful Tree. Someday the tree might be prettier -- maybe I'll cut it out of construction paper and mount it on a poster board or something -- but for now, we had a very thankful month.

See you next Thanksgiving with another Thankful Tree.