Thankful Thoughts

The week seems to be zooming by on me, and I am only finding the time today to collect my thoughts. I woke up very early Monday morning and reached out to find a warm, fluffy headed little boy in bed with me. We still play a game of musical beds each night, and it is not uncommon for me to wake up with no sense of where I am or who is snuggled up beside me. I long ago gave up on the notion of breaking any "bad habits". Sleep is a priority to me over many things in life!

During those dark, early hours, with my soon-to-be 5 year old cuddled up next to me, I felt truly content and thankful. I was thankful to have just spent a wonderful weekend with a most special girlfriend I've not seen in two years. I was thankful to have had some freedom and time away. I was thankful to be home again, close to my little ones. I was thankful to see my husband (and thankful he cleaned up the kitchen before I got home!).

All these feelings of gratitude, as well as the approach of Thanksgiving, got me eager to complete my "thankful" banner I started a couple of weeks ago. This is just one of a few banners I've made, inspired by Handmade Home. It was fun picking out the earthy, autumn inspired fabric from my scrap bin. I enjoy making these banners as they are quick, easy and fun. I think it actually helps tie this space of our home together, which I am constantly struggling with and rearranging!

My friend and I spent the weekend at my parents' house in the Annapolis Valley. I can't tell you how excited I was to find out they had a huge patch of these beautiful Chinese lanterns growing on the edge of their field! I helped myself to a hefty bouquet. They add such a festive fall touch to our dining table this week. The boys and I also made this pretty leaf lantern using an old jar, white glue and fall leaves. The hardest materials to source from this list were the leaves!!! This was a bit frustrating for me, as we don't have very many deciduous trees in our immediate area. The boys and I searched high and low for these leaves. We ended up using bits of fern, along with what I believe is wild choke cherry. We'll have to venture out a little farther for some maple and oak leaves later on this week. Those ubiquitous spruce trees will come in handy for Christmas crafts, so I'm not complaining!

So much to be thankful for this week as we look forward to a fun and happy birthday for Muffy! I can't believe that little monkey will be 5 tomorrow!