Thanksgiving weekend is almost here and I couldn’t be more excited! Back in Kuwait, we always hosted a huge potluck feast for our Canadian friends {I think we had about 35 people in our apartment last time around, hence why Miss G wore her noise cancelling headphones} and when in Canada, we’ve usually gone home to the Okanagan to celebrate there.
While living in Kuwait certainly comes with its challenges, the perks are undeniable… Today, thanks to very generous friends, Miss G and I spent our day out at a private villa in Khiran soaking up Kuwait’s gorgeous fall sun. The company was fabulous, the food was delicious as always, and the kids happily played all morning. It’s easy to forget the challenges on days like these…
There’s nothing like a few years in Kuwait to make you truly appreciate Canada. I could easily fill several pages with all of things I’m extremely grateful for here at home, but nature is, without a doubt, near the top of my list. Being able to enjoy spending time outdoors… Mountainsides covered in trees… Green grass. Wide open spaces. Wildflowers growing in ditches. Fields of corn. Kids running in backyards… Sometimes it’s all a little overwhelming. And the sad part is that until we moved to the Middle East 7 years ago, it was all too easy to just take it for granted. Thankfully, Gracen seems to truly understand the beauty that is where we call home. Several times during our summer vacation she’s paused while out on a walk, taken a long, slow breath in, and in an airy voice said, ‘Ahhh… This air just smells so amazing.’ She often comments on how beautiful leaves and flowers and trees are, and more often than not has a very special rock or stick in her hand. My hope is that she continues to see the beauty around her {even if it means she continues to hug and kiss grass, trees, and other things while outdoors – not joking}, and I’m going to do the same {the being appreciative part – not the kissing grass part}.
So even though I’ve taken and shared a gazillion photos of our outdoor adventures already, here are a few more – simply because they’re too good to pass up. Another day on the farm, but this time with a friend…
Last year I asked Gracen what she was thankful for, and her answers melted my heart. This year, I decided it would be fun to make a visual representation of her responses so that we could revisit and reflect upon them throughout the weekend.
A thankful tree is something I’ve actually done in my classroom many times before. We start the project out as a group with a read aloud, a discussion, and everyone contributing a few leaves, and then throughout the week the students are free to add leaves as they are reminded of things they’re grateful for. It’s always turned out to be a gorgeous project that serves as a wonderful reminder of just how much we all have to be thankful for. Our smaller at home version was no different. We’ve revisited it many times and added things as Miss G has requested to and the entire project, start to finish, was a lot of fun.
It started a week or so ago in our courtyard with a stack of coffee filters, some watered down food colouring (we used approximately 3 tablespoons of water for 10 drops of colouring), some droppers, and an old piece of cardboard as a work surface.
Using a stack of 2 or 3 at a time, Grae squeezed our homemade watercolours out onto the filters and watched the colours run and mix to create gorgeous colour combinations and patterns. Here in the October heat, they dried so quickly that I was able to cut them into very simple leaf shapes as she continued painting more filters.
Throughout the week, we talked about things we were both thankful for and I recorded one idea on each leaf.
Some of the things she felt happy to have were really eye opening. While I do appreciate the construction across the street from our building for the entertainment / education if provides Miss G, often times it just seems like a whole lot of extra noise, dust, and traffic. Well, Gracen doesn’t agree. She said she’s happy to have it because “it’s really cool and we get to watch all of the cool stuff happen like big trucks and cranes and cement coming”.
When we were ready to assemble our tree of thanks, I sketched an outline of a leafless tree onto an Ikea flatpack I had tucked away. Brad cut it out and we hung it in our main room using painter’s tape rolls.
Though all of my family members have slowly migrated away from the Okanagan and back to our home province of Alberta, we’re lucky to be able to stay with Brad’s parents while we enjoy the Okanagan sun. Gracen adores being here. The house {that Brad grew up in} is filled with treasures {new and old} to discover, Bella {her best fur buddy} lives here, and there’s endless space to run free.
One of her very favourite parts about being here is enjoying long morning walks with Grandma Charlotte and Bella. There’s a whole routine in place which involves puppy treats in a little bag, particular treat distribution spots, and a visit to the hay barn where shoeless antics take place. Today, with Uncle Brett home for the weekend but heading back to Vancouver at lunchtime, we all headed out for one last family walk before our big departure next week.
When this is all you know, it’s easy to take the beauty of the tree-covered mountains, blue skies, and sunshine for granted, but knowing how drastically our scenery will be changing shortly, I did my very best to soak every moment of this morning in…
“Com’on, Bella! Let’s run!”
Whew. Today Gracen and I spent over 2.5 hours driving, an addition 1.5 hours sitting at border crossings, and 3 hours bopping around Bellingham running errands and getting some shopping done. We powered straight through lunchtime and nap time, and through it all, Miss G was an absolute pleasure.
This girl. She’s my sidekick, my partner in crime, and my biggest fan. And I couldn’t love her more.
I’m one very blessed mama.
♥
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This photo reminds me of so many of the things we adore about Vancouver. The outdoors, art, blossoms, mountains, Queen E Park… It’s a lovely combination.