A week of gratitude

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.” – W.T. Purkiser

Whoa! Has the end of November has been a blur! Thankfully, we have gotten so much done in the past two weeks and I have been very eager to share everything with you.

Check! Holiday photos are done and holiday postcards have been ordered.

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Thanksgiving was awesome! I have been working really hard lately on expressing gratitude and appreciating everything I have, so I went a little over the top this year with favors and gifting and what not. I brought my in-laws some mulled wine for hosting. I woke Tanner to a fun list of reasons why I am grateful for him and brought my gratitude cork board to dinner for everyone to get involved. My favorite thing I did was make everyone some spiced maple nuts in little treat bags with a note that said: “I am so thankful for you.” The nuts were a hit! I highly suggest the recipe by Table for Two blog and I found the free printable tags here.

I had to share another incredible recipe I used this year: Melted Brie with Cranberry sauce by The Kitchn. This was delicious! I used the cranberry sauce recipe which they had suggested, but exchanged the hazelnuts for pecans. I will definitely be adding this to my Christmas party appetizers this year. Here are some more fun pictures of Thanksgiving:

My favorite way I enjoyed showing Thanksgiving this weekend was spending a lot of time doing things for and with my husband. Friday, we spent time together watching the ASU vs UofA game (the only game we care about all year) and Tanner enjoyed my company in the garage with him. He even taught me how to reload shot gun shells with him. On Saturday, I surprised him while he was out fishing with a friend by organizing and cleaning his garage (something that had been on the top of his to-do list for months). His appreciation made me very happy, but I was already so joyous I was able to do something nice for him. To top it off, I went out hunting with him and a friend Sunday morning which turned into a 6.5 hour event which left me by myself quite often. It was a struggle, but I didn’t complain once about being bored or cold or uncomfortable. He told me after getting home that he was very impressed with me for not complaining and he was thankful for everything I had done.
I often forget how much it means to Tanner when I spend time with him doing the things he enjoys. Sometimes, I do not even need to participate, but just sit and watch him do his thing. It energizes him and makes him feel adored and worthy of my time, something I look forward to doing more often.

How do you show gratitude to those you love most?

xoxo Taryn