Our Thankful Tree

Collected some branches from outside to fill our empty dining table vases and as a nod to Fall.  Matt asked me if I had checked them for ticks.  I can't say that I did, but I tend not to worry about that kind of stuff.  I did brush them off with my hands and made sure they didn't have any cobwebs.  So as far as I'm concerned, they're practically store bought!

A few weeks ago, I had collected and displayed a few branches that had colorful leaves.  But then, naturally, the leaves dried up and the branches looked sad and silly.  This tends to happen to plants when they are not given any water.

So this time, I collected branches that had already shed their leaves.  After gathering, arranging, and standing back to admire my work, the naked branches looked a little blah.  Matt agreed.

So I thought I would make some paper leaves for them that won't die.

Then the Thanksgiving spirit grabbed hold of me, and I decided to write a few things I am thankful to the Lord for on those leaves.  I didn't originally intend the branches for this purpose, but now I really like our little "Thankful Tree" (which I'm sure is not original and is probably pinned all over the place on pinterest - in fact, I saw a similar idea done for a fundraising event by our school's PTO recently.  So full artistic credit is not due me.)

Our Thankful Tree.

 It's fun to let new friends who come over add a leaf of their own to the Thankful Tree.

I'm trying to be thankful for our camera, which focuses inconsistently and forces me to do some creative editing (as evidenced in the very different styled pictures above.)

What are you thankful for?