Season for Family

A community of women finding time for family connections.

Thanksgiving Tradition

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I’ve never put much thought into Thanksgiving. I love the food and getting together with family, but mostly it is just the holiday that must pass before I get to put on the Christmas music! So, I was surprised this month when I found myself thinking a lot about gratitude and what a gift this month could be in my life and in the life of my family. With these thoughts I was excited to find a good tradition I could do this season and many more to come to help me slow down and recognize the many blessings in my life.

I love traditions but I have found over the years, that for me, the traditions that are the simplest and most flexible seem to be the ones that are most likely to succeed. So, this month each family member picked a few people that have been a blessing in their life, and we found a way to share with them our gratitude. We did a handwritten card and some small homemade treats for a few friends and a secret puzzle message for some teachers and grandparents.

I know these were simple, inexpensive acts, but I can honestly say there has been such a sweet happiness in our home this month as we’ve had the love that only comes from the gift of gratitude.

We wanted to share a free Thanksgiving card printable you can use this season to share your gratitude with others. These cards are great for sending on little treat plates, to a teacher, or even leaving on the counter of your relatives who hosted Thanksgiving. Who doesn’t like a card that expresses someone’s gratitude for them!

Free Thanksgiving Cards

What ways do you express or show your gratitude during the Thanksgiving season?

Finding your part in the temple work

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It’s our season for the temple! But what is your role in this? Is it your time to attend regularly? Is it finding family names to take to the temple? Is it being an ordinance worker? Is it working on receiving your own ordinances? Whatever part of the temple you are participating in right now, we can always find ways to strengthen our own testimonies of the temple and our families.

Last week we took the opportunity to go to the temple with our children. It was a Monday night and the temple was closed. So, we sat down in front with a picnic blanket and a big plate of brownies 😊. We talked about the temple with our kids. It wasn’t planned out or scripted. It was an opportunity to just talk about what we love about the temple. To explain and share with our children the importance of the covenants made in the temple. I took time to share how I feel in the temple and even shared my most special memory- the day I was sealed for time and all eternity to my best friend.

My children LOVED the stories. They loved understanding more about what goes on in the temple. They sat in rapture as I told the story of how our family began. It is NEVER too early to instill a love and reverence for the temple in our children. And it’s a funny thing, how as I took that time to teach my children, I felt my own testimony grow. I remembered some sweet and sacred memories I had not thought of for a long time. I realized how much the temple has blessed my life over the years as I vocally shared those tender feelings with my children. I recognized the strength the temple offered me in the past and was available for my future. We grow so much when we teach our children. They need us, but oh how we need them.

What are ways your share your love for the temple with your children? How do you get them excited to attend the temple?

KAYLA BERRETT

IG: @kaylaberrett

Taide

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What is resiliency? Where does it come from? How do we get it? Resiliency is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Research is showing that knowing your family stories is one way to gain resiliency. Knowing and searching out your families lives is a healthy and healing way to deal with hardships. Search for them, remember them, find out how your ancestors survived. Literally “flesh them out” with stories, photos, and a little history of what was happening in the years and places they lived. I guarantee this process will change you for the better.

On the left is my great grandmother Taide. On the right is me. I know she faced great hardships, as did many of the women in our family before and after her. Whatever resiliency she gained, I know it lives on in me.

MICHELLE FRANZONI THORLEY

florafamiliar.myportfolio.com
IG: @flora_familiar