Thankful Monday

The funk.

That's what I woke up in.

Funny thing about funks is they have a selfish way of wrapping us inside, then tying the black cloud knot, suffocating and disorienting.

Which is why I'm incredibly grateful for Thankful Monday, a freshly inspired family tradition, that ironically debuted this morning, magically illuminating Mondays on our calendar, 3 more starred in this beach-cruisin', summer-filled, lemony July month.

Well, Thankful Monday it is!

On their striped rug we sat, the boys and I, brainstorming grateful thank reasons, and I spied out my eye's corner, the funk slithering out of my bed, oozing onto the floor, sliding down the hallway and disappearing out the back door!

Good riddens!

I do have a part to play with this unwelcome friend, the funk! I can choose to let him hang on me throughout the day, or instead, freeze moments and gather them in my upturned hands, my palms heaped by dinnertime.

Grateful moments.
Thankful whispers to my Heavenly Father.
Simple beauties outnumbering the stars in the everyday.

"Do not disdain the small. The whole of the life- even the hard- is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole...There is a new way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up." {One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp}

Amazing how giving breath to our blessings disintegrates the funk. Because it's pretty hard to be foul and cranky, when I'm sitting on a striped rug, soaking up my sons, and thanking God for:

...my oldest turning four in one day
chocolate-dipped marshmallows, rolled in Butterfinger crumbs
snuggling my baby's fever away
an authentic sweet tea recipe from a legit Southern friend
walking alongside my best friend, post-dinner, pre-bath routine
taking the first steps in starting my business {stay tuned}
the gift of a fragrant rosebush's endless yellow, bud-filled vases
flip-flop tans
getting my cup filled with a much-needed girl's day out
French Vanilla swirls in my coffee...

Thankful Monday.
What are you grateful for?