Today marked the first of my gratitude challenge – identifying things that I am grateful for in my life and why. Today definitely had a theme which is called lego.
Building Lego Houses with my kids.
I was sitting in the back room when one of my kids wanted me to show them how to build a lego house. A recent trip to the local library saw us come home with several “How to Build” lego books and, as most parents would attest to, we don’t have all the lego bits that are in these books. I remember always just having to sit down and work out how to build what I wanted using my own creativity and ingenuity with basic blocks rather than having every specific piece. I sat down with a big box of lego and showed the kids how to build a house in this way, how to create a roof and how to hinge the roof so it could easily be opened for them to be able to play with the inside easily without breaking to roof / walls. Doing this really took me back to my childhood and sitting for countless hours building with lego, it was a joy to do it with my kids and to see the excitement on their face with dad being cool and amazing at building things. The house now has a prize place in their “Legoville” on the lego table.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do this and sit with my kids building a simple lego house.
Having a generous family.
I got to catch up with my side of the family for afternoon tea down at Scarborough Beach, it was to celebrate mine and one of the kids’ upcoming birthdays. The joy on everyone’s faces as presents were opened (both from the givers and the receivers) was priceless. Ever since we have gotten home, countless hours has been spent playing with new toys, but even more than the actual material gifts, I am grateful to have a family who went out of their way to want to catch up, acknowledge and celebrate the upcoming birthdays.
Freedom to practise my faith.
I live in a country where, on the whole, I can practise my faith without persecution or fear of death. While sitting in Mass this really dawned on me as prayers were being offered for all those who live in war zones / areas of persecution and trouble currently. May I never take for granted the many freedoms that we have here in Australia compared to other places in the world.
