Attitude of Gratitude

So I've been a few places, seen a few different cultures and there were some that had plenty and some that had next to nothing. It was amazing to me that it seemed like the less people had, the more thankfulness their hearts reflected. I once commented that I would rather not raise my children in the American culture. I remember watching my future father-in-law's eyebrows raise at this comment...I wonder what he was thinking? This was before Jon and I were dating, long before we were married and even longer before we had children. I am thankful that we live in America, and we have many freedoms and blessings that other nations and cultures will never experience. I am already beginning to see glimpses of a lack of appreciation in my two-year-old over the past few days especially. I see this ungrateful attitude when she refuses to wear a certain outfit, pushes a certain food off her plate, exclaims that two pieces of candy for sitting on the potty just isn't enough, etc... This is the beginning of the very behavior and attitude I was so against condoning in my children. It is quite possibly impossible to be full aware of all the blessings we have in our life. I suppose I should be thankful that my children have choices about which clean clothes they want to wear, and can make decisions about how much and what they want to eat, or about which toys they want to play with at the moment. I also realize that God looks at me, as His child, in the very same manner. He doesn't expect me to understand His grace and all that He has done for me. He doesn't require me to be thankful for His blessings on my family. He made me and understands that I am only human and will never be able to comprehend or realize all He does for me even on a day to day basis. He is always near, always present and always giving...even though I could never earn His love. I will try to live today in God's love and show this same kind of understanding and compassion to my children. However, I will make my best attempt at teaching my children to have an attitude of gratitude.