What Are You Thankful For?

One of my most favorite things that has happened since P came home is our new dinner/bed time routine.  On Thanksgiving, we talked with them about what it meant to be thankful.  We made it a funny explanation followed by a lot of silly examples followed by even more silliness.  They got the point.  :-)

So, that afternoon at dinner, we all went around the dinner table telling each other what we were thankful for.  Little P (melt my heart) said that he is thankful that his daddy went far away to work and then came home.  Little C...well, she doesn't quite understand yet and said her kitchen (which is what she asked Santa for).

The next day, as we sat down to dinner, we had the idea to carry on the tradition and after the blessing, say what we were thankful for that day.  My hope was that it would bring an awareness to all of the things that we have/do on a daily basis that we should be thankful for. 

I have to say, I have been amazed at the insights that my little three year old has had.  On P's first day back to work, Little P said he was thankful that daddy went to work but then came home after naps.  The other night, he said that he was thankful that he saved baby sis (Mini C) when she got her hand stuck in the drawer.  And the funniest was that he was thankful that daddy got some more gas for the grill so we could have cheeseburgers.  It has been so fun to watch the wheels turn in his brain and hear the highlights of his day. 

Little C, on the other hand...well, she's still thankful for the kitchen that she asked Santa for...haha.

Another thing we have started is to switch of saying the blessing before we eat.  Both kiddos do great with the blessing but Little C is naturally louder than Little P so we wanted to give him a chance to say it as well.  So, every other night, they switch off saying the blessing.  It has given us an awesome opportunity to help them figure out certain words and to talk about what they are saying.  It's been so awesome!

And lastly, my most favorite tradition we have started is family bible story/prayer time before bed!  I think we all know that we want to teach our children about the Bible and praying but sometimes its hard to find the right time and place.  So, now that dad is home, he gathers us all in the living room, reads a story from the kids' Bible, we talk about it, and then say our night prayers.  I have been shocked at how much a 2 and 3 year old understand. 

I can't tell you how much I have LOVED being a family again.  Yesterday, I looked at my husband and asked him if he is ever so happy that he feels like his insides were going to burst.  That is how I have been feeling.  Being a parent and being married is hard and requires constant self-giving but the reward, when you are faithful, is beyond understanding!  I know we will have our times when it's not so great, but I hope that I always remember how thankful I am for the the man that I married and the kids that we have.  I cannot wait to see how our story unfolds.