Sunday night we started our nightly going to bed routine. Jenn with Grace, me with Nolin. At this time, these pairings seem to work best and get both kids to sleep the fastest (and after all, that is the goal).
With the change in time, Grace seemed to be pretty much asleep before Jenn even put her in her crib. With this extra time, Jenn decided to join in on our “goodnight party”.
Teeth brushed, pajamas on, and we were finishing up our books when Jenn asked have you said your prayers for tonight?
This used to be part of the routine, but somewhere down the road had been dropped from the agenda. Nolin looked at me and looked at her a little confused, so Jenn took the lead and said her prayers.
We then turned to Nolin who sat there quietly thinking about what he wanted to say.
Jenn suggested starting with something(s) that he was thankful for and then he began…
Dear God {a slight pause} thank you for bringing my animals…
By animals he does not mean pets, he in fact means the massive collection of stuffed animals that he has either acquired during his 3.5 years or commandeered from Grace over the last 18 months that now take up most of his bed.
That was really nice Jenn encouraged, but Nolin wasn’t done yet.
Dear God, thank you for bringing the earth and for bringing outer space too. Thank you also for bringing the moon, the universe and the whole world.
We were both presently surprised with this altruistic view of what to be thankful for, but were kind of missing our own non-altruistic shout out..Thanks for the best parents in the world, or thanks for bringing me an awesome family…anything.
Jenn tried to encourage him further…That is really nice, is there anyone in particular that you would like to thank God for?
Without hesitation, Nolin replied…I already said the whole world! But thank you God for not bringing tornadoes. Amen!
There is seriously no way to argue that logic at all…
I guess it’s my turn…Dear God, thank you for bringing our family together and all of these little moments that occur in between the big ones.
Our Modern Family 