Thankful 4

What are you thankful for?

We have a bedtime routine with the three older kids that goes something like this: Books on the bed with Daddy (or Mommy) while someone feeds the Little One her bottle (almost done nursing). Oldest Boy reads one of his books from school (called "My Books". Seriously, first graders are so smart nowadays). The boys prefer the Magic Treehouse collection - or a Star Wars book that Oldest Boy has checked out from the library. Baby Girl demands whichever book she's in the mood for. When we're finished, Daddy "flies" everyone into their respective beds and I handle prayers. After prayers they each tell me their favorite thing and least favorite thing about the day (thank you Randy Pausch). This cracks me up because Youngest Boy doesn't understand what "least" favorite means; he always lists only things that he enjoyed.

During the month of November, I've added a new step and it's called the "Thankful 4". We cut out a giant number 4 and each night we all (well, almost all. *ahem* Daddy) write something that we're thankful for on a post-it and stick it on the "4". It amazes me what the kids are thankful for. I am hoping to make this a yearly tradition so that I can see how their thought process changes from year to year.

Of course, I have an ulterior motive: I recently read that a key to happiness is to list what you're grateful for at the end of each day. I could use an extra dose of happiness these days...