Tonight was our family night. It's Jackson's favorite day of the week. He learned all the days of the week just so that he could count how many days until Monday. Tonights theme was gratitude.

Jackson had a hard time grasping what gratitude meant so we tried to put it in terms of a word he already knew -- thankful.

I said "Jackson, there is another word that is like gratitude, it's when you are th---"

I was hoping he would fill in the word.

"Oh thatitude!"

So after a short lesson, I took the boys over to the whiteboard where we could draw pictures of the things we were thankful for, and for the most part, I was impressed by Jackson's thoughtfulness and insight as he came up with his list. Here is a short list of things that Jackson is grateful for:

myself
hands
feet
footballs
basketballs
eyes
shapes
flowers
our home
pumpkins
toilets
toothbrushes
telephones
the sun
windows
the moon
the stars
the rain
doors

And Bennett, although his pictures were hard to decipher, he made it very clear to me what he was thankful for:

Vacuums (he has a love/hate relationship with vacuums-he is fascinated by them and yet completely terrified)
Snakes
Trains
Airplanes
Jenny
Isaac
Nathan

So all in all it was pretty successful. Jackson is just a sponge and absorbs everything we tell him. Last night at dinner he wanted to know everything there is to know about repentance. So it puts a lot of pressure on me for family night, because he has such a desire to learn.

And I guess that is what I am grateful for today.