Family Thanks

With Thanksgiving tomorrow I asked the boys what they were thankful for this year.  They each did it when the others were not in the room.  Here is what they said:

Cormac:  He just rattled them off and I typed them as he said them.
1.  I am thankful for my dog.
2.  I am thankful for my sister.
3.  I am thankful for my Mom and Dad.
4.  I am thankful for my brothers.
5.  I am thankful for my house.
6.  I am thankful for the beach.
7.  I am thankful for food on the table.
8.  I am thankful for playing dress up with my sister.
9.  I am thankful for Meema, Grandma, Pop Pop and Grandpa.
10.  I am thankful for my cochlear implants.

Colin:
1.  I am thankful for my family.
2.  I am thankful for Duke, Raven and Duchess.
3.  I am thankful for my brothers.
4.  I am thankful for my Mom and Dad.
5.  I am thankful for my Meema, Pop Pop, Grandma and Aunt Mary.
6.  I am thankful for my guitars.

Ciaran:
1.  I am thankful for my family.
2.  I am thankful for Raven, my brothers and sister.
3.  I am thankful for my food.
4.  I am thankful for my toys.
5.  I am thankful we have enough money.
6.  I am thankful we have cousins.

I did my 30 days of thanks on Facebook so I won't bore you with what I am thankful for again.  Take some time to really think about what you are thankful for in your life.  Others might have more than our family in material items but we are rich in love and appreciation for each other.  To me, those are more important.  My hope is to raise children who are thankful for even the smallest things in their lives.

Hope you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Really listening...

I read this article the other day. It was titled 10 Things I Learned When I Stopped Yelling at My Kids.  I admit I do yell at my kids sometimes.  There are times I feel it's the only way to get there attention over all the noise!  I really try not to yell but none of us are perfect, right?  When I do get upset I go to bed the same way she describes.  I feel like I failed for the day.  I feel like I need to do better.

Tonight at bedtime I had an experience and it reminded me of #6 on the list:

By yelling you might miss out on life-changing moments.

The boys were up in bed and Ciaran came downstairs.  Normally, I would have said "Go back to bed.  You know you are supposed to be asleep." Ciaran is known for his stall tactics at bedtime.  Tonight, I didn't tell him to go back to bed.  I simply asked him what he wanted.  And you know what he said?  "Mom, you know that book I am reading?  (He started a book yesterday and is super interested in it.  He even brought it out to dinner and read it in a restaurant tonight) Can you please find me more books like that?  If I had books like that I would read them all the time"  I nearly cried. I leaned down and kissed him and told him I was so proud of him.  I told him when he went to sleep I would look up the author on the computer and find him more books!  He went right upstairs and went to bed.  I would have missed that moment if I had just responded with my normal "Go back to bed"

Honestly.  I have been trying forever to get that boy to enjoy reading. He always says he doesn't like to read.  Reading didn't come easy for Ciaran.  He had to work a lot harder than Cormac and Colin to learn to read.  He compared himself to his brothers and when he realized he wasn't reading like them  it was difficult for him to enjoy it.

When I go to bed tonight I will rest easy knowing I truly listened to something very important Ciaran had to tell me.  I am glad I didn't think it was his usual delay of game.  I already looked up the author and found seller on Ebay selling a collection of his books!  I can't wait until they arrive!

Here he is drinking chocolate milk and reading his book at the restaurant.