Prayer!

Ethan is pretty good at praying with us. Normally when we announce prayer time he kneels down right away and then says, "Daddy kneel, Mama kneel." As he motions to each of us. Even though that isn't my favorite prayer position, I usually comply. In the unusual event that we can't get him to cooperate we just start to pray without him (normally when we are in a hurry). Almost inevitably, he runs over, folds his arms, and joins us shortly after we start. It makes me happy that at least he knows what is right, even though he doesn't always want to do it.

Trent and I try to help Ethan say his prayers everyday. We of course say mostly the same things since he doesn't have a very large vocabulary. He normally repeats only the last word or two of each short sentence, but as least he is participating.

This morning shortly after we got up Ethan saw an unopened jar of applesauce on the kitchen table and said, "I want applesauce!" He then climbed onto a chair at the table, folded his arms, and laid his head in his arms. "Father" he started, and then proceeded to say a bunch of gibberish with real words mixed in. It included most of the basic words we use when we help him pray-but I was most surprised by his intonation. I have never before noticed that we use a different rhythm when we pray, but it sounded exactly like he was praying except that I couldn't understand most of what he said! It was hilarious and although I at first closed my eyes, I just had to open them so that I could take in this scene. His prayer sounded something like this: "Thank you {gibberish} day, thank you {gibberish}, I love you tia (this is his Aunt Natalie), love you mama, love daddy, {gibberish}, food {gibberish} thank you {gibberish}, {gibberish},{gibberish}, {more gibberish}. It sounded exactly like sentences too! Then after rambling on for a good while and me waiting for him to say amen, he turned around and said with a big grin: "I pray Mama!" "Good job!" I said, "Did you say amen?" He quickly turned around, laid his head back down, and said "AMEN!" He was smiling so big and after I plastered him with lots of hugs and kisses he again declared: "I want applesauce!"