A few nights ago Paul, Ryan, Ben & I knelt down to say our family prayer before putting the boys in bed. It was Ben's turn. For some reason, Ben has stopped self-starting his prayers. He always wants help now and lately, Ryan enthusiastically volunteers to help Ben say his prayers. The other night when Ryan was helping Ben he went through thanking Heavenly Father for everyone in the family. Ryan would say, "Thankful for Daddy," and Ben would repeat, "Thankful for Daddy."
Ryan: Thankful for Mommy. Ben: Thankful for Mommy.
Ryan: Thankful for Ryan. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
And everything went fine until Ryan said, "Thankful for Ben."
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
And you may think typing it so many times is excessive but the truth is, this went on for several minutes--a lot more than five times...(Paul & I were laughing too hard to interrupt!)...but Ryan started getting frustrated that Ben wasn't getting it, (that he was supposed to be thankful for Ben) so we finally stopped them and explained to Ben what Ryan was saying so Ben finally said, "Thankful for me," and then Ryan was happy.
Ryan frequently likes to help Ben say his prayers so that time has not been the only time the same thing has occured but it was the funniest! It's fun watching my boys learn to pray and I love their enthusiasm. Any time it's time to pray they both beg for the opportunity. In fact, just tonight we had our home teachers over and when we knelt to say the prayer before they left, Ryan jumped in and started praying before Paul even had the opportunity to invite anyone else to offer it! It surprised us all but it was really sweet. I really am thankful for Ryan!...and Ben too, of course!