Thanks Santa

I don’t know about you, but around here Santa has been part of the vernacular since the Halloween candy hit the plastic pumpkin. In fact, I’m not sure how I am going to get my three year old to go anywhere or do anything after Santa has officially declared him good. Seems Santa is quite an effective discipline tool.
Today on the review site, I was going to write a list of kid items that we love that you may want to add to your Holiday lists. Instead, I decided to let the kids help me do it. My reason? They need to practice a little gratitude these days too. In all the talks of wishes and letters full of gifts, I start to get itchy that they are greedy little monsters. Inherently I know they are not so this exercise will not only help them remember all they have, but it will remind me how lovely they can be as I fully expect them to jump right into it. You know why? Their hearts are huge and full of everything good. I saw it the other day when The Girl brought home a brochure about her new class’s service learning project. At school, she and her classmates are making recycled paper bracelets and selling them all year.  They will then donate the proceeds of their sales to The Smile Train, a non-profit organization that funds cleft palate surgeries for kids who would otherwise be unable to afford them.
As all three looked over the Smile Train brochure, the two older kids talked between themselves about how terrible it was for the children in the pictures and how they were glad they could help. (The Middle One just bought a bracelet with his piggy bank money the other day.) Then they started pointing out (after their initial recoil at the pictures) how beautiful these people would be when they had their surgeries. They purposely found all the great features they could find in each face. The Girl then hung a picture on her bedroom wall. When asked why, she said it would remind her that, “these girls are beautiful because of their inside and so I should make my inside beautiful too because I’m lucky not to have that problem with my palate.” Seriously?!? Girl-your insides are already quite beautiful.
So today after school we will right grateful letters. The kids and I will brainstorm all the great things we have. Then we will start our letters to Santa with a few sentences of thanks for all that he, and everyone else in our lives has already given us.
My letter will start like this:
Deer Santa,
Thank you, thank you, for these three amazing people that I have the privilege of watching grow.

PS-Don’t forget to vote for TTC on Momversation over there.:) Thanks!!