Her first prayer

Before every meal we say grace.

Bless us, oh Lord
And these, thy gifts
Which we are about to receive
From thy bounty
Through Christ, Our Lord
Amen.

And then we say...

Thank you, Jesus, for this food. 
God bless Clara and Luke. 

Then we list our special prayer intentions, which nearly every day since August have included my grandfather, who we call Poppa. He's been rehabbing in a nursing home following an infection in his leg, and the road to recovery has been tough.

Normally, Clara has already begun to eat long before I sit down. The second I hit the chair, though, she clasps her hands together, ready to pray (and if we forget, she's our reminder!). Yet, as soon as we start praying, she usually cries and whines throughout (not sure what that's about!).

The past two days, though, she has paid better attention. And when we get to the special intentions part, she has spoken up and said, "Boppy." She's done it at least twice now.

When she said it yesterday, I figured it was just a coincidence. Boppy - my father, her grandfather - was fresh on her mind because he and my mom visited us this past weekend, and I thought she was just randomly babbling. Still, I acted as if she meant it and said, "We pray for Nana and Boppy's safe trip home," since they were actually still making the long trek home from our house at that moment.

Then when she said it again tonight, it hit me: She has thought all along that we've been praying for Boppy when I've said "Poppa."

And the cutest part is that these past two days, she has taken it upon herself to add that intention. She thinks we pray nightly for Boppy and she didn't want us to forget. She was praying for her grandfather.

Her first prayer.

She does love her Boppy. And I guess the kids' grandparents should have be among our daily intentions anyway. Now, thanks to Clara, they will be :)