Sunday, April 15, 2007

A "Normal" Day at Church


It has been said:
"The course of our lives is seldom determined by great, life-altering decisions. Our direction is often set by the small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run. This is the substance of our lives -- making choices."

In our family, we choose to go to church on Sunday. We always have, and we always will. It's just that simple...in theory anyway.

That said, however, church with four children and a husband at work, is rarely what I would call a "fun" event! And it is an event!

Take today, for example...

Our day (or should I say, MY day) began with a loud pounding sound around 8:15. A faulty doorknob "locked" the kids upstairs and they could not get out. Thankfully, after finally yanking hard enough, I was able to open it; able to provide reassurance to my precious children that they would once again be allowed downstairs. As I rounded the top of the stairs, calming voice and all, imagine how thrilled I was to discover hundreds, if not thousands, of Honey Nut Cheerios strewn all about the entire room!
It was not even 9am...

By 9:45 -- Cannon was in timeout for mouthing off and hitting his sister. A voice message was left for Greg stating, "Call when you can -- so that you can chat with your son about proper behavior!"

By 10:30, I was cussing out Cleveland and it's lovely weather! (Ok, so truth be told, I haven't stopped cussing out Cleveland and it's lovely weather -- ever since we got 18 inches of snow on Easter!)

At 11:42 we started the "Get-your-coats-what-do-you-mean-you-can't-find-your-shoes?" process.

By the time we were seated and church services began at 12:30 -- I was exhausted!

The intial announcements were uneventful...things got lively when Brynnley's underwear fell to her ankles! Ok, so it wasn't actually Brynnley's (age 3) underwear -- she was wearing Addysen's size 8 underwear! She thinks "the flowers are just SO pretty!"
At 1:15, with red crayon on my skirt and slobbery graham cracker 'goo' on my white shirt, B, K and I were in an empty classroom. As it was naptime and lunchtime, the girls alternated screaming and pitching fits. I wouldn't know from actually having heard them, but rumor has it the talks were very good...
2:00 - FINALLY - Three out of four kids were pawned off on their teachers and I attempted to attend the adult class.
2:11 - Kenzie and I were back wandering the halls.
At 3:30, amidst dozens of people gathering coats, hats, gloves and children, a rather portly gentleman walked past Brynnley.
"MOM!" She exclaimed. "THAT GUY IS SO FAT!"
As only a mother can do, I ever-so-quickly grabbed her by the back of her coat and tried to discreetly force her down the hall -- desperately attempting to focus her attention on something, anything else.
It was to no avail.
"MOM! MOM! Did you hear me? Answer me! Why is that guy so fat?"
What do you say to a 3 year-old who is stating the obvious?
Yeah...we make the decision to attend church every Sunday. But, church with 4 kids and a husband at work is not fun. I guess I am just banking on the fact that, "the course of our lives is seldom determined by great, life-altering decisions. Our direction is often set by the small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run. This is the substance of our lives -- making choices."

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