Today was a celebration service at church. We had all the kids with us in the sanctuary for the entire service (and it was exceptionally long). I love having the kids in the sanctuary with us. I firmly believe that children must feel included, accepted and loved as a member of the church. They need to feel that they belong in corporate worship. I truly believe that is all true as we strive to bring our kids up to follow Christ and serve Him.
However, that doesn't mean that every time I have everyone in the sanctuary that we have a blissful service. On the contrary, some days by the time the service has ended I am exhausted. Today was not an exception to that experience. Some day I will look back and laugh. Today, I'm just ready for a nap.
It started with M and C fighting over the goodies in the 'entertainment' bags that we provide for the kids, which is just typical behavior. Then, C was eating M's snack which caused a bit of angst. Nothing major...just life with the boys. During the children's sermon, C announced to everyone that he was baptized last night in the bathtub and M tried to start playing the piano. C was full of spunk today and M wasn't to be left behind. As a side note, C and M are having trouble co-existing right now. M bullies C horribly. It is kind of comical to see that C has met his match, but in church it is frustrating because M voices his displeasure by shrieking. The two of them go back and forth throughout the service. Well, Jut was almost finished with his sermon and M was getting vocal. So, I gave a stern warning to C as I left to take M to the nursery about my expectations for his behavior...mainly keep his bottom in the pew and his mouth shut. I left.
Upon my return, I find both boys wrestling on the floor in the aisle next to the pew. Thankfully, my presence was enough to stop the scuffle and for both boys to jump back up into the pew. But, I may have missed the ending of the service, as I was fuming. What on earth gets into these boys???
Upon investigation, X told us that C told him that he was going to go up and talk to Jut because he was bored. X knew that as Jut was preaching that wouldn't be a great idea and so he tackled C to keep him from going to the front of the church. Simple story. Simple logic...but maybe not the best idea.
I love my boys. They are wonderful, but they are crazy. My dad says that raising my sister and I made his hair fall out. These boys are giving me gray hair and testing my sanity. It is amazing that boys survive boyhood. Some days I don't know if I'm up to the challenge of being a mom of boys. They are a different kettle of fish. :)
