Today is Stake Conference. For those who aren't familiar with the terminology, Stake Conference is a twice-a-year meeting of several local congregations. There is no Sunday school, no children's meeting...it's 2 hours of hymns and speakers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not denigrating Stake Conference. I've been to several in my life, and each one has been uplifting, inspiring, spiritual, and motivational. But these 4 things are hard to experience when you've got children.
I find that most Sundays I spend my time at church focused on keeping my children quiet so that other people can hear the speakers and sing the hymns and feel uplifted, inspired, spiritual, and motivated. I'm not sure I've actually heard an entire church meeting since February 2004. I usually hear snippets of what's going on: "I'm so grateful BYU won the game yesterday!", "And my neighbor replied, I've had problems with raccoons too.", "So I reached for the tire iron, and...". Can you understand now why I get very little out of church?
Nevertheless, I am able to maintain some control because on a regular Sunday I can use this line: "Do you want to go to your class after this?...(wait for the inevitable "yes" response)..."Okay, then let's color/read/play quietly right now." It works time after time after time.
At Stake Conference, however, I have no leverage. I am reduced to making empty threats such as, "Stop coloring on the chairs...stop coloring on the chairs... stop...coloring...on...the...chairs...or I'll take you to the parking lot!" Which is where the kids would rather be anyway, so it's a win-win as far as they're concerned.
And so as parents, we made an executive family decision awhile ago. We won't be attending too many (read: none) Stake Conferences at least until after Sadie turns 3. By then, Amy will be 5 and Lucy will be 7, and old enough to entertain themselves quietly, and hopefully catch a word or two of what's going on. In the meantime, Stake Conference Sundays for us mean taking our kids to a wonderful Lutheran church where the people are friendly and loving, and having the kids attend Sunday school there.
I think this is important because I want my kids to know firsthand that even people who don't attend our church love Jesus, and have the same dedication to God and their families as we do. I want them to feel uplifted, inspired, spiritual, motivated, and comfortable wherever they may be worshipping. And I absolutely LOVE the protestant church calendar. (This is one thing I wish the LDS church incorporated...there's something magical and wonderful and spiritual about the Advent, Epiphany, and Lenten seasons--not just Easter and Christmas.)
But I digress...the point is, we take the kids somewhere else occasionally because they still learn something about Jesus, they get to broaden their horizons by experiencing another religion that has many of the same beliefs we do, and there's usually juice and cookies afterward. Now THAT is what I consider a win-win.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
First Day of School!
Today was Lucy's first day of Kindergarten. I am still trying to accept that she's old enough to be in school. Where did the time go? It seems like just a couple of years ago that we brought her home from the hospital and said, "Now what?"
Last night, the school had a BBQ and invited the students and parents to come and meet the teacher, see the classroom, turn in supplies, etc. And even after we did all of that, it still didn't hit me that Lucy was actually in Kindergarten.
This morning, we woke up, got ready, and headed off to school. The parents were invited to stay with the Kindergarteners for about 25 minutes, or until they were settled (whichever came soonest). Lucy was a little teary-eyed, and kept saying, "Good-bye, Mom! Don't go!" and one of the school staff came in and sat down with her. I took it as my cue to exit, so I gave Lucy a hug, told her I loved her, and walked out the door.
As I was walking back to the car, I think it all finally sank in. Lucy is in Kindergarten...today is the first day of her long school career. From now on, she won't just be learning what I'm teaching her. From now on, I have to trust someone else with her education and safety. From now on, I have no control over who she plays with on the playground, talks to in the lunchroom, or sits next to in the classroom between the hours of 9 AM and 3:30 PM. From now on, I won't always be there when she falls off the monkey bars (like she did today). Letting go is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Fortunately for me, I had an extremely active almost-3-year-old, and a miserable teething little one waiting for me at home. Otherwise, I think I would have wandered around all day long saying to myself, "Now what?"
At 3 PM, David and I loaded the 2 littler ones into the double jogger, and set off for the school to pick up Lucy. She was happy. Her teacher said she had a great day, and didn't cry at all after I left. She recited the days of the week for the entire class, and enjoyed playing outside. When I asked Lucy if she had a good day, she said, "No. It wasn't good--it was AWESOME! I can't wait to come again tomorrow."
There are pictures to share, and Lucy's thoughts to record, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Check back very soon to hear about all the wonderful and exciting things that are happening in Kindergarten, and see the pictures I took of her first day of school.
Last night, the school had a BBQ and invited the students and parents to come and meet the teacher, see the classroom, turn in supplies, etc. And even after we did all of that, it still didn't hit me that Lucy was actually in Kindergarten.
This morning, we woke up, got ready, and headed off to school. The parents were invited to stay with the Kindergarteners for about 25 minutes, or until they were settled (whichever came soonest). Lucy was a little teary-eyed, and kept saying, "Good-bye, Mom! Don't go!" and one of the school staff came in and sat down with her. I took it as my cue to exit, so I gave Lucy a hug, told her I loved her, and walked out the door.
As I was walking back to the car, I think it all finally sank in. Lucy is in Kindergarten...today is the first day of her long school career. From now on, she won't just be learning what I'm teaching her. From now on, I have to trust someone else with her education and safety. From now on, I have no control over who she plays with on the playground, talks to in the lunchroom, or sits next to in the classroom between the hours of 9 AM and 3:30 PM. From now on, I won't always be there when she falls off the monkey bars (like she did today). Letting go is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Fortunately for me, I had an extremely active almost-3-year-old, and a miserable teething little one waiting for me at home. Otherwise, I think I would have wandered around all day long saying to myself, "Now what?"
At 3 PM, David and I loaded the 2 littler ones into the double jogger, and set off for the school to pick up Lucy. She was happy. Her teacher said she had a great day, and didn't cry at all after I left. She recited the days of the week for the entire class, and enjoyed playing outside. When I asked Lucy if she had a good day, she said, "No. It wasn't good--it was AWESOME! I can't wait to come again tomorrow."
There are pictures to share, and Lucy's thoughts to record, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Check back very soon to hear about all the wonderful and exciting things that are happening in Kindergarten, and see the pictures I took of her first day of school.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Haircuts!
I asked Lucy about a week ago if she would like a haircut before school started, and would she like me to do it, or would she rather I take her to have someone else trim it. She thought for a minute and replied, "Would you be hurt if I wanted the groomer to cut it?" The groomer? Can you tell there's a dog living with us? I think her hair turned out really cute, and "the groomer" was a nice stylist named Pat who was great with kids.
And of course, Amy had to get in on the haircutting action, and I'm glad she did because now her curls are even bouncier! Don't ask me why she's got weird looks on her face for the pictures. It seems to be her thing lately.
W
And of course, Amy had to get in on the haircutting action, and I'm glad she did because now her curls are even bouncier! Don't ask me why she's got weird looks on her face for the pictures. It seems to be her thing lately.
W
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