So much for a nice Sunday at church!

Venting big time here... We've had a terrible morning so far. We decided to venture out and try a new church, and had heard that the First United Methodist Church in Bentonville was nice for people with young families. Now, we are obviously church goers and our kids have been in church a million times. They are also pretty well behaved normally when we're out in public. So why is it that I'm completely bummed out and humiliated after today's experience?

The kids were horrible. Completely unacceptable. To the point where eventually, Brad had to leave and take them out of church. I wanted to leave too, but to save face a bit and NOT appear as if we had no control over our kids and our morning whatsoever (and because of course here in NW Arkansas, it's very possible - even likely - that I know one or more families in the congregation through work), I ended up finishing out the church service while Brad took the three kids (monsters??) outside for a walk. I could hear Sienna screaming even after they left. Nice.

So, we were "those people" this morning. I had a 5.5 year old who couldn't sit still for an hour and insisted on being on someone's lap at all times; a 3.5 year old who was throwing tantrums in the sanctuary; and a 2 year old that would not stop talking for one minute. Cute normally of course, and you forgive her because she's 2, but seriously - everyone always talks about how quiet she is, and she picks CHURCH to decide to be the chattiest kid you've ever seen. Despite having a paci! They dropped pencils, changed seats a hundred times, kicked the pew in front of them, and talked through every prayer.

If I could have crawled under the pew and not come out, I would have. :-(

I'm feeling whiny. Sometimes it's just so.much.work having three kids 5 and under! Of course the semon built off the first hymn, "Lord of the Dance," and the minister was challenging everyone to think about what mindset they come to chuch with...what are you thinking when you sit down to pray in church? What were you thinking when you came up for communion? Were you ready to dance? You need to take charge of your attitude towards worship, etc., etc. Seriously? My answer to that: Well pastor, I couldn't hear anything you were saying. And so number one, I was thinking I wished I could hear over the two year old talking nonstop in my ear. But given that her talking was the least of my issues, what I was actually thinking was: how long until we can bolt? It surely didn't help that all the other children in the sanctuary, no matter what their ages, were sitting angelically the entire time. And I kept thinking, we're in the South now. Church is serious business.

So the kids are in trouble, and they know it. They're playing quietly in their rooms and not even giving us a hard time about it. I think they actually get that they pushed the limits way too far. And Brad and I just had a chat about whether we're failing as parents, whether we're too lenient, allow to many compromises/negotiations, etc. What a fun way to start the morning.

Oh, and as an endnote...I do know that the point of church is not to have perfect kids, it's about the message, blah blah blah. But still, vent stands!