Giving Thanks

This past Sunday Luke had to leave for work on Sunday evening. I decided I would take the boys to church that morning so Luke could get a little extra rest before leaving. This was my first attempt to take them both by myself. Fortunately my mom and Chuck were going to be there plus I was armed with a bag of toys and snacks. I was feeling pretty confident! We all settle in the pew (Tricia and Jon were there with their 1 month old baby as well) and immediately Dane starts babbling, Will was telling me he didn't have enough room to plow, and little Madalynn (J & T's baby) started fussing. Uh-oh I thought. Madalynn quickly fell asleep for the rest of the service, but my boys didn't stop. It was non-stop chatting, bribing and babbling. The people around us who looked our way were quick to smile at us but it still was so stressful for me. Then Will announces he has to pee. I decided to take them both out for a few. I walked Will out the back of the sanctuary, where we came in from outside. He must have thought we were going back outside bcecause just before we were "in the clear" he asks me if he was going to go pee outside? I ushered him out even more quickly - thankfully not too many people heard him. Turns out the sermon was just beginning so we stayed out for that portion. When we came back in it was more of the same. Dane was happily babbling and Will chatting away no matter how many times I asked him to PLEASE be quiet!! I'm not sure I heard anything that was said. By the end I was literally near tears. We were well on our way home before my blood pressure returned to normal. Needless to say, I will NOT be attempting that again, ever. On the drive home I was thinking about what I was thankful for... At that point, my list mostly consisted of things like "That we made it through without anyone screaming or crying" (me included) and "I'm thankful for the nursery and Sunday school options for parents..."