Animal Crackers On Your Breath

I wasn't going to blog this week. I have had a rough week and honestly nothing had given me any inspiration to blog about...until today after school. I was so tired and I just hate staying late on Fridays but I needed to put some grades in the computer and set up a lab for Monday. Late this afternoon our resource teacher asked me if I could stay after school and sit in on a special ed meeting. My heart sank but I said that I would.

Following the meeting the resource teacher and I came back to my room and we were just talking and somehow in the conversation it came up that in many churches most of the kids don't sit out in the sanctuary any more. Most churches have children's church or other programs for kids. It wasn't like that when my kids were growing up and I remembered a funny church story about my kids.

My son, Ryan, is 3 1/2 years old than Misty. For much of their childhood we attended the First Christian Church of Flippin. Back then a wonderful elderly lady named Bevie Hodges kept the nursery during church. In the nursery there was a rocking chair for Bevie, toys for the kids and a BIG cookie jar always filled with animal crackers. Ryan started going to church with me when he was only about 2 weeks old and he had always stayed in the nursery with Bevie. After Misty came along I got to thinking that it might be too much for Bevie. She was old and there were several kids in the nursery. When Ryan turned 4 I told him that he was going to sit out in the sanctuary with me during church. My kids didn't sass or talk back but I could tell that he was NOT a happy camper. That first Sunday rolled around and Ryan slid into the pew beside me. He had his little papers from Sunday School and some other papers and crayons that I had brought to keep him occupied. He didn't make a sound during church and I was so pleased with his behavior. Once Church was over we went back to the nursery to pick up Misty. When we got to the car Ryan got in the back seat and as I was strapping Misty in her car seat he forcefully pulled Misty's tiny little head around and said "Misty, I smell animal crackers on your breath!" This may not seem funny to anyone but me, but it cracked me up. His big brown eyes were so serious and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

I almost gave in the next Sunday but I didn't. What I did do was bring animal crackers for Ryan to have a little snack during church. I'm glad that I made him sit out in Church with me. I think that our kids need to learn that there's a time and a place to talk and a time and a place to be quiet. My kids learned that in the First Christian Church. My daughter, Misty, is a grown Mom now and she recently wrote a blog about "Write it down in your Notebook." It's her story of how I dealt with her when she got old enough for her turn to sit out in the sanctuary with Ryan and me. The days of the animal crackers were over.