The heavy stuff always settles to the bottom

Today was just crazy. I can't believe so many things could go wrong in one day. Just getting all my children to church looking presentable was a challenge, but we did make it. Everyone even had shoes on. At church they all wanted to sit right on top of me. They fought about that until I began to feel like I was in the middle of a dog pile. Then as the sacrament hymn was playing our priests made the discovery that someone had forgotten to bring the bread. No joke.

So after the sacrament song ended instead of passing the sacrament we went straight to the youth speakers while someone went and got bread. When the bread arrived the priests prepared it in silence. I realized how changing things a bit makes you think of it on a deeper level. It was great to contemplate the meaning of the sacrament and the sacrifice of my Savior in the silence. I love the sacrament.

But I didn't have too long to contemplate because about then I looked at my daughter and she was writing messages on her leg in three inch letters. Aaaghh! My youngest child, who won the right to sit on my lap, just couldn't sit still. Especially during the songs. I was singing with my own special vibrato because this child kept knocking the air out of me. The people in front of me must have wondered why I kept belting out phrases every now and then.

After struggling through most of sacrament meeting my little one finally fell asleep on my lap at the end of the closing song. "Great! Now what am I going to do with him?" I thought. I was still sitting there thinking about my options when suddenly I felt something warm on my legs. NO! No wonder he couldn't sit still! He needed a potty break! So what is the best way to carry a sleeping child out of the building, hauling an armload of quiet books, all while hiding the fact that my dress has just been peed on? Somehow I made it out without attracting too much attention. I got the child bathed and changed my clothes and got back to church before the end of Sunday School. Phew! The rest of church wasn't too bad.

But then our home teachers came over. Normally this is the signal for my children to act like raving maniacs. I don't know why they choose to bestow this honor on our home teachers. If they did it for someone who knew us better it wouldn't be so bad. Our home teachers are elderly men (I have to have high priests for home teachers since I am single) who have raised their children and aren't used to dealing with children very often. They are awesome and I love them very much, so I'm not meaning to be critical of them, I am just extra sensitive about my children's behavior around them. I am probably creating some sort of horrid self-fulfilling prophecy. I hate those. Today's home teaching felt a lot like a three ring circus. I just kept thinking to myself, "Remember what is important here. How would Jesus see this? How would He respond to these children." I didn't come up with any brilliant ideas of how to handle the children, but at least I calmed myself down and kept a positive attitude. Maybe something will come to me later.

After the home teachers left I decided to take my children for a walk so they could burn off some of their energy. I still remember the rowdy wrestling matches that happened between my brothers nearly every Sunday because they were stuck inside all day. I wanted to avoid repeating that family tradition if possible.

On the walk I let my children talk me into going the long way instead of the short way. When we got to the place where we turn around to head back they wanted to play for a little while. They ran around and chased each other and then just when we were about to go back home, Addison somehow cut her toe and blood was dripping out everywhere. Of all the children for this to happen to she is the most dramatic. She screamed and cried like her toe had been cut off. I just knew the neighbors around were going to call 911. It wasn't that bad of a cut, but she couldn't very well walk home that way either. It needed to be cleaned up and bandaged.

So I picked her up in my arms and gathered the others and we started the trek home. It was far getting from home to where we were now, but suddenly it had become at least three times as far to get back home again. On top of that, when my youngest realized that someone else was getting carried and he had to walk, he promptly sat down by the side of the road and refused to go any further. Lauren offered to give him a piggy back ride but if mom couldn't carry him he was just going to sit by the side of the road forever. Addison was still crying in my arms (of course). I was thinking "why do I do this? I am not going on a Sunday walk alone with all these children again."

Suddenly I saw what looked very much like a knight in shining armor. My sixteen year old rode up on his bike. I put my daughter on the handle bars and sent them off ahead. Well, they didn't get very far ahead. They rode a few feet, stopped to readjust, rode a few more feet, stopped to readjust. Still it was going okay, Addison quit crying and was giggling. But then on the third readjustment, something went wrong. My son gave Addison a little push to help her get in a more upright position and Addison was already off balance and went face first right off the bike onto the pavement. Luckily she didn't get hurt from the fall off the handlebars. But the wailing started up again. So I took her in my arms again. By carrying her a ways and then stopping to encourage my stubborn, still crying, little four year old to come along we inched our way toward home.

As soon as Addison got hurt Savannah had taken off running for home to get help from our next door neighbors. She didn't walk, she ran - the whole way. She was just like an ambulance. I was so proud of her. We hadn't made it very far before she was back with help. Our awesome neighbors drove us safely home and all was well again. Really I was kind of glad for the accident. With the exception of the youngest, it brought out the best in my children. They were so sweet and loving and helpful to each other. It was nice to see their angelic side after the day we had today.