Back to Church

We decided to be brave this week and attempt church for the first time with three kids. It went...well, it went.

I am pleased to say that we were all ready to go early (which is a feat in and of itself) and got to church in a timely manner. My goal was to have Imogene make it through until after the sacrament was passed before I needed to nurse her. Yeah. That didn't work. As soon as we arrived at church (15 minutes early!) she insisted on eating. So AJ got seated with Emmaline and Liliana and I trekked off to the Mother's Lounge. Imogene ate and we managed to make it into the meeting just before the opening hymn. We made it through the hymn, prayer, and sacrament, and then Emmaline had a bathroom emergency and so I had to take her out quickly. As soon as Emmaline and I left, Liliana apparently threw a fit - and AJ was holding Imogene, so someone grabbed Lil for him and took her out into the foyer. When we got back from the bathroom, Imogene was starting to get fussy, so up I got again and took her. I put her in the sling and rocked her until she fell asleep = which only took about 5 minutes. Success! So back into the meeting I went. I was sitting not 5 minutes when she woke up again, so out I went again. I ended up spending the next 45 minutes sitting in the foyer because Imogene would wake up whenever I moved.

Finally it was time for Sunday School. I dropped Emmaline off at her class, and AJ took Liliana to the nursery. Liliana did NOT do as well this time as she did last time. AJ ended up staying the entire time in there with her. Meanwhile in my Sunday School class, Imogene woke up about 10 minutes into it. I took her back to the Mother's Lounge and fed her and managed to get back to class just as they were saying "Amen" on the closing prayer.

Then Relief Society started. I handed Imogene off and went and played the prelude music and the opening hymn. Right after we finished the opening hymn, I saw Emmaline's teacher beckoning at me. So off I went again! They handed out treats and wanted me to check the label and make sure they were safe for Emmaline. When I got back to Relief Society, I heard a baby crying - and sure enough, it was Imogene! I went back in, grabbed my sling and Imogene, and headed back out again. I put her back in the sling and rocked her to sleep. Of course during this time I was supposed to be accompanying another hymn, but they ended up skipping it. I got back to Relief Society just in time to play the closing hymn and some postlude.

So what did I get out of 3 hours of church today? the Sacrament, 3 prayers, 4 hymns, and about 15 minutes of lessons.

Rating: 1 Dum-Dum (for being a dum-dum and thinking I would actually get something out of church today...)