Well, you win some, you lose some. I won today by getting the whole family up and at church by 7 am. That was pretty exciting. I lost because at 6:40, the kids were in no mood to take cute Easter pictures for me, and by the time we got home from church, they had reverted to their norm, attracted all of the dirt in the area and were a mess. So we don't have any adorable group pictures. I figure I'll have to redress them in their Easter stuff and try to do pictures over again in a few days when Seth is feeling better. I will include our outtakes, though.
We went to the sunrise service, and as such, there was no childcare. My kids don't go to service normally, they go to Sunday School and go dance their little hearts out in the Marina. So when we got to church and they realized there was no class to go to, they started contemplating mutiny. Jace sat on John's lap saying "Donut. Donut. Donut." very robotically, over and over and over. Ava snuck out of our row and over to a group of high school and college kids, where she stood about one foot away from the boy she's in love with (He's an older man...16) and kept shaking her hair, trying to get him to pay attention to her. Every time I looked back and beckoned for her to come back and sit with us, she shook her head at me very seriously and furrowed her eyebrows.
When she finally did come back to sit with us, she was restless. He back hurt. Her legs hurt. Her American Girl doll hurt. She had to go to the bathroom. She had to wash her hands. She had to see how tall she was.
I am so glad my kids don't sit with me in service on a regular basis, because I would not be able to soak up a cotton picking thing. Seth was busy busy busy, chewing on everything he could get his hot little hands on. It was a busy, beautiful service. The worship was great, and the sermon was wonderful to hear. After the service was over, I stood up to grab our stuff and head back to the area I volunteer in for the next service, but before I knew it, we were surrounded.
Our high school and college kids were gathering around Seth, reaching out for him, passing him gently from person to person, loving on him. Middle school kids were standing in front of me, asking good questions about his surgery and listening intently to the answers. Every single kid had a personal connection to Seth, one that they got by knowing his brother, praying him right on through my pregnancy, his birth, his deafness, and his surgery. They seem to identify with him in a way that is difficult when you're sponsoring a child far away or contributing to a building fund. These kids have worn their Seth bracelets, told their friends, prayed for him, in such a way that I don't think outreach ministry will every be the same to them again. In a lot of ways, I think those kids they help in a 3rd world country will have more of a face now, because of Seth. It's been an awesome thing to see, these young kids reach out to this baby. I can't get the picture of them all kneeling on the floor, hands reaching out to touch Seth, praying over him on the night before his surgery. It has been a blessing to witness the hearts of these kids, and I can't wait for them to see what their prayers, their outreach on Seth's behalf, has done.
I can't wait for Seth to grow and up and pay it forward! What an awesome thing to be able to do for someone.
13 comments:
I know how hard it is to enjoy church service when your kids are in there with you! :)
Cute pics even if they aren't what you want! Looks like Seth is feeling MUCH better!
I can totally relate. We could never enjoy a service if the boys were there with us. The pics are still cute, tho!
Happy Easter! Or "halleiugh, Christ is risen!" as my son Jack has been saying all day!
It's amazing how many hearts little Seth has already touched. So special.
That is so awesome! I bet those kids were so excited to see Seth. That gives me goosebumps when I read it.
Kudos to you for making it to church that early with 3 kiddos and 1 hubby in tow! I can barely get myself out of the house with one kid by 7:30 these days! I am glad Seth is feeling better. He looks so sweet sleeping like that!
I have three kids and I am telling you there is NO WAY we would make the sunrise service! hehehe My hubby and I teach the College&Career Sunday School class and we were hard pressed to get there on time for that. We watched part of "The Passion" this morning. I had forgotten what a powerful visual message this movie is. I am so glad that Seth is feeling better and will be praying for his activation day coming up. I totally agree about the childcare thing, we have not had Childrens Church for three weeks now for various reasons, and it is almost impossible to get anything out of the sermon when you are worried about your kids being too loud, kicking someone in the head, tearing up the hymnal/Bible, needing to go pee, needing to go poo, being very vocal about their bodily needs, etc. LOL I ended up taking my Seth, he is 4, down to the cry room so that he could at least walk around.
Shannon
Hi! I found your blog from McMama's blog and read all about Seth. I watched your video and it really spoke to me. I just wanted you to know that I am praying for your little one and your whole family. What a cutie! I too contemplated keeping my two with me this morning at church but decided to put them in the nursery/class...good choice for me because I would have never been able to focus! :) Happy Easter to you and your family!
The sleeping picture just melted my heart.
Glad you had such a lovely, dirty day.
You ARE supermom. Three kids and 7:00 service that is awesome. We also have three kids, but we went to the 9:30 service. Our church had childcare for kids 0-2, so we only had 1 child with us at church. And that was challenging! YOU ROCK!!!
We're continuing to pray for Seth!
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Oh my...Tom and I will be praying for SETH...and all of you and awaiting the activation of his implants on the 4th!!!
I've added SETH to our blog Prayer List (right side-bar). We'll be praying and so will our friends!!
~Blessings,
Jan
Seth looks like he made a huge improvement over the weekend! So great to see (and I am sure a huge relief for you!)
I am digging that Orbit seat!
Hey there! Glad you guys had a great Easter :) Would you be comfortable sharing the name of your church? We're thinking about visiting a few in the area soon. Thanks!
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