What I Learned at Church Today...

For all those of you who have (or have had) a baby too young to go to nursery, you know that getting anything out of church can be a challenge. In fact, simply surviving all three hours is a little miracle in and of itself. So in honor of that, I'd like to share all the things I learned at church today.

1. My kid is cute. (During sacrament meeting, he waved his arm around copying the chorister.)

2. My kid is also handsome. (Caleb and Daddy had on matching blue ties today. So handsome.)

3. Sitting in a bench is so much better than the chairs way back in the overflow of the cultural hall. (We actually learned this a while back, but find it beyond our capability to show up early enough to get a bench -- not that we're late to church usually, there's just that many people in our ward who actually come, and they come before us.)

4. Having a baby who can walk to class is slower, but much easier, than carrying a twenty pound child to the same place. (When we entered the Sunday School class, Caleb stopped next to an old lady and gave her a smile. It absolutely made her day. It's amazing what something as simple as a smile can do for a person.)

5. Having a baby who can walk is a terror when you want them to sit still in class. (Brandon was teaching Sunday School, so Caleb felt no need to stay near me. It didn't help that there were a bunch of babies in the front row on the other side of the room that Caleb was dying to play with. But since all those people have babies of their own, I don't think Caleb distracted them too much from the lesson.)

6. Churches should have a father's lounge. (Brandon always takes Caleb to priesthood. But after being good for sacrament meeting, and struggling to behave for Sunday School, Caleb can't sit through another hour of church. Instead, the boys always end up in the hallway with Caleb's friends and their daddies, since none of them can be good at that point.)

7. Little babies are super cute. (There are several newborns in our ward currently. I just love those tiny feet and hands.)

8. Babies don't really need cute blankets. (But their mommies do! Relief Society is always freezing. Lucky for me, Liz keeps Naomi's blanket. Thanks for sharing with me!)

9. Diaper bags are girly. (I love coming out of class to find my husband with a nice girly bag strapped over his arm. Maybe I should have gotten him something manlier to take to church on Sunday. At least we don't have a baby girl and hence a nice pink bag for him to carry.)

10. True love doesn't last long when you're only one. (Naomi gave another boy a kiss at church today! My poor sweet Caleb. Maybe it's finally time to introduce him to chocolate. It's the best cure for a broken heart.)

I'm sure that the talks and lessons were also really good. And I can vaguely remember some of the things that were talked about. Something about charity. And how little things now determine where our life will end up later. Read your scriptures. Keep a journal -- it'll help your children later in life as they go through the same stuff you're going through now. The priesthood is the power of God on earth. We should treat our husbands as if they are the magnificent men they ought to be, and then maybe they will be that way.

Basically, all the stuff they teach every week.