Day 30 (1/30/11) - New Church

Today we became the newest members of Sandy Mount United Methodist Church.  The congregation has been extremely warm and inviting as they've welcomed our family to the church.  We're very excited to have finally found the church that is the best fit for us (Trinity, especially Rev. Patterson, is hard to replace!) and are eager to become more involved in the church and its service ministries.  Mike and the pastor, who also happens to be the pastor assigned to the State Police Academy, really seem to have a connection.  And, the boys have been a huge hit, especially among the older members of the congregation who gush over how handsome and well behaved they are. 

The pastor encourages children to attend the worship service with their parents and even has a kids' table with age-appropriate activities set up in the back of the sanctuary.  I, too, think it's important for children to attend the service as well as Sunday School, but it's also stressful as they aren't always as quiet or attentive as we'd like.  For Ryan we've outlined what behaviors constitute good "church manners," and for the most part, he complies with them.  Gavin, on the other hand, is a little too young to understand.  Although he is quiet during the service, he tends to roam, traveling back and forth between our pew and the kids' table in the back.  This wouldn't be so much of a problem, if he didn't stop at every pew in between offering pencils, crayons, artwork, offering envelopes, prayer request forms, etc. to everyone he passes!  At the end of today's service, one woman introduced herself to our family, welcomed us to the church, and hugged and praised me for being such a calm, mellow, relaxed mom.  HA!  Clearly she must not have been sitting close enough to hear me hissing under my breath for Gavin to sit still, stay in one place, and behave!  
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