First Sunday in January

Ah ! The first Sunday in January. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the first Sunday in January means a couple of things. First of all, it usually means a change in the time we attend church. Second of all, for primary age children it means advancing a class and getting a new primary teacher. For us both of the statements are true. We have been attending church at 12:30-3:30 but our new time has been moved to 8:30 a.m. I didn’t think our church started services that early! I have had mixed feelings about the new time change. I am way excited because Sundays have always been a struggle with the younger children not getting their afternoon naps and being thrown off their schedule. So on the one hand I have been way excited that we will be home at a decent time, I can fix them lunch and we can all actually have a nice Sunday afternoon nap. But on the other hand, I have really been dreading it. Seriously, 8:30 a.m. Any one who knows me knows that I usually spend a while in the bathroom getting ready. So I have really struggled worrying about getting myself to church let alone getting four little children dressed and out the door. I am thinking of making a chain like little children do that countdown to an event that they are really looking forward. Only my chain would be a countdown to how many Sundays we have to be at church at 8:15. With our first Sunday behind us, I can honestly say it wasn’t that bad! We even got to sit in the chapel and not the overflow (which means we made it to church with time to spare!). I have to pay tribute to my DH. I really couldn’t do it without him. He got all the kids up and fed them breakfast, except Sam who we were trying to encourage to fast just one meal with us. He got all of them dressed, including Natalie. All I had to do was Natalie’s hair. Most of our children our early risers and are usually pretty happy when they get up. Sam is use to getting up early for school. Conner on the other hand, loves to sleep later but doesn’t mind getting up when he is asked. Logan isn’t a heavy sleeper and so consequently he is usually awake the minute he hears the first person get up. Natalie on the other hand is a whole different story. She would sleep until 8 or 9 if I let her. Well when we got her up at 7:00 to feed her and get her dressed she threw a fit. She was unpleasant most of the morning until it was time to go to church. Let’s just say a Sunday afternoon nap did her some good!

Like I mentioned earlier, we made it to church with time to spare. I was curious going at 8:30 what different people would look like. I thought especially the teenagers would come like they were dragged out of the shower. We also have a pretty big ward and the chapel always fills up pretty fast. I also thought for sure that the chapel wouldn’t fill up until after the sacrament and we would have a lot of stragglers. As I sat there in our pew watching people come in, I was amazed. The chapel filled up pretty fast and there wasn’t a whole bunch of late stragglers. Everyone, that I noticed, looked dressed nicely and hair styled perfectly, unlike what I was expecting. The thought occurred to me once again that our church is true. How many families in other religions would go to church at 8:30 a.m? If they do go, how many of them would also take the time to get their young children ready and at church at that time in the morning?

With the first Sunday in January also comes the change in Primary classes. Sam was pretty nervous about getting a new primary teacher and informed us he wouldn’t know where to go. As I was trying to get the younger children to where they needed to be, I saw Sam wandering around trying to figure out where to go. He later informed me that he figured it out because the room number was printed on a sheet they handed out with the church bulletin during Sacrament Meeting. His new teacher is Sister Erickson. She encouraged the children to bring their scriptures every week because they will be using them a lot this year. Conner is now a CTR. He is so excited about his new teacher. Her name is Sister Verslysus. She gave them homework to work on at home this week (a page to color) she also included a little treat for Conner once he gets it done he can have the treat. She also gave him his first CTR ring. Because Conner refuses to let me resize the ring, he has already lost it a couple of times. She also gave them each one of those plastic bracelets that are so popular. The bracelet says CTR. Since Logan can’t communicate much, I am not sure what he thought about the first day of Primary. He is now a Sunbeam. I do know when we walked right past the nursery, he arched his back and refused to go any further. It wasn’t until I got him seated with his new primary class and started leaving that he finally thought things would be okay. His new primary teacher is Sis. Myers (she was Conner’s teacher last year) and then Sis. Rubio (she was his nursery teacher).

Bryon and I didn’t get a new teacher! But the lesson in Relief Society today was on Joseph Smith. We will be studying him in Relief Society/Priesthood for the next two years. What an awesome prophet. I am really excited about the opportunity we have to learn from the teachings of Joseph Smith.

As for the good Sunday afternoon nap, I have been looking so forward too it didn’t quite happen. Bryon and Sam went down to Sam’s room to have a rest. Conner was in bed with me and Natalie and Logan were each in their own bedrooms. Bryon and Sam ended up wrestling and laughing most of nap time. It carried through the vents of the house and I am not sure how many of us got a nap! Oh well! It was fun to just lay there and listen to Sam and Bryon having so much fun together. There is always next Sunday to catch that Sunday nap!