This is why I should never leave the house......

Can I just start this by saying, I'm exhausted!!! I pretty much stay that way, but I'm a little more so because I am in recovery mode after two back to back trips out of town. We went to Panama City for Thanksgiving, stayed 5 days, came home, then I packed up with my 3 kids by myself and headed back just 5 days later. We stayed 7 days and drove home in the storm of the century. Okay, that's a little bit exaggerated, but I only got 45 minutes of sleep the night before I drove home so it all seemed a little crazier. Somehow, despite the fact that it was mostly 70 degrees while we were in P.C. I drove home to a winter wonderland. We got 4 inches of snow!!

After a great visit with my family we got back in time for the Bay Springs Christmas parade. Sarah was in it with her dance class so we had to go. Do you sense my excitement? We actually ended up having a good time and it only lasted about 15 minutes. :) I kept going on and on about it being Kate's first Christmas parade and then I realized that it was all of my kids first Christmas parade!! Can you believe that? I've never taken my kids to a Christmas parade. I honestly don't know if I had been to one since me and Josh got married!

On Saturday we headed to Meridian to price some groceries for an event we're having at church. When we got there I realized that I had left my wallet in my purse which I didn't bring b/c I had the diaper bag. Then Josh couldn't find his when we were unloading the kids. I happened to look back in the front seat and saw it lying on the console. It was a good thing I looked because the keys were still in the ignition too!! While Josh was talking to the manager I pushed the kids in an old buggy that didn't roll properly and we got some apple juice, diet cokes, and cream filled cookies. (You know, the staples. ). Sarah also picked up some Pringles. We got ready to check out and Josh had to head back to the jeep to get some paper to write our order on. He handed me his wallet and we got in line. Before I realized it Sarah already had her Pringles rung up and she was getting a dollar out of her wallet. (It was a gift from Aunt Jenny and the best gift ever, she loves paying for her own stuff now!) She seems to be the only one who can keep up with a wallet! Anyway, while she was attempting to pay Eli was trying to put the other things on the belt and Kate was proceeding to pull 85 bags of candy off a display at the checkout. By the time I picked all of the candy up (3 times) the cashier had everything rung up. I opened Josh's wallet and there wasn't enough cash!! I had just assumed he had some in there. (We all know what happens when we assume, right?) I couldn't find our debit card and I kept looking for him to come back inside. But he didn't! Finally, I did find the debit card, thankfully and we got out of the store as fast as the messed up buggy that wouldn't roll would go.

We then went to Lifeway where we spent most of the time in the bathroom. I'm just curious, do most people have to go to the bathroom twice in a 20 minute shopping outing? My people do. That night we were home for about an hour then headed down to the city hall for the city Christmas party. We always get to go eat steaks becasue they ask Josh to come and pray. Then me and Cortnee tried to stay awake while Matt and Josh played football on the playstation until 11:30. Of course, it didn't matter what time we went to sleep because it wasn't long before Sarah and Eli were in our bed and I was posed in my totally uncomfortable, trying to not smother my children sleeping pose.

This morning was exciting as Sarah went forward to let the church know that she asked Jesus into her heart! It was great too because one of our church members kept Kate and Eli in the nursery so I actually got to know what was going on in church. I was not so lucky tonight. I was teaching the ladies discipleship training class tonight and had no one to watch my kids. I got to retrieve Kate from the piano several times as she attempted choir practice during my lesson. At one point while I was teaching she just took off out of the room I'm sure everyone learned so much as I stopped every 3 seconds to chase her! Then it was time for big church. Me and the 3 of them sat in the back pew. You know those toys where you hit a monkey or something and another one pops up? That is totally what church with my kids is like. I get one of them content and another one acts up. Tonight I was holding Kate while she flipped through the hymnal, Sarah was laid on me wanting her back scratched and Eli was in Kate's face kissing on her and saying "Hey babygirl! Hey babygirl!" I always feel bad because I feel like I'm supposed to be there to support Josh and pray for him, but most of the time I'm just praying that it will be over soon. A while back we were doing a study on Revelation and I told Josh that there was nobody in there praying for Jesus to come back sooner than me!!

Well, Jesus hasn't come back yet so I guess we'll keep pressing on. Just in case any of you have visions of glamourous preacher's wives who are dressed in beautiful skirt suits smiling and saying "Praise the Lord" I'm sorry to burst your bubble. I'm in the back wearing pants (because with my kids dresses have a way of getting pulled up to places preacher's wives dresses should not be) covered in apple juice, snot, and soggy goldfish crumbs, giving Josh the LOOK that says, "They're yours when we get home!!", and praying that we will make it through without any destruction of property. Oh well, this is why I should never leave the house!!!!!!!