The Pageant

Today was the Christmas pageant.  Caroline was an angel, that was believable.

Jackson refused to be the angel he was cast as.  I tried bribery, offering to treat him to lunch at McDonald's if he wore the angel costume.  He agreed, and then back out again.  Opting to become Josh's shadow throughout the service instead.

Ryan was too young for a formal role, but he did wear angel wings for a total of 10 minutes.

Service started with a children's time at the altar.  Josh has been doing these puppet show children's moments with the help of a few church members...they are so fun and cute.  As an aside, I LOVE how our church includes children into the services every week.  Kids are welcomed and it makes the experience so much better if you ask me.  Part of this children's moment was about lighting the advent wreath.  Josh wisely advised the large group of kids to stay away from the candles on fire.  Leave it to the preacher's kid to reach right for that lit candle.  Mid-prayer I lunged towards Ryan, still too far away for me to reach him, snapping my finger, pointing at him saying "Ryan no!"  Thankfully that did the trick.  But I felt compelled to apologize to the congregation for my interruption.

Throughout the service Jackson was shadowing Josh.  While I was sitting in the pew I could see him picking his nose, several times, on the altar.  Right there for all to see.  Gross.

During prayers and concerns I blinked and Ryan dashed for the altar, adorned with angel wings, to sit next to Jackson, aka Josh's shadow.  What is supposed to be the only quiet moment of this children's service was when Ryan decides to roll around on the altar with his wings on.  Jackson then starts tying his elastic boot string things together, so if he were to stand his legs would be tied together and fall.  He's a one man show that kid.  Once the prayer was over I scooped him up and the angel wings were over.

Just before the pageant is to begin Ryan tells me he has to pee.  I didn't want to take the long way to the bathroom, because I didn't want to miss Caroline doing her angel thing.  So I tried to sneak out the side door.  Only to run smack into all of the angels awaiting their big entrance.  "Excuse me.  Sorry, Ryan has to go to the bathroom."  As I'm squeezing through the sea of 5-7-year-olds I feel my boot (yes, hard snow boot) step on a little boy's toe.  And then I realize he's not wearing any shoes, as the angels are just in their socks.  And now I'm apologizing to Charlie as he's bravely trying not to cry though he is clearly in some pain.   Awesome.  The pageant leader ushered me along and comforted Charlie.

The pageant went on and it was awesome.  Every aspect of it.

Nose picking and all, bring your kids to church people.  There's Purell at the back so it's all good.

Please excuse the finger in the photo, clearly I am a bit busy in church to notice a bad photo.