Livin' and Lovin' in A-town

Lord Help the Children

My purpose in writing this is to solicite prayers. You have no idea what my weekend is going to be like. For those of you who know me well, you will laugh in a few minutes. For those of you who do not know me well, allow me to give you a little insight. I don't love children. It's not that I hate them, I just prefer adults to kids. I could go on, but basically all you need to know is that children and I don't generally mesh well.

The weekend that lies ahead of me is full of nothing but children. This evening I will be helping a friend babysit two little girls, both under the age of 5. We're taking them to Mr. Gatti's where they can join 500 other children at a pizza buffet and game room.

Saturday I am babysitting a little boy the ripe old age of 1. His parents are celebrating Valentines Day and didn't have a sitter...I'm single, will not be celebrating Valentines Day, so I'm the logical one to fill in. He'll be staying at my house that evening. My house is in no way child-proof. I have no toys, many un-locked cabinets, multiple sharp objects, expensive furniture, dangerous corners, etc. I'm borrowing kid toys from a friend of mine. I guess I'll child-proof my house tomorrow. This should be interesting!

Sunday morning I'll be teaching the 3-4 year olds bible class. I'm praying they are better than last week. I have two Autistic children in my class. One crawls around the class and bolts into the hall any chance he can. The other talks non-stop...the problem is you can't understand what he's saying, which frustrates him. So, he tends to shout his words, that really aren't words. I try to understand him and be patient. I usually look at him, smile, nod my head as if I know what he's saying, and talk to the other children. He's learning sign language at his real school...thank goodness I know the fundamentals! We usually average 11 kids. ELEVEN 3-4 year olds...am I nuts?!

Then, on Sunday afternoon I have a baby shower to attend. Now, there won't be any children there, but all we're going to talk about is babies, the pain of childbirth, the due date, baby names, blah, blah, blah. I'm not trying to be negative cause I am excited for this family. They're like my own and I love them to death...I just don't fit in well in child conversations. I do, however, have several fabulous gifts for little McKenzie Grace. She'll be precious.

I will update you all on Monday as to how my weekend of children goes. Please pray for me. Give me patience and understanding. And please pray for the children. They may need help after being in my care. It should definitely be interesting!