Our "Special" Sunday

So...Sundays are usually "special" days for us. Getting all of us up and ready for church and then be seated by 8:45am only to wrestle our way through the meeting with many potty trips and "Shhhhhhhhh you must use your quiet voice"is a bit on the tricky side, but somehow we usually accomplish our goal. Well, today was particularly "special". I think it really all started Friday night. So we finally were able to attend the temple. Of course we had a wonderful evening there thanks to Great grandma for keeping Tate and for our amazing babysitter, Amanda (whom our boys love). When we got home about 8:30p the boys were sound asleep in bed and Tate was ready for bed. Needless to say, Dan and I were in bed and asleep by 9:15pm!!! Hooray!! Because of this, Dan was wide awake Saturday morning at 4:30am. I was...not so wide awake and very happy to still be in bed. So Dan got up, worked out on the elliptical for about 30 minutes, lifted weights, and then went out to dig our car out of the snow where it had been stuck for about 3 or 4 days. All this was unknown to me until around 6:00am when Dan loudly came up the stairs and with very cold hands rudely awakened me to come help him dig out the car. I laid in bed for a few more minutes trying to decipher if his request was part of the wild dream I had been having involving Dan's cousin Scott(who had lived with us for a while and recently married a very wonderful woman). I dreamed that it was Scott's wedding day and we were all gathered in the backyard of some one's house. Scott and his bride came out from behind some trees as some Scottish wedding march music began to play. His bride of course was wearing a lovely white wedding gown, but Scott (in true fashion) was wearing a black suit coat with one of his weird "comment" T-shirts underneath and green plaid shorts that were way too short. They immediately climbed onto the trampoline with a sprinkler going underneath it and said their wedding vows. So...you can see why I'd be a bit confused trying to wake up after that dream. Anyway, I decided Dan's request was unfortunately real. So I threw on some snow boots and a coat and shuffled outside to find Dan digging vigorously in the headlights of his car. I so wished I had still been at Scott's wedding. We finally got the car out shortly after I realized that the emergency brake had been on throughout the whole ordeal. There was no point going back to bed after that, thus, the day began. Dan left about 8:30am, picked up my dad, and headed to Provo to pick up my grandpa (my Dad's Dad). They spent the day moving my grandparents into their new home at Peach Tree Assisted Living Center here in Clinton. I packed up the kids and by about 9:30am headed to the "other" Jacobs residence to help Christy re-upholster an amazing chair she inherited from her grandmother. We got quite a bit done. It was a very educational experience. May I never try that on my own. Anyway, I rushed back home around 4:30p to get food going for my family which was coming to our house around 6:00p for dinner and a little Dance Dance Revolution. In true Stratford/Wangsgard fashion, all were late(except my mom-who came to help get the food set up). We had much fun, but couldn't get anyone to leave until 11:30pm. J/K. So... then this morning (yes I am getting to the point of this) our alarm did not go off. And because of the crazy days and late night, we did not wake up. Around 8:15am I awoke out of yet another dead sleep and night of wacky dreams (no Scott was not in this one). Imagine my panic. I was supposed to be showered, beautified, have Tate fed, and all the rest of "the boys" out the door and seated at church by 8:45am. Why such a panic? Couldn't we just be late this one time? Not when I am supposed to be leading the opening hymn for the congregation! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Needless to say, I was ready in 15 minutes, fed Tate in 15 minutes (poor Tate), left Dan with the duties of getting all of them dressed in church attire, fed and to the church with the promise of me saving them a seat on the front row and with the threat of "Hurray, don't be too late". I thought I was definitely going to make it and be 5 minutes early. Nope. I entered the front of the chapel as the congregation was singing the opening hymn "Hark All Ye Nations" and someone else was leading them. I am so grateful to be in a ward where everyone else is on top of their callings. So, I sheepishly sat down, opened my hymn book and tried to sing. But, living up to my earlier threat, my amazing husband came trotting up to the front row with all our beautiful children. He sat down by me with Tate, with a very frazzled look on his face, as Tracen and Tyler continued their march to an entirely different bench also at the front of the chapel. They immediately began "hugging" each other loudly and telling Tracen's primary teacher a very loud story. We finally got things under control and had made it through the Sacrament, when Tate began crying (Tyler probably poked him in the eye) and then Tyler announced loudly that he needed to go potty. Dan promptly took Tate and Tyler out as I was going to need to lead the closing hymn shortly. Tracen reverently stayed with me. I went up to lead the hymn and left Tracen on the bench. I was so proud when I looked down to see him reverently sitting with a hymn book open on his lap. Then, middle of the hymn, he stood up and ran out the front doors of the chapel. After the closing prayer, I cleaned up our very messy bench as the people behind us were commenting on how "all those boys must keep you pretty busy" and went to meet Dan in the foyer to take the kids to Primary. I found my crazy boys on the couch and Tracen sobbing quietly to himself. Apparently he didn't get to the potty on time. So... Dan took Tracen home to change and I took Tyler to class. I was very happy when Tate slept through most of Sunday school, but unfortunately he did not wake up happy and I spent Relief Society walking the halls. When I went to get the boys from their Primary classes, and meet Dan, I was greeted with Tracen crying because he had smashed his fingers in the door and Tyler running away because he wanted a special treat from the librarians. As I am running after Tyler, carrying Tate in his car seat and making sure the crying Tracen keeps up, I am stopped by Tyler's teacher. He said, "so I have to tell you what Tyler said to the other teacher today." I am often greeted by Tyler's teachers this way. "So Tyler came up to his teacher and told her he had a secret. She bent down and Tyler whispered in her ear "Psst... I have a knife"". So.... that concludes our "special" Sunday today. Pray for us. We look forward (I guess) to sharing with you many more "special" days.