Answered Prayers

This morning I awoke at 7:30 with my darling daughter in bed with me instead of my husband. I love Abbie to death, but it's not really her face I look forward to seeing when I wake up in the morning. Ah, the joys of med school and children. We ate some mini-donuts in bed and then got ready for church as fast as humanly possible. I was determined to be early (okay, on-time) and even more determined to walk there instead of drive. I woke Nate up at 8 and we were all out the door by 8:35. For those of you who aren't mind-blowingly amazed right now, SUCK IT! We walked, well I walked, Nate and Abbie rode in the double stroller, as fast as humanly possible, again. We made it. I got my Enrichment Invitations on the table and we were sitting in a pew before the meeting officially began. Victory! Or so I thought... As soon as the meeting began, so too began the whining for toys, books, coloring stuff, snacks, etc. I do have a rule, though, that nothing comes out of the "church bag" until after we have taken the sacrament. At least that way I feel like they are thinking about Jesus for a little while. Right. After about 3 minutes, Nate started to do his dying goat cry and I had to take him out into the foyer, leaving Abbie alone on a pew. Oh crap! I did know that my friend Melissa was sitting behind us and would step in if I needed her to--Thank goodness for good friends. Anyways, in the foyer, Nate continued his tantrum and I told him to go in the bathroom, go potty, and come back into the chapel when he was done (pottying and tantruming). It was a success and he chilled out. For the next 15-20 minutes, the kids did everything they could to turn me into a center-of-attention-witch during the middle of Sacrament Mtg. Here is where the prayers come into play. I prayed. I prayed harder than I've prayed in a long time. I prayed over and over again. Want to know my prayer? "Please bless me that I won't hurt my children. Please bless that I won't hurt them." It was then that I looked over and saw Alan standing in the doorway. He had gotten done with call early and made it church--just in time. My prayers were answered. My prayers were answered. God hears us. He knows us and he knew that when I was praying to not hurt my kids, he better intervene fast because I was right on the edge of slamming their two heads together and then cramming them under the pew for the rest of church. I know that God loves me and that he heard my prayers this morning. I am so grateful that I knew to pray this morning and I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me (and my children) enough to send an answer. More later....