My husband and I were discussing our children the other day and how they behave or not during church.  Our 18-month-old prefers to wander the pews rather than sit quietly on my lap, and when the nursery is closed, it can be quite difficult to "make her behave."  First of all, let me comment on a closed nursery: That is insane!  How can a church hope to accommodate visiting families if this ministry is not available!  there is a larger problem to solve regarding this issue. 
I have gone through many transitions in my own view of whether or not infants and children should be present during a church service.  When Avery was young, I was adamant about her remaining with me to experience church and learn.  Yet, Avery was a unique child; she was able to sit quietly and color while the adults did their thing.  I do not truly believe she was learning, but I felt she was better able to experience church rather than go with a babysitter and yell and run with other children.  Once Roman was born, I began to see two things.  First, more than one child requires an amount of attention that I am not able to provide and experience "worship" as I should or could if I was not distracted by the demands of my children.  Second, Roman is his own person.  He is not interested in sitting quietly. 
Now that we have THREE children, it is impossible for me to attend church with them and get fed anything whatsoever.  I also feel pressure to make them behave and not speak for the hour or so that the church service lasts.  Most people have said, "We love seeing your kids in church.  They are such a blessing."  but I have also read anonymous notes on the tabs, "Doesn't this church have a nursery?"  (See above; it's closed!)
What is a parent to do in this situation?  I realize that church is a formal occasion, and children do not normally belong at such events.  But I also know Jesus said to let the little children come to him.  Do you think he meant during church?  Only during the children's sermon or the entire service?  How can we make our church services more child-friendly and still create an experience of worship for all?  Is that even possible?
For me, I want my children to grow into healthy, responsible adults who are not afraid to be insurrectionists.  I don't think I want them to grow up to be "good" people.  Bryan and I were talking about Gandhi, and how he changed his world and India.  Was he a good person? Does it even matter if he was?  He made life better because he knew injustice was wrong, and he was not afraid to suffer for what he believed. 
Maybe my children are not good, but they make the other people (mostly) smile with their childish antics.  They run up to others with open arms and loving embraces.  They seek out the ones they know for special time on their laps.  My children can change the world by being themselves, and I do not think they are overstepping their boundaries.  

On the eve of Aug. 20, 2009, the first day of school, we had a small fire in our basement.  It appeared as not much at the time, considering nothing was structurally damaged, but in fact, Bryan's entire studio is ruined and the rest of the house has a thin layer of sticky soot on it.  While the insurance companies battle out the bids with the cleaning companies, our belongings are being boxed up and taken to an off-site cleaning location.  We now have no furniture in our main living space.  Beds, yes; couches, etc., no. 
My classes began on Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, and everything was going on at our house.  Bryan had things mostly under control, what control he was able to use.  I figured I could handle five classes, 13 semester hours; no big deal.
Roman began school on Monday, Aug. 31, 2009.  He loves it, though a couple of mornings were rough.  Yesterday was really good; he opened up to his teacher and showed his bubbly personality while they discussed chalkboards and chalk.
This morning, Bryan stated his midsection was not feeling the best, but he did not feel nauseated.  I insisted he phone the on-call nurse and have her help him diagnose the problem.  We could not afford to have him out sick while trying to juggle three kids and my classwork.  She said his symptoms sounded a bit serious; we must go tot he emergency room.  I quickly called our neighbor whose son is in Avery's class; Avery went there before school.  we took Roman to school, and then headed to the ER. 
Bryan was exhibiting classical appendicitis symptoms, so they wanted to do a CT scan and have the surgeon take a look at him.  He had to drink this purple goo (yuck!) and wait for the scan.  As soon as he drank the goo, though, the surgeon said there was no need to do the scan; he definitely needed surgery.  Poor, Bryan!
while this was happening, I was on the phone trying to reach someone to come get Mazie so I could hang out with Bryan in peace.  I was going to move my car so i would not have to pay all day rates.  When I got to my car, I realized I had $1 and a flat tire.  Thankfully, my dear friend Brenda answered her phone and said she would be right over.  One message I left for Jenny was returned; she was actually at the hospitals anyway.  She came right over too.  The three of us tried our best to change the tire, but we needed the help of Strong Chris.  The ladies sent me back inside while they took care of the car and Mazie. 
Now it has been four hours and we are still waiting for the surgery.  A trauma came in just as Bryan was going downstairs, so we are not sure what time the surgery will happen.  It doesn't look like he will be released tomorrow as expected.  I am doing my best to not worry, but I'm not sure what I will do about classes while Bryan is in recovery.  We will be staying at someone else's house because all of our belongings are now in boxes so the floors and walls can be cleaned.  Anyone want to nanny while I'm in class?