"What do you do with the kids?"
This is a very common question I get just about every place we go. The kids probably come with us 85% of the time. There are just so many factors involved when we bring the kids into the equation. Here are some things I have to think about concerning our little ones...
1)Childcare
2)Meals
3)Sleeping Arrangements
4)Someone to keep the kids off the stage while we are actually leading worship=)
These are just a COUPLE of the things going through our heads as we make the decision whether to bring them with us or not. Here are just some general things we do with them...
REHEARSALS
You may remember me talking about what we do with the kids during rehearsal times. For example, this past weekend we led at our home church, Southbrook, for their Sat. and Sun. services. I packed their dinner so I could just wake them up from their nap and stick them in the car to go directly to rehearsal before the service on Sat. night. Then we do the same with breakfast on Sunday morning. (I get EVERYTHING ready the night before: clothes, food, diaper bag, etc.) I even pack them a lunch because we usually pull them out of their last class and let them eat because we don't get out of the last service until 1pm and they tend to start getting cranky!
EVENING EVENTS
Evening events, like CharlotteONE, are def. events where we find someone to watch the kiddos. It is WAY TOO LATE for them and there is WAY TOO MUCH going on.
Rainy, Zeke and Kelsey Janes painting while we were at CharlotteONE! Thanks Janes's
OUT OF TOWN
If we are just playing a few hours up the road they generally just come with us and we just make sure there is someone that can watch the kids while we play.
OVER-NIGHT
These are the gigs that are the most draining for me. We all usually sleep in one room, whether it's a hotel room, host home, or cabin. Areyna has adjusted to life on the road with GREAT ease. Zeke, on the other hand, is going through several different "phases" right now, so it tends to be a bit more difficult for him. So, not only do we have the crazy nights, but then there are the endless hours of constantly watching them because we are not in our normal environment. I never know what they will find or get into. I'm not even going to talk about nap time!
MORE THAN ONE NIGHT
Thankfully Josh's parents only live 3 1/2 hours north of us in VA so we can usually work something out with them to meet them or drop the kids off, if we need to, while we do an extended out of town gig. They have been an AWESOME help as we've tried to figure all this out with the kids.
INTERNATIONAL
Usually Josh tries to take at least 2 international mission trips a year and I stay home with the kids. But, we actually got to go to Hungary together this summer. We flew the kids to Colorado to stay with my parents. It was such a special time for all of them since my parents live so far away. It was such a huge help and an answer to prayer since Josh and I had been talking about doing another trip together for years.
I hope that answers your question. I'm sure there is plenty more I could put into this one, but I guess you get the gist of how we do it=)
*If you have any other questions you'd like me to answer just e-mail me from my profile info. or leave a comment below.
3 comments:
girl, I'm tired just reading all you have to do! Like you ,we have almost always taken our kids with us... I promise, it's gets so much easier, the older they get:) Looking forward to dinner on Monday!
Its interesting having kids in ministry. We don't travel as much anymore and only have one, so I'm impressed on how you handle it!
Very cool! I told Daniel that if he ever goes on tour that we'd just get a big Winnebego and travel together. Daniel is still in the EARLY stages of his music career. He's saving $$$ to get a professional CD made.
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