finding my religion

A couple months after we moved to Charlotte we joined the Catholic church. In New England we were members of the Congregational Church, which is Christian but much more liberal than the Catholic church (female pastors, married pastors, accepting of homosexuals, etc). This was a good fit for our family, and we were genuinely happy there. When we came to Charlotte, we realized that there are far fewer Congregationalist parishes here, and we found many more fundamentalist groups. Since I grew up Catholic, joining St. Matt's is not a great leap for me. However, Andy was raised Eastern Orthodox and his exposure to Catholicism came in grammar school when he attended Immaculate Heart of Mary and was forced to sit in the very last pew during school masses because he was a heathen (although I don't think they ever actually called him that). I would be lying (and good Catholics don't lie) if I didn't mention that initially we joined the church because St. Matt's has a great school and we were skeptical about the quality of the public education offered.
Given his experience, Andy was understandably dubious about joining the church, but agreed to do so because he values his children's education. And then the rules began... in order to protect against people doing exactly what we were (joining the church for the school) you had to be parishioners in good standing for three months to get priority acceptance to St. Matthews. In order to prove that you were active parishioners you had to go to church every week. It makes sense for the church to do that; I understand it. Now we were committed. I started going to church weekly with one or both of the boys, and even Andy joined us sometimes. I sang the familiar songs and listened to the familiar readings and responded all the times I was supposed to respond, and something interesting happened. I really liked it. I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. Now I understand that twelve years of Catholic schooling (and countless Sunday masses from the time I was a baby) can certainly contribute to the comfort I felt, but I felt it. I felt it more than I ever did at the other churches we attended.
But we did not get Devin into St. Matthew's for kindergarten; he is on the wait list. Things did not go according to our plan, and we are frustrated about that. It is especially frustrating for Andy who still does not feel accepted into the church and sometimes doesn't see an upside to our joining. But I do. This morning at church the boys brought to the altar the pennies (and quarters and dimes and nickels) that they have been saving over the last three months for "kids who don't have a house". Devin sang "Alleluia" and Alex made the sign of the cross (backwards, and with his left hand). They were quiet and respectful during mass and I was able to listen to the homily about being thankful for what you have regardless of what others may have. That seems to be a theme in my life lately - being thankful. I do not take for granted the wonderful man I married or the three beautiful kids that we have together. I am so grateful for our lifestyle; the fact that I can stay home to care for our kids, that we have a beautiful home and enough of what we need to be comfortable.
Today at church Alex thanked God that my leg was getting better and Devin thanked God for green trees. And then I thanked God for them.