It's all part of the fun

My love for going out to eat has been captured by J.D. He LOVES to go out to a restaurant, even if it's just McDonald's.

Weeks ago he decided that he wanted to go to "the Japanese place where they cook in front of you" and that our friends from church, Luke & Katie, needed to go with us. He even found them at church and asked them to go with us... um, NOW.

Well it took us awhile to schedule (between their exotic vacation to Aruba and our vacations to Florida and North Carolina) but finally we met up last night. It was a lovely dinner full of childish mishaps. Moriah bashed her eye on the table and made quite a fuss (with good reason because it did puff up and bleed a little bit). Matt was as graceful and patient as a 2 year old can be, spilling soup everywhere, climbing in and out of his sister's highchair, spreading his rice all over his chair and floor. And finally the evening ended with Moriah's diaper leaking onto my pants. Lovely!

You see, Luke & Katie are a nice young couple - without kids. I'm sure their eyes were wide with wonder if this is really what it is like to have little ones. Yes, yes, it's all part of the fun that we call parenting.

Yet they are gracious to us, even saying that they now want three children instead of the original plan of two. And that they hope if they have a little boy, he will be like J.D. Doesn't it always warm your heart when others praise and adore your children?