Dining Out With the Family

We went out to dinner tonight.  We haven't been dining out very much lately, since we have been tightening our belts like most of the nation.  That means the kids are out of practice, and you never can be entirely sure how the little ones will act.  

We went to a restaurant we have gone to several times over the years.  Since we were a party of 10 (my mom was with us), they showed us to the largest table in the restaurant where they often seat us.  It is located in a smaller room which is often empty except for us.  

Tonight, however, there was a couple eating their dinner when we got there.  We were enjoying our dinner out and when the couple behind us finally got up to leave, they stopped at our table and raved about what a wonderful family we are.  They enjoyed that we prayed for our meal together (Justin joked that they noticed the prayer because that was the only moment we were relatively quiet.) and commented repeatedly about how well behaved the kids were and how they enjoyed our interaction.  

The man said that when we walked in, he told his wife "Hurry up and eat!", thinking about how miserable it was going to be sharing the room with this family and all it's children.  But apparently they found that we weren't as bad as we first appeared. :) They kept saying how great the kids were and that it takes great parents to make great kids.

It's always nice to hear good things when you're swimming upstream.  After all, having seven kids isn't typical nowadays.  It's nice to hear that our hard work is paying off and that we are glorifying God as we go about our daily lives.  I need to remember to praise other families I see (large or small) when their kids are well behaved in public situations.  I know I like it when others do that for me.