Cherished moments

As a full-time working mom (FTWM) I've found a balance between work, family and church. Our scheduled after work , after school activities and meetings are always the same. This week is out of the norm, or maybe not? With the holidays approaching there will be more outings I'm sure. I usually only have two evenings a week that I'm out of the house and one for Little Miss. This week we have everyday booked with something going on every night. I was exhausted before it even started.
Last night I was required to attend a meeting at church. The 7pm start of the meeting didn't allow much time for me to get the kids picked up. Then go home to eat dinner before I had to leave. I planned on grabbing a quick fast food meal at McDonald's. A choice that I thought the kids would enjoy since they would get a prize in their Happy Meals.
I picked up Little Miss first and gave her the option to choose where she would like to eat. I wouldn't normally ask her but she has been doing better in school and I thought that would be a good reward. She picked the local buffet restaurant. I wasn't prepared to pay for a sit down dinner and was a bit trepidatious about taking both kids to a buffet by myself. By MYSELF. I wasn't sure if I could handle getting a plate for a two year old and a six year old and leave them unattended while I get myself a plate.
I attempted to change Little Miss' mind but she wasn't budging. With some thought on how I would handle it, I complied. After picking up Little E, we were on our way. Little Miss excitedly told the good news to her little brother. He kept repeating the restaurants name in his lispy vocabulary. She couldn't even contain herself after we pulled in and parked. She jumped out while I was unbuckling Little E and waited at the door to the restaurant.
I scanned out a good table close enough to the buffet and left our ticket there. The kids followed me as I grabbed a plate for each and gave Little Miss hers to carry. The little guy wanted to carry his too but I knew that would have resulted in a mess. He happily agreed to mommy serving the portions of mashed potatoes, mini corn dogs and mac/cheese on his plate. Once I got them situated at the table and we blessed their food ( I am so proud of my little girl for remembering to do this, even out in public.) I navigated my way through the buffet while keeping an eye on them.
The kids ate like champs. Little Miss ate all of her dinner and even tried some cantaloupe and honey dew melon. Little E ate most of what was on his plate along with a yeast roll and pat of butter. I enjoyed sitting down with them in the restaurant. They ate their dinners so well, I gave them permission to get some ice cream from the dessert section. Little E proudly announced his "ice cone" to the other kids eating dinner. I expected a stressed out, rush-rush dinner with my children and was rewarded with wonderful behavior. I know God blessed me last night with the evening. We missed having daddy at our meal, but God gave me the time to enjoy my children without the chaos.
Thank you Lord for showing me.