A special treat

A precious friend sent us a gift telling us that the next time we went to La Paz,

to take our family out to eat at our favorite restaurant.

Yesterday, we had to go once again as we're working on renewing my visa, so after a long drive and some time waiting while Mommy went into the immigration office,  Daddy pulled into a parking lot and told the children about this gift and asked them where they wanted to go.  We pretty much figured they'd say one of two things...either pizza or McDonalds.

Most of the younger ones wanted McDonalds because of the play place.

You have to understand what a treat McD's is.  There are only 3 of them in our entire state, and we normally only go a couple times a year.  And then, it is always the same routine.  Mommy takes all the kiddos over to the play area while Daddy orders 30 or so dollar menu items and the boys bring in some bottled water.

But yesterday, before we got out of the van, Daddy explained that due to the generosity of the gift, the children could choose whatever they would like to eat.

You should have seen their faces!  

Timothy said, "You mean something other than the dollar menu?"

To which Daniel replied, "Maybe something with fries and a drink."
To which 3 or 4 children said, "You mean we can pick a soda??!!"

Yep, that pretty much made their week.

The little ones of course wanted Happy Meals.

The older ones picked some sort of hamburger or chicken sandwich with fries and a drink.

It took us forever and a day to order,

but that's okay.

It's not something they do everyday.

And it's something they'll remember for a long time.

Play time, praying to thank the Lord for the food and to bless the dear friend that gave, 

eating, playing some more while mommy, daddy, and the older ones visited,

and then daddy saying we had enough left over to get a bit of dessert.

Such a special gift.  It reminds me of how good the Lord is to us.  How He delights in giving us so many good things.  

Sometimes, we miss them. We get "spoiled" and when those special blessings come from above, we don't even notice.

I love how my children get excited over the "little" things in life.

Their joy is contagious!

The Lord has given us so many "little" things each day to enjoy.

Are we thankful?  Do we take His abundant blessings for granted?

The joy, faith, unconditional love and forgiveness of a child.

Humble and trusting.

Full of joy.

Playing table football with pesos while waiting.

Look, Mom!  I can start and end the slide at the same time :-)

Rule number 1, Timothy....Only children under 4 may enter
Rule number 3-  Take off your shoes
Rule number 6- All children should be supervised by an adult
:-)

Definitely his father and mother's child

See what I mean?

Now you know where they get it from :-)