Our plans for Saturday night got undone.
So we made new, impromptu ones.
We called some friends who like to play games and asked them if they were busy. They weren’t, but neither family had eaten dinner. An hour later, ten of us were gathered around our dining room table, eating, talking, laughing! When dinner was over, the kids retreated to the basement where the toys and games live while the adults sat around the breakfast room table playing Settlers of Catan, with the occasional break for a circus parade (compliments of the kids) or a brownie dessert.
They left a little late, but we were a lot glad!
I am thankful:
196. for the last-minute “yes”
197. and children jumping up and down in anticipation of friends’ arrival!
198. that my children are old enough to help with the spur-of-the-moment house pick up,
199. that for once my house wasn’t such a disaster that picking up wasn’t enough!
200. for this quick, easy, and warm soup recipe
201. and tortilla chips to with it! (Blue ones – that the friends brought – bless their hearts!)
202. for enough clean dishes to go around
203. and the dishwasher that made them that way!
304. for the husband who ran to Target to fetch cheese
205. and helped in the kitchen willingly!
206. for happy greetings,
207. a dining room filled with the hum of conversation,
208. dishes left in the sink in favor of play,
209. the smell of brownies in the oven,
210. and the taste of brownies in my mouth!
211. for laughter over games,
212. conversation that flows freely,
213. constant laughter from children,
214. thankfulness expressed,
215. encouragement given,
216. and prayers promised.
217. for long leavers,
218. well wishes at the door and silent prayers for a safe trip home,
219. tired kids who fall into bed happily
220. and parents who are aware that laughter is large doses was just what was needed for that Saturday night!
Such life oozing from your gratitude! I too enjoyed last minute yes’ on Saturday evening and ended up with a house full of 14 people. Thankfully they’d all had dinner already! What fun…. and NOISE! Takes some getting used to for this newlywed!
14 people! What fun! jen http://www.learningpatience.wordpress.com
most excellent. i love spontaneous get-togethers such as these…they always bring such good fellowship. love it!
Me too! Me too! Yet, it seems these kind of get-togethers are increasingly rare, as our family grows up and grows busier. Maybe I should have posed the question to everyone: How do you make this kind of thing happen? jen http://www.learningpatience.wordpress.com