Lovely Mother's Day

While reading through the school newsletter yesterday we noticed a set lunch menu advertised for a local restaurant for Mother's Day lunch. Mother's Day and Father's day are NOT days we often even think about - let alone do anything for. But Brendon thought it would be a nice treat to go out for lunch - especially when it's so close (perhaps 10km away). We never even knew this lovely little place was here. And although it was a wonderful treat for me to have such a stunning lunch and not have to prepare any of it - I think it was an even bigger treat for the girls. It's been over 2 years since they last went to a "restaurant" (you can't count pizza hut and burger king) so they were SOOOO excited.

There was a lovely buffet and we all ate so well. We all tried the seafood chowder (a first for all of us) and Rachel was the only one who did not manage to finish the little we dished up for her. At least she did try it though. Hannah seems to really enjoy it and polished her bowl off quite quickly. There were a number of meats for the main course. Here is Hannah tucking into a lamb shank. The girls all loved the fancy china bowls and plates too. It made them all feel so smart (even if the younger two ate with their hands at some point). :-) The lamb shank was actually the only meat that was not too successful as they had dried out while being kept warm and so the only way to actually eat it was to pick it up. I could not cut through it to share it out.

And talking about eating with your hands - that's how Ruth had her whole main meal (veggies included as her hands were so dirty by then). I only took one piece of chicken to share between Ruth, Hannah and myself and Ruth specifically asked to have the bone. Boy did she enjoy that bone.

And not just the chicken around it - I mean the bone itself. Once she had finished all the chicken Brendon asked if she wanted some more. She said no - she was just enjoying the inside of the bone. She said the outside was a little hard but inside it was softer and really nice to eat. I was absolutely amazed to see her at this meal. She looked as though she could have been at a traditional African wedding - sitting outside with all the guests - eating her food with her hands - chewing on the chicken bones. And please be assured there is no negative in that description (I went to a wedding like that and it was very special). It just amazes me how much is just within a child and is not learnt. We told her that her tummy mommy probably loved eating chicken bones and so somehow inside of her she just new to give it a try - and she liked what she found. :-)

The restaurant is on a small winery and so the girls could go for a run up and down the vines between courses. That's them up there in the photo. Burning off their main meal to make space for the lovely deserts. Rachel was very excited about the fact that she had a whole brownie to herself. Ruth also pointed out to me that the fruit salad had all three colours of grapes as she had seen in a picture this week and had pointed out to me. Green, red and black (which can look a little blue sometimes - they had looked very blue in the photo she had seen and that was why we had discussed it).

There was also a lovely garden area with a pond to the side of the building which also kept the children entertained and allowed Brendon and I to take our time and enjoy each other's company.

It was a lovely warm day and so we were really thankful for that - it helped to make the lunch extra enjoyable (with the children not being cooped up at the table the whole time) and we all had a really lovely time.

"Thank you Lord for my precious family and all the wonderful blessings you have poured out into our lives."