Something happened at lunch today.....

So Michael, Brendell and I went to lunch at a mongolian BBQ place today.

We filled our bowls and went to the cashier to pay.

The man behind the counter told us that I only had to pay for Bren's bowl because the rest of our lunch had already been paid for.

He pointed toward a couple in the corner and said that they had paid for our lunch!

I thanked them and they told me that another table had paid for their lunch so they were just paying it forward.

As we sat down I thought about all the reasons why I deserved that free lunch.

We had just come from Michael's orthodontist appointment where I had to pay

(GASP) $982.00 as a down payment for the next 18 months of Michael's care.

The boys are about to go on Summer trips for which they will need spending money.

Our bank account is definitely tight and just getting tighter by the week.

We should not even be out at lunch, but we had a few other errands to run which would keep us

out most of the afternoon and we didn't have time to run home and make a sandwhich.

The longer I sat there, the more I thought about how much bigger of a blessing it would be to

bless someone else.

So, before the next customers came in, I went up the counter and paid for two more lunch

plates.

The cashier looked shocked and asked why I would not just take a free lunch.

I told him that I just could not let it end with me and that this was all such a great lesson for my

kids.

He smiled and took my money.

The kids and I waited excitedly for the next customers to arrive.

We watched as the two unsuspecting ladies filled their bowls and tried to pay.

They were so surprised that their meals had already been paid for!

Another table of three older women that had been there longer than we had told us that the first

customers to start the meal paying was a table of two young mothers with little kids in booster

seats.

Those young mother's had paid for the older women, the older women had paid for the couple in

the corner and the couple in the corner had paid for us.

We all talked about how fun it had been to participate in the giving game.

It put smiles on everyone's faces as we anticipated the next customers reaction to having a free

lunch!

I wanted to stay there all day just to see what would happen!

I don't know if the people we paid for paid it forward because we left before they did, but even if

they didn't, my kids and I learned once again that there is far more joy in giving than in

receiving!!

Today's lunch was such a welcome change from the past few days I have been having!

Sunday was a tough, tough day.

When the time is right I might blog about it, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be that emotionally raw yet.

On a more practical note, here's a visual of how the past few days have been around here:

Yup....it's broken!!!

He broke it on Saturday while jumping his bike around a dirt bike track a few miles from our

house.

We have the crash on video and if I can figure out how to upload it, I'll share it here.

So, Monday we spent the whole day running around to doctor's appointments.

The first one was for Bren to get immunized for Kindergarten.

That was traumatic!

She had to have four shots and started crying from the minute we entered the immunization

room.

We had to hold her down to get the shots done!

Zach was next and got one polio shot.

Then we went on to a different clinic to get his hand looked at.

X-rays confirmed a fracture and he was fitted with a splint and sling.

Once the swelling goes down, he'll get a cast on it.