Chicken and Biscuits

Last Sunday night, my whole family was headed out for a leisurely dinner with some very dear friends of ours, D and J and their three sons. We'd been planning this meal for a number of weeks now (she promised chicken and mashed potatoes-which my kids love-and asked me to bring some biscuits), and even after an extremely long and tiring week, we were looking forward to it. Now, that being said, our families are in and out of each other's homes (and lives) on an almost daily basis--for better or for worse, in sickness and in health...sorry, J, I know you think D and I spend WAY too much time together as it is!!! So, after the aforementioned long week, it was going to take all my effort to pull the pony tail holder out of my hair and put on something other than a "blue suit" (A, I'll allow you to elaborate if necessary). Needless to say, I was not planning to "dress" for the occasion, and just as a side note, my dear husband made no attempt at persuading me to, other than saying, "Don't you even want to take a shower?" So, at the last minute, I threw on a sweater, brushed out my hair and brushed (I think) my teeth. We loaded our crew up and headed off for dinner, but when we arrived, with our basket full of still-warm biscuits; we found this instead:

I imagine the look on my face said it all:

We walked in to find (much to the boy's dismay) no dinner, but lots of yummy appetizers, a roomful of friends and family and, more importantly, love--for us, for our family, and for our newest two ark riders...H and Baby T-- squeezing out of every nook and cranny of the room!

It was such a special night for our entire family. We received so many beautiful, thoughtful and generous gifts...to be the recipient of such generosity humbled us beyond words. ( Okay, well maybe not entirely beyond words. )

Besides all of the amazing gifts for H and Baby T, I think my favorite gift of all was a gift crafted by my...always willing to go along with my harebrained schemes, "I'll try anything once," carpool partner... and lovingly finished by this group of women whom I am blessed to call my friends was this:

It has already found a place of honor on our dining room table. The notes from everyone and the beautiful words from St. John's gospel remind me of what I told the ladies that night at the end of the shower: H and Baby T aren't so much lucky to be coming home to our family as they are lucky that our family has been blessed with friends and family like these; who are waiting, too, for them to come home.

I told my kids, I think we've got a new favorite meal. Can you guess? It's definitely chicken and biscuits!