Random encouragement

Last Saturday we were on our way home from Canada and we stopped at Big Boy for dinner.  It was 6 PM, peak rush time for the supper hour, so it was a bit busy.  We were seated across the aisle from an older couple, probably about 60-65ish.  They stared at our family almost the whole time we were eating dinner, without cracking even a small smile.  And the boys were even behaving!  We get stares quite frequently.  I mean, a family with 4 small boys isn't exactly common place, but neither are we a total anomaly.  Anyway, maybe these people were just interested in our family, but it wasn't exactly a friendly stare.  More like a "what is wrong with you people?" stare.  So it was so refreshing in the grocery store today to have a lady come up to me, pat my arm, and tell me that I was so blessed to have 4 boys (after she asked if they were all mine!).  I thanked her and teared up a bit.  I mean, I love my boys and feel blessed to have them, but I'm glad that others can see it as a blessing too (and fortunately, she didn't see Joel screaming at Noah at the checkout!).