Date Night

As much as we LOVE spending time with our girls on this Grace-Filled Journey, sometimes, Kyle and I need a little time for ourselves.

Sometimes, those "dates" come in the form of a dinner or game to cover for the paper. Sometimes, those "dates" are a chance to work on the house without interruption. But every once in awhile, those "dates" come in the form of dinner and a trip to the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

We loved dinner at Grace Meat + Three

Food selfies . . . 

This past weekend was just one of those chances. My mom and dad had bought Kyle tickets to see School of Rock at the Fox on Friday night, and we decided to try an up-and-coming new restaurant in St. Louis before the show.

Dessert!

Let's just say dessert was delicious . . . 

Before one of Grace's doctor's appointments in St. Louis, Kyle found a restaurant called Grace Meat + Three, and we were immediately drawn to it because of its name. Kyle reached out to the owner on Twitter (because he's a whiz at social media), and Rick Lewis said he couldn't wait to meet Grace. We didn't end up getting to go after Grace's doctor's appointment, but it's been on our list ever since.

We can't wait to try Grace Meat + Three again!

It was awesome to have a chance to meet Rick when we visited Grace Meat + Three that night, and we enjoyed the relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere of the restaurant. But the food was simply unbelievable.  I think we tried just about everything on the menu, and can't wait to go back sometime soon!

Grace Meat + Three

After finishing our yummy desserts, we headed to the Fox for an absolutely fabulous and funny show, based on the movie with Jack Black. The Fox is always a wonderful time, and I'm so grateful Kyle is always willing to see just about anything with me.  We spent the show laughing and holding hands, and just generally enjoying each other's company. For one night, it was a chance to escape all our newspaper and parenting duties and just be Kyle and Mary.

Time for School of Rock!

While we were gone, Grace and Charlotte had a pajama party with grandma and grandpa, and one of the best parts of our date was getting to sleep in the next morning!

We LOVE the Fox Theatre!

I read somewhere once that the divorce rate in special needs families is one in every two marriages. That seemed high to me, but the stress of raising special needs children certainly adds challenges to any relationship. Kyle and I probably argue more often than we care to admit, but we continue to love each other and our family.

That's why it's so very important to make time to spend together every so often, without the kids, without the work, and just enjoy what truly made you fall in love to being with. Our Grace-Filled Journey is certainly never something I imagined when I pictured my perfect fairy tale story, but I'm truly grateful to have Kyle along for the ride. And I can't wait for our next date night!

mlh