Alphabet Hunt

It's been one of those days. Ever have them? Where everything seems to go wrong, and you're just in a bad mood? No matter how hard you try to do the right thing, stuff just doesn't work out. Say hello to my Monday.

I let the kids sleep in, which meant 11am for Gabe. 11am! We're talking most of the day is gone already. On the schedule for our summer fun we had planned to go to the Discovery Center, (our hands on children's museum full of fun and crafts). We finally make it there by 12pm, thinking we picked a great time. Everyone is gone to lunch. It won't be busy at all.

In fact, it was almost too quiet there. The parking lot was practically empty. Grr... It's Monday. Museums are always closed on Mondays. I didn't want to let it spoil our fun, so we all opted for our yearly trip to the museum trails for an alphabet hunt. The trails are open 7 days a week.

Everything was going to be great! We were looking on the bright side. The weather was beautiful, a little overcast, and nice cool temperatures. As we headed in the history museum's direction, I realized we left our bug spray at home. Normally, it lives in the glove compartment of my car for purposes such as these. However, we needed it over the weekend and it didn't get put away.

I was starting to get a little cranky, but still thought it would be fine. We would swing by a gas station; pick up some bug spray, maybe some bottles of water. Since it was lunch time I gave the kids the option of bringing McDonald's for a picnic now, or wait until after the hunt and we would get Hawaiian ice. They wanted lunch now.

Fine with me. I went to pay for my bug spray to find out it cost $10! Are you kidding me? $10 for bug spray! Grr... That did it! I could feel my temperature rising. I just wanted it to be an easy going Monday. Nothing that would require a lot of work on my part. And today was supposed to be our free day of the week!

As we headed to McDonald's I asked the kids if they need to go to the bathroom. Since it's Monday, we wouldn't be allowed inside the museum to use their restroom. I really didn't want to hear a yes. I wanted easy. I was thinking drive-through.

One yes. Not the end of the world, but I was feeling like we were headed in that direction. I took a deep breath and asked God for help. Nothing major had happened, but I was losing my patience very quickly. I wanted the trip to be over already.

Gabriel, my young man after God's own heart, reminded me to think about the good things. God was going to take care of us, and we were still going to have fun. This trip already had been fun for him.

I barked at him. "God doesn't always make everything good. Sometimes stuff just happens." What an encourager I was, looking at the bright side of things.

We quickly grabbed our McDonald's and were on our way. I noticed the clouds were looking a little dark, and asked God if He would please wait until we were done hunting. Zechariah answered me, "God said, yes!"

The afternoon turned out perfectly. God spoke to me through the mouths of my children. Sometimes adults need encouragement themselves instead of always being the encourager. It was beautiful to see how my kids responded to me. They certainly didn't let me feel sorry for myself. They changed my perspective.

We had an amazing afternoon together! During lunch we listened to our camp worship songs on my cell phone. One of them has fun actions, and we all got out of our seats and danced together. There is something so freeing about dance. We let loose out in the fields together and worshiped God.

After lunch Grandma joined us for our walk through the trails. Every year we like to take a couple hours and go on an ABC hunt. We find things in nature and take pictures. Each year we try to find something different than the year before. This is getting harder and harder as more years pass.

A is for Ant hill

B is for Bridge

C is for Creek

D is for Dead grass

E is for the Edge of the road

F is for Flowers

G is for Green Garbage in the Green Grass

H is for Hole

I is for Insect (It has been insect every single year!)

J is for Jump

K is for Kids

L is for Lacy Leaf

M is for Museum

N is for Nuts

O is for the letter "O"

P is for Pinecone (or some plant that looks like a pinecone)

Q is for the letter "Q"
Gabriel's "Q"

Ariel's "Q"

R is for Raindrops

Remember how Zech told me God said, yes. Well, it wasn't entirely yes. We had one point when we were on the trail where it rained. Luckily, we were in a tree filled area with a bench. The raindrops barely touched us, and the moment was rather peaceful. We took a break from our hunt and sat and listened to the soothing sound of raindrops falling on the leaves around. The moment was beautiful; aside from listening to my oldest son complaining about his dire need for water. He set out a cup to catch the drops but was rather disappointed when it didn't amount to anything. The rest of us enjoyed the rainfall.

S is for Straw

T is for Table

U is for Hanging Up on a Clothes Line (This was our favorite one!)

V is for Van

W is for Wagon

X is for nature's "X"

Y is for the letter "Y" (Made by Gabriel)

Z is for Zipping out of here! (Gabe's idea again. He was really ready to go home and get a glass of water.)

The day turned out perfectly! And as if that wasn't enough already, God had a bigger blessing in store for me. When we got back home, I checked my email as I often do when returning.

One of my favorite websites is Tip Junkie. I love all the crafts and information that is on there. On the 4th of July, they announced they would be giving away a Silhouette Cameo plus the Studio Edition Bundle worth $350. I've always wanted one of these machines, however, there was no way with those high prices I would ever justify buying one. I almost didn't enter because I figured it would be pointless. But something (God) told me, it never hurts to try. We should never stop hoping for things! When you stop hoping and believing for the best you are in for real trouble.

God is so much bigger than any hopes we could ever have. Always believe! I'm sure you can imagine what I'm about to say.

I won the random drawing! I was one person out of 1,966!! Those are some incredible odds there, but God still did it. The favor of the Lord is so amazing to me! I was sitting here discussing how big my cup was with my oldest son. His cup is about the size of a coffee mug. Mine is probably pretty comparative to his, however, God has probably filled that cup enough to fill my entire house, all 1300 square feet. I am overwhelmed by the blessings He gives. I never feel like I deserve it; yet He loves me enough to give beyond my simple imagination.

As my ten year old daughter would say, GOD ROCKS!!!! My day began rather ordinarily, but with God's touch, it has become extraordinary!