Before I talk about the actual trip, it is imperative that I talk about the day that we left.

It all started at 8:00 in the morning, when I started getting ready to head to my first store. Here's all that I had to get done:

1. Go to Target to get hammers, nails, and face wipes.
2. Go to Barnes & Noble to get the little kids books so they didn't feel left out without having a bible.
3. Go to a WalMart to go to try to find more picture frames and get the groceries.
4. Go to Walgreens to pick up the 78 pictures I ordered on Thursday. Then, put them in the corresponding kids envelopes when I got home.
5. Continue going to various Walmarts until all the frames were bought.
6. Meet up with Jordan and Susie to get whatever frames they found in other Walmarts.

Well, I finally got home about 2:45 p.m. and I still hadn't packed, loaded the car, or showered yet, and I was supposed to be at the church at 4. Yet, somehow it all got done - after 4 WalMarts, sitting in a parking lot for 30 minutes waiting... and going to all the places.

Oh, but before I let it go. You would think that it would be just a productive, time to do everything day, but it was a day filled with blessings ~ even before we left.

When I was at Barnes & Noble, I was in the small spanish children's section. There was another lady that was looking at all the same books too. After 5 minutes of us both looking everywhere, I joked about how big the section was. I then asked her what she was looking for. She explained that she's looking for kids around 9 and that she's going to a party later that night every year they bring books for the crisis center. So, I then told her that I was buying the books for the little kids in an orphanage since they're not getting bibles like the older kids. She immediately went into her purse and handed me $10 and said that she wanted to help buy some books for them. She then continued to help me find good books for them. She also told me to ask for the teacher's discount and explain what I'm doing. Well, you all know me, and I don't exactly like doing that... Yet, lo and behold, she was 2 people in front of me when I was in line to check out. I also heard the cashier tell her to go talk to the store manager, but I surprisingly didn't hear the rest of the conversation. Well, as the lady is ringing me up, I told the cashier how she had given me the money. Right after I said that, she came up with the store manager, and they gave me a teachers card so that I can get 20% off most purchases. This lady that I just met saved me over 20 bucks and she is going to save me more money in the future. I told the cashier that I was shocked and I couldn't believe that they were going to give me the discount even though I'm not a teacher. She then said, "Well, that's what this is for - too help people that are doing good things in this world". I'm still a little shocked. I usually don't experience things like this.

Yet, now it makes me remember the cashier I had at Fry's before the November trip. I joked about the reason why I bought 8 bags of Fiery Hot Cheetos and she immediately gave me a $10 off coupon that another lady left to give to "someone special". (Sounds like something an older lady would say, eh?)

All of this stuff always shocks me, I don't know why though. God blesses us all the time. He's always there wanting to give us little reminders of Himself and the things He likes to do and can do for us.