Tonight was like that. We decided to hide from the trick or treaters (don’t judge, puhlease…) spend the evening enjoying God’s general revelation in the woods of Weston, MO. J loves to go on walks, we call them “treasure hunts”, where we pick up a myriad of treasures in the form of leaves, sticks, rocks, etc. Inevitably, at least some of the treasure makes it into the washing machine while the rest migrates into the toy box. But yet still we search. Prior to setting off on our “treasure hunt,” J insisted on a treasure map, x marks the spot style. She was quite particular on what adventures we would encounter–woods, a dinosaur, a bridge, a lake with monster fish, a bunny, a quick snack stop, some book reading time, then, x marks the spot. So, I drew it up, (Not including a picture, don’t want anyone judging my drawing ability-not good!), and we were off on our merry way.

 Now, we had no intention of seeking out any of these particulars, but in the course of the evening, we walked through the woods, crossed a bridge, saw a river which I am sure had fish monsters, heard a “bunny” (possibly masquerading as a squirrel but don’t tell J), made a quick snack stop at a mexican restaurant and read a few books at Barnes and Noble. After all that, how can I not provide a masking tape x and some random treasure!?!?

Back to my memories, though. The fall here is another reason I am in love in with Kansas. I lucked into some good pictures tonight as you can see. There was no major production, no big event or lightning bolt, no revelation, just rambling through the woods with my family. All four of us-although my battery died before I got any pictures of Wee Man. J stopping us every 33 feet to listen for bunnies (see pic). J stopping us every 54 feet to point out the bunny tracks she was following. Super Dad whittling her a sword to fight any dinosaurs we might come across. Color for days, the perfect sunset firing up every leaf. The kind of conversation you can only have with a four year old. I don’t know about J, but I came home with a bucket full of treasure. The kind you can keep forever. 

~M.