IT'S AN ADVENTURE!!!!!

Once upon a time (actually, almost two weeks ago) there was a family who was traveling to see some friends bless their baby. All was going well - there was snacks, water, coloring books with crayons and most importantly, a dvd player. The Dad had put the van into cruise control -which he rarely did and the drive was going quickly. UNTIL ... the van decided it had had enough of these road trips and decided to stop - in the middle of nowhere on the freeway. It didn't make a lot of noise, just decided it didn't like going into gear. As the family pulled over to the side of the road and stopped (the mom and dad just sat there looking strait out the windshield) the oldest daughter asked "why are we stopping?". The Dad looked at his wife and said after a deep breath "Get your stuff and get out - we are going to burn the van.". Well this upset the kids and the parents had to explain the real reason they were stopped - in the middle of nowhere- on a freeway. The oldest daughter then decided the family should have a prayer so the van would decided to get them where they were going - so they did- and the van was stubborn. The Dad made some phone calls and his friend that they were going to go see actually had a friend that lived close to where the family was stopped. So more phone calls were made and the friend just happened to have a vehicle that would fit the whole family. So the family waited and played "count your blessings game"- it was hard. But they had just talked about how to turn things that don't go right into adventures instead of problems - so for the next 30 min the Mom reminded everyone that it was an adventure. At first it looked like this "Isn't this a fun adventure?", then , "Remember it is an ADVENTURE", then, "It Is AN ADVENTURE", and finally, "IT IS AN ADVENTURE DANG IT !!!!!!!!!" . After the last one the kids weren't sure they liked adventures.
After a little while they were able to talk about the blessings of this"adventure"

1 - They had food, water and activities
2 - Someone - who was willing to pick them up - lived close by and had a vehicle big enough for the whole family.
3 - The Dad was with them - it would have been a HUGE adventure if it was just the kids and Mom

They were picked up by the friend and made it to their destination - missing the whole blessing-
but made it. They were able to visit and see the new baby. Then the family realized more blessings:

4 - The friend told them to just take the vehicle he picked them up in - it happened to be an extra-
5 - He had to go to Tucson anyway to get supplies so he would tow the van back to the families home the next day, drop it off at the mechanics, pick up what he needed, and tow his other vehicle back.
6 - The family made it home safely - just like they had asked that morning during family prayer.

7-The mom also learned to take extra clothes and shoes - she was in heels and almost had to walk who knows how far

So now the family looks back and realizes that they really were blessed and watched over during their "adventure" - and laugh.

*We finally got the van back last night after 9 days in the shop- it now has a brand new transmission and runs great!!!!

*****THANKS EVERYONE THAT HELPED US - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - WE OWE YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!**********