A Cow Adventure

So sometimes we make great plans for how things should go, only to realize that God had different plans. And he does have plans. We can trust him and thank him in the moment even if we feel flustered or out of control. So two weeks ago at The Cottage, we had great plans. The weather was supposed to be nice. Our nature study topic was to be cows and there is a pasture right next to the Leonard Center (where we meet) with cows in it. Each of our meetings has a schedule that the kids know well by now.

But we thought it would be great to head outside for the nature study. The kids could sit, observse and draw the cows in the field since that is really how a nature study is supposed to go. Not a problem. We would just do the inside things first and then head outside. I even planned the habit game to be relay races that we could do outside too. WELL... When we arrived at the center, it was very windy and it appeared that a storm was blowing in. But we remained hopeful. And one can certainly still go outside even with a little wind and chill as long as you have coats, right? I mean kids don't mind usually. Then we managed to get started with the group over half an hour late. But thats okay. And some of our dear kids of routine were a little thrown off by the schedule change (especially my child, hmm, could she by like me? :)) But we pressed on. Every day that we have come for the group, the cows have been in the pasture close by. Well, this day was different. The cows were not there. So we decided to make it a game, a cow hunt. So we set out to take a walk and find the cows. Except, they weren't to be found. Then we played our habit game to warm up because it was still windy and chilly. Once warm, the plan was to read our books on cows and do the nature study as best as we could. Well, then some of our little ones had just had enough. So a couple of us got the attention of some of the kids and read the books but the little ones just needed attention and food. And then it was time to go. So was the day a wash? Nope. :) A couple of the bigger kids asked why we weren't getting to do the things we were supposed to. It was a great opportunity for a character lesson. Sometimes we need to be flexible and compassionate towards our younger siblings/friends and we need to be willing to surrender our plans. Or maybe we learn a lesson about how we could have planned better but its how we handle the situation in front of our kids that teaches them far more.
I told my kids when we left that we would run by the house and grab a couple of sandwiches that they could eat in the car and then we would drive a little ways out of town and go on a cow hunt. Gabe was very excited. He really wanted to see cows. Well, I told him that we would look for a little while and maybe we would have some success. We drove out about 6 miles East from our home at the suggestion of Jeremy. We passed a couple of pastures of cows but they were pretty far in the distance. And then, we came upon a farm house with a pasture of 3 young bull cows. We were able to pull off the road and watch them for quite some time. Olivia got to draw in her journal right there. It was a wonderful fun. Yes, we had to work a little harder and it didn't go as planned but that is okay.