For Kimberly Morris of Wake Forest, winning $10,000 started the week on a high note. But in an instant, Monday became a day she won’t soon forget.

The mother of three bought a $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler ticket from the Harris Teeter on Brodgen Woods Drive in Wake Forest, winning $10,000. She came to lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday to claim her prize and could not believe her luck.

“I was shocked,” said Morris. “It felt really great to win, but I really have always dreamed I would win $1 million!”

Then, on the way back home, she stopped by the Quality Food Mart on Durham Road in Raleigh to try her luck on another $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler ticket.

“I wasn’t really expecting much,” said Morris. “I just enjoy playing the lottery.”

When Morris realized her dream had just come true, she immediately called her husband, John, who was at work.

“She was freaking out on the phone,” John recalled. “I couldn’t understand her, so I told her to slow down. When I realized what she was saying, I didn’t believe her at first. I had to come home and see it for myself.”

Morris claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $417,012. She plans to share some of the money with her three children and invest the rest.

The $20 scratch-off game launched in September with three top prizes of $4 million and six prizes of $1 million. Morris claimed the first $1 million prize. Three $4 million prizes and five $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in Wake County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.