Finally

Last Friday night Steve and I finally bought a van. We found a fabulous deal on a Honda Odyssey that has a ton of optional extras and only 19,000 miles. To be honest, I can hardly believe we own this van. For those of you who may not have been reading my blog for long, I have been trying to get my DH to buy a new vehicle for several years. It has been such a long, frustrating trial. Here is a brief time line of the van drama:

2003 - We purchased our Grand Caravan (used)

2004 - Started having regular problems with the engine

2005 - Had a terrible overheating experience on a trip to California. Although it was repaired, the engine was never the same after this and there remained thereafter a constant dinging sound whenever idling. I started making $250 pretend car payments to a savings account as a way to save for a replacement vehicle.

2006 - Had $1000+ in repairs

2007 - Had $1000+ in repairs

2008 - Had $1000+ in repairs

2009 - Van stopped working in late spring. I put my foot down and refused to let my husband get it fixed.

Honestly, the purchase of the Odyssey has been a real answer to prayer for me. I admit I was not all that patient during this trial, but I am extremely grateful to the Lord for His blessings. I had wanted an Odyssey more than any other vehicle, but for 99% of the time we looked at cars we were not looking at Odysseys (or even Hondas) because we did not think we could afford one. Additionally, this van is in my favorite color (navy blue) and is nicer than anything we would have ever thought we could get. So, in a way, I can tell that the desires of my heart were known and my prayers were answered.

Scripture of the Day: 1 Peter 3:7