Random Thoughts

-Okay, no news is good news right? The new widget stays at least until I get bored with it. I am really enjoying reading previous posts. Last night I got lost reading all the post that dealt with deciding on another baby. It's priceless to read all our thoughts and prayers for our little Anneliese and to be able to snuggle her while reading them.

-I spent a good 3 hours cleaning my van today. It's officially on the market and I wanted to detail it so it shined :) The thing I've been asking myself all day is why would I clean it for a random stranger while I drove it for 16 mos and never once shampooed it? It's soo pretty and clean. It smells wonderful and I think it will show very well. Now we just have to pray someone will come and snatch it up :)

-The obvious next post would be, We found a new van! It's a super long story but I'll cut to the chase. Older couple buy brand new van. Said couple takes exceptional care of the van and add little extras here and there to improve the value. They barely drive it for a few years and then sell it for thousands below value. Current market is flooded with similar vans so we get a fantastic deal on a beautiful van! Mommy's HAPPY!

-After shampooing my light gray interior until my arms hurt I'm super thankful to say the new van has dark carpet. The seats and carpet are a deep taupe. That's perfect for 5 dirty little kiddos.

-This morning on Craigslist an 05' Toyota Sienna came up. It was $16,000 and had 56,000 miles on it. While checking it out I had a thought. The Toyota's are known for longevity and quality but they are so expensive I could buy 2 Dodge Caravans for the same money. Our new van has far less miles and cost WAY less. I can drive my van til it dies, buy another one and then drive it until it dies and likely outlast the Sienna. How does dropping $16 grand on a 4 (almost 5) year old vehicle make sense?

-Our little girl HATES riding in the car. We had to drive to Lee Summit to check out the van and she screamed 30 minutes out of the hour it took to get there and 45 minutes home. Tomorrow we have to run to the bank (in Easton Ks) in the morning to sign papers, then drive to Merriam to pick up the van, and then to the airport to pick up my mom. We all need your prayers.