Pearl

I must admit, I've never liked our red van.  From the day we got it, Josh started getting carsick every time he stepped into it.  Nicole did too.  I wonder if it was the angle of the seats, tinting on the windows, or what? Whatever it was, there was a marked difference in the amount of nausea in my children between our green van and the red one.  I never even named the poor thing!  How insensitive of me!  But we never really got along.  David was not happy that I didn't love her, but I just couldn't muster up any affection - no matter how hard I tried.  Plus, in the last year or two, she cost us a pretty penny in repairs. She was pushing 200,000 miles.  We knew she was on her last legs.  It was only a matter of time until she died. My parents ALWAYS offered to drive if we went anywhere so that they wouldn't have to get stuck on the road if she died, and they casually dropped hints that it might be a good idea for us to rent a vehicle when we drove to California later in the summer.

In early July, the A/C went out.  Plus, there was a crazy noise coming from the depths of the engine.  So we took her into our favorite local shop.  They took a look under the hood, and called us with the bad news.  There were multiple problems with the old gal.  It would cost thousands - literally thousands - of dollars for us to fix her.  And who knew how long it would be until she busted something else? It was time to say goodbye. I know it was the Lord blessing me so that we didn't get stranded in the middle of a crowded California freeway a few weeks later.

The old, nameless beast.

That meant car shopping.  Is there anything in this world more tedious, time consuming, life-sucking, and rage-inducing than car shopping?  I can think of nothing.  Wait...maybe potty training...

Anyway...we went car shopping.  I cried on the first day.  Cars are so expensive!  On the second day (the 4th of July) David and I went together.  It was less painful when he was there to share the sticker shock with me.  By the end of the day, we pretty much had it narrowed down to one or two cars.

On July 5th, Alison watched the boys while Nicole and I went car shopping.  I will not bore you with the intricate details, but after a very long day (did I mention I hate car shopping?), test driving a couple more vans, waiting in a car showroom for hours, making several calls back-and-forth to David while he was at work, and feeling like we were financially accosted, we came home with the most gorgeous white minivan you've ever seen!

I really love her.  She's no spring chicken, but she has pretty low miles and she purrs like a kitten.  She's got a dvd player, a fancy touch-screen computer, and fully-functioning air conditioning!  We named her Pearl.  Her full name is "The Pearl of Great Price" for two reasons: we sold everything we have to posses her and we've cast her before swine (our grubby little munchkins) who trample her under their feet!  I'm writing this entry almost two months later, and I still smile every time I climb into her!  Pearl and I are BFFs!