New Family Member...

This is something that happened around the 20th of October:

No, we aren't pregnant. I am actually referring to a van that we are in the process of buying from my parents. It too is green, though I forgive it that. Tia has dubbed it "Sammy", and I absolutely love it! There is soooo much more room for everyone, plus easier access to the kids not to mention the fact that it actually has air-conditioning and cruise control! Oh, and did I mention all the extra room? It even has enough room that we can bring a couple extra kids along for the ride (friends, cousins, etc). Isn't that great?!

Update and Answer

Ok, so as bad as things sounded with Red, it isn't disastrous. I've gotta couple questions, so I'm going to just answer directly. Yes, I'm desperate for a car. No, we aren't stranded. It is a stinky situation...literally.

Basically, what it boils down to is this: we own(ed) two cars. One, my beloved cranky Red; the other is John's car (called Jade). Jade and I have an agreement...we each agree to despise the other and get on with life. The same day Red died we were actually buying a For Sale sign to post in the window of Jade as I'd finally succeeded in convincing John that we didn't actually want to keep the lousy thing, it would give us some badly needed money, and save us money on gas and insurance. Well, I was right. Apparently we really needed to narrow things down to one car for a little while. God just picked the one I didn't want. So now we are using Jade to putt around town for necessary errands and late appointments, and praying that our clothes and hair don't stink too badly as the exhaust in the car is having a few problems. To quote John, "Do you know, we really do putt around town...see! Putt, putt, putt..." I just hope that we don't hear a boom at the end of that!

Fortunately, there is a white light ahead. As luck would have it, my parents are selling their van. They are in the middle of a move from Illinois to Nevada and thus can't get the van to us for a few weeks at least, but then I'll finally have my sought after van. Something that all the kids (and a few friends) will be able to fit into at the same time. I know the van isn't the newest thing out there, but it will be able to get us through the next little bit while I look for a anxiously hoped for job and pay down some debts (gotta love student loans!!!), not to mention saving money to buy a new vehicle. And then, look out! I'm going car shopping with money in my pocket and stars in my eyes! (I just hope I'm not going to hit a cow pie...)

Saying Goodbye...

Well, it finally happened. Our wonderful friend, Red, has finally with a clunk and a grind given out. From my extremely limited understanding of such things, basically the pieces keeping the frame, engine, and drive axles connected broke in the back of the car (there are only 2 points of the car where these are placed: the front and back of the axle/drive line?). We finished everything, watching as our poor old car was badly hauled up on a flat bed tow truck (literally, the tow truck driver that was loading the car had a J-hook slip the first time he tried which sent the car rolling off the back of the truck and into the road...fortunately the light behind us was red so there weren't any cars in the path of disaster; the second attempt he didn't pay attention when we told him that the car wouldn't turn properly such that the right side of the car was hanging off the bed entirely; the third time he nearly lost the car completely as the J-hook was only attached to the front axle which was the only thing keeping the car frame and such all attached and it started to slip just as he was getting the whole thing in place properly...ugh, I know who I won't call if I get stuck but want to keep the car!). The last sight of the car was as it was being "taken for a ride" to the "great scrap heap" at the west end of town.

The truth is that I'm sad to see the car go. Big surprise, I know, but considering that we've had that car outlast us for much longer than any other we've ever owned, fits us all in without fighting the kids' seats, plus allows room to move stuff almost like a van or truck...I miss my car! It was 18 years old, with all the problems that come with age and more than 200,000 miles, but it pulled us through a lot...everything from family trips over many canyons and deserts, 3 kids, 3 moves, college, and all that comes with a busy family life. We miss you, Red!

I'm baaaack!

Yep, I know. It took us awhile, but we finally had a little cash so we went down to D.I. and lucked out the first try. We are now the lucky, proud owners of a brand new, very used, humongous monitor...which works. We figured even if it conks out in 2 or 3 weeks, it was a good deal as we got it for 5 bucks. So one way or the other, for better or worse, I'm back online. Now, to actually figure out more about what I'm doing...

Yeah, wish me luck!

bad news...

So, I have to apologize. It is going to be while before I can post many updates as our monitor completely fried so I don't have regular access to a computer at the moment. Hopefully we'll be able to get a replacement soon, but as expensive as they are...wish us luck. If anyone hears of anything (like a used sale or someone selling their for $25 or so) let us know. Or just give us a call...I love phone calls! I'll post as soon as I'm able to get back online!