Calm logic prevailed

So we ended up not heading out to the dealerships on Thursday after all. Thankfully while Ian and I both share the character trait (flaw?) of procrastination, we deal with it differently. I tend to be somewhat of a "loose cannon" with crazy bursts of energy to complete the task at hand, and Ian is the methodical detail watcher. (Sometimes we drive one another crazy with our different tactics, but in the end it is a happy blend!)

We opted to spend a few hours in Consumer Reports researching ratings on pre-owned mini-vans cause as Ian said, "Honey, lots of car manufacturers make vans." (in response to my statement of "I don't know what kind, let's just go get a vehicle big enough for all three babies.") We narrowed it down to two make/models within specific year ranges and then used autotraders and carfinders to locate every one within 150 miles of here. And we still made it with time to spare to friends' house to watch the Chick-fil-A bowl!

Hokie fans have priorities after all...
The past few days it's either been rainy or wicked cold, so in addition to our test drive time (pretty sure we've located the vehicle, just waiting to see if we can get them to come off the price a bit) we've spent a lot of time testing out our new games.

No, we didn't spend a fortune. In fact, the only games we had before Wednesday were Candy Land (bought when Target was having a sale a few months ago) and Hi Ho Cherry-O and Lucky Ducks (gifts from Santa). The other day we were given all the rest of the games by my college roomie, Beth, and her girls. Apparently 12 and nearly 11 year olds don't have much use for pre-school games anymore and my kids were the lucky beneficiaries. We've played nearly every one so far and have loved them all. Bring back family game night!

Speaking of family game night... The word family of course makes me jump to Darcy. And thinking of Darcy causes me to reflect on what was the best part of 2009 for me ~ putting myself out there and submitting to God's will for our lives. (If you're new here, check out the links to Darcy's story in the sidebar). I don't know exactly what ~ beyond bringing Darcy home ~ God has in store for our family in 2010, but this weekend Ian and I have been lost in conversation again, this morning our worship pastor sparked off some ideas, and three blog posts I've read today all continue to point toward something. It's gonna be an exciting ride...

I hope to clarify some of my thoughts soon, but today practical housekeeping matters prevail. You know, the exciting stuff like menu planning for the week, tweaking the budget categories after reviewing the past few months, organizing closets and dressers to transform Kylie's room into "the girls' room," writing Thank You notes for Christmas presents that the kids and I are enjoying, and making sure that we haven't missed a Sienna or an Odyssey in the area. Mundane but important!