Marc and I woke up rearing to get on the road and check out several car options that we had looked into. We heard the official news that after Marc's accident on Wednesday, the Malibu was totaled. We drove to Kalamazoo and found a nice little Corolla but wanted to check out a few others. On our way to Holland - actually, about 5 minutes before we arrived at a lot, State Farm called to tell us our payout on the Malibu. We were expecting maybe $500 and were anticipating using all of our tax refund to buy a car. I spent much of Wednesday - Saturday in prayer about the whole situation. I was trying to remain positive because at least we had that $ coming in to use. I was stressed and upset that we would not be able to use that money for an Emergency fund and to pay a little debt, and was pleading with God about it all. Well, we received $3200 for the Malibu. I wept when I found out. We ended up buying a mini-van at the lot we were on our way to for $3500 out the door. AMAZING! It's a 98 Toyota Sienna, and is a little nicer than our current van. So yes, we have 2 green mini-vans and we still have most of our tax money to build up that emergency fund and pay off a debt!
The next new and cool thing was our dinner plans. We had our friends Simon & Judy
over to teach us how to cook Korean food. I'm not sure I could do it on my own, but it was a fantastic experience and the boys enjoyed a real Korean meal - not take out. Their stomachs seem much bigger when Korean food is involved.
I've saved the best for last. The most exciting thing is that my niece, Charlotte Ayleah Cook was born. Leah and De Wayne are the very proud parents of a baby girl, which I think surprised most of our family. We were all 99.9% sure it was a boy. She is beautiful with a perfect little head of black hair, sweet little fingers and toes and the cutest little baby noises. Well, not all her noises are cute, but, you get the idea. I am so proud of Leah - she was a champ through it all and is already such a great mom. De Wayne is already on diaper duty and has stepped right into fatherhood.
My little note to Charlotte:
My dear niece, I love you already and can't wait to discover all about you in the years to come. You have incredibly strong parents, and are blessed to be born into your family. We are blessed to welcome you into our extended family. I hope that you will learn to take the beautiful things from our family and make them your own, leaving the broken things to the side. I pray that you will grow healthy and strong with a passion for the Lord that both of your parents possess. May you find your identity, your strength, your gifts and salvation in Jesus Christ, and may you serve him with all that you are. I'm praying for you and will continue throughout your life to lift you up to our maker.
love,
Auntie Gretchen
1 comment:
Aww, congrats on your niece! Your ntoe gave me goosebumps. She's lucky to have an aunt like you. Sorry to her about Marc's accident, but happy to hear that you have a new mode of transportation. :)
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