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I have been so terrible at blogging lately, it is not for lack of trying, just that we have been so busy. All the car accident stuff that needed to be taken care of, along with trying to organize and clear out the 3rd bedroom to make way for our soon-to-be-here new little one, blogging has taken the back seat. I am going to try do better, though, and hopefully get a bunch of new posts up this week. I'll start off by saying that I am feeling much better from the pain I was having in my back since the accident. I think it has caused more stiffness in my spine, but the terrible pain has subsided and I am so thankful. As far as my car, as we had suspected, it would have cost them more to fix the Jetta than the car was worth, so they did end up totaling it. I was a little sad about that because I really enjoyed that car so much, but at the same time, we had prayed that they would total it because I don't know that I would have ever felt really safe in it again seeing how badly it had been damaged. So we praise God for that! The next portion is really long so if you don't feel like reading it all, the short and sweet version is that God provided a new car for our family and we praise Him for His faithfullness! Pictures down below :) After finding out that the car had been totalled, then started the excitement of trying to find a replacement vehicle... and quickly. We contemplated being a one car family for a short time, but dismissed that idea as we thought about the logistics with me being 7 months pregnant and Carl working in downtown Dallas should something happen. Our original plan had been to buy a bigger vehicle in about 6-12 months since Jetta's have an extremely narrow backseat and it was going to be a very tight fit once we had 2 carseats in it. But we were planning on making do until we had finished paying off Carl's student loans and we were able to save up to pay cash for another car (we are determined to not go back into debt). Another reason we were waiting to buy a bigger car was that Carl is still a contract worker for the firm he works for and we are waiting to hear in August sometime what the long-term plan is. They might keep him contract or they might employ him full time, which are both good options, but there is also the chance that they might let him go as there is much restructuring going on. All that to say, now did not seem the time to be making any large purchases that would drain some of our savings that we would need should Carl end up being let go. It was one of those times where you just have to stand back and trust that God's timing and ways are always perfect and know that He would provide for our family. Which leads us to another praise! I had read a lot and heard a lot from others that insurance companies are notorious for trying to lowball you when it comes to paying you out for a totaled vehicle. In hearing this I tried to do lots of research to find out the true value of the Jetta so when they came to us to settle for my car, we would know if it was fair or not. It was quite a wide range, depending on which sites you look at, but it gave us a good idea of an amount to be hoping for. I had prepared myself for the phone call and was all prepared with a number in mind and reasons why my car was worth that amount. So when they called a couple days later to settle and they offered me an amount, I was just about speechless. I couldn't believe it, they offered me the very highest amount that we had seen and in addition, money to pay for taxes, registration, inspection, etc on a replacement car. They also paid us the exact value for Aiden's new carseat that we had to purchase and baby #2 carseat and pack n play that were in the trunk of the car (we had loaned them to friends of ours who out visiting with their little baby) and were damaged. I couldn't believe it!!! It was enough to pay cash for a new (to us) car without going into debt and without dipping into our savings!! What we had been praying for! That night we poured over the internet looking for a new car. We had already planned on purchasing a Honda Odyssey when we first starting thinking about a bigger car so thankfully I had done research ahead of time on certain years to avoid and price ranges etc. We knew that we were looking for a 2002-2004, around 100000 miles and in our price range. We spent hours that night looking and comparing and mapping different dealers that we were going to go to that weekend. We also had found a couple vans on Craigslist that looked like good possibilities. As it was getting close to midnight, Carl refreshed Craigslist one last time and a new entry popped up. A 2004 Odyssey in our price range that looked like it was in excellent condition and ONLY had 69000 miles, which if you have done any minivan shopping, is really low. Most of the newer models had even more than that. It almost looked too good to be true. So Carl called first thing the next morning to see if we could meet the sellers that night. They agreed and we drove out to Frisco after Carl got off work. The van really was in immaculate condition, inside and out, you could see that they had taken really good care of it. Carl checked out the engine and called our mechanic to ask him a few questions. It all looked so good! We knew we either had to buy it then or it would be snapped up by someone else. We then prayed together as a family that the Lord would bless this purchase and if it wasn't His will, that something would fall through. We told the owners that we wanted to buy the car and they were thrilled to sell it to us (well, except for their little boy who burst out crying because people wanted to take his car :( ). The Lord provided! So now we are a minivan family. I know this was really long and detailed, but since this blog also serves as a scrapbook/journal, I really wanted to remember this story of God's faithfulness and provision for our family and how He truly does "work all things for good". It is so wonderful to step back and see God's hand weaved all through our lives. Through all the blessings and trials, He is leading and guiding us and He cares so much about each little detail!  Our new minivan  Another view for Grandma's who have been asking to see pictures :)  Aiden LOVES the van!  Too cute! On our way to church with bear and puppy strapped in for the ride :)
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