Our New Van!!!

Well, we are officially minivan owners!!!  I guess that means we're really deep into this parenting thing.  We've discussed buying one for a few years now, but we've been holding off because they are expensive and we really didn't feel that two children justified a minivan when we had two paid off cars that worked just fine.  But, we're hoping that three kids are in our future, and three carseats don't fit in either of our cars (at least not properly).  AND, we are currently planning a big road trip to Myrtle Beach in September which got us thinking that the space would be really nice.  So, knowing that we're hopefully going to need one soon anyway and we could use the space for the trip, we decided to go ahead and start our search.

Finding our "perfect" minivan was not as easy as we thought.  As our search went on, our list of what we wanted became more specific.  We definitely knew we wanted used.  After reading Consumer Reports, Josh decided that we would only look at Toyota Siennas (after I had spent a lot of time looking at Hondas!).  To stay in our price range, we knew we wanted some extras (like power doors) but not too many extras (like leather and DVD).  We decided to concentrate on fewer options but also fewer miles.

We tried hard to find the perfect balance of year, model, and mileage to get the biggest bang for our buck.  I found LOTS of Siennas around our price range, but there was always one thing that didn't fit our wish list.  One night, being a little sarcastic, I punched in a 175 mile radius on the Toyota Certified site.... and found our perfect van.  The only bad news was that it was north of Chicago!  So, I didn't really think we'd go for it.  But, the more we looked at it, the more we realized it was just what we wanted, and the price was more competitive than you could ever get at dealerships around here.  So, after talking with the dealership, we made the drive up and purchased it!

We got a black 2009 Toyota Sienna LE (with power doors!) with 35k miles, just what we wanted.  It seemed to have been well taken care of by a local owner.  All of the service records were available and had been done on time.  It was traded in only because the full warranty was up.  The good news is that Toyota certified it, so it has another year of full warranty plus three and a half more years of powertrain warranty.

I was very happy that we got just what we wanted and that the price was right!  I love that by waiting 3 years for someone else to put 35k miles on it, we saved about $12,000 off a new one.  That's a deal in my book!



Since the drive up was over 3 hours and we were at the dealership for 3 hours, we had decided to make a night of it and get a hotel room.  We were both so glad we did.  We were beat and it was SO HOT.  They were saying it was actually the hottest weekend in Chicago history!  We went to Gino's for pizza which was yummy, but the a/c couldn't keep up.  We almost couldn't eat it was so hot in there!  Then we took the kids to the mall and used some of our Disney gift cards for some new T-Shirts!

The next day, we took advantage of the hotel pool and then headed back to the mall for a little more shopping.

 Then we had lunch at Portillo's and headed home.

Yep, she's wearing a headband and a tiara... my little accessory girl!  I told her she could pick something at Claire's, and she chose the tiara-big surprise there!



Jake LOVED the chocolate cake shake and was quite protective of it.  Hannah said, "Jacob, the shake is for everyone to share.  Don't drink it all!"

Since we didn't trade a car in, we had to drive two cars home!  Josh drove the new minivan with the kids because I didn't want to drive it for the first time in crazy traffic, so I drove the Santa Fe.  We sold Josh's trusty Honda Accord to Betsy to get her started at her new job this fall!  We hope that she gets lots of use out of it.  And I hope to get at least ten years out of this van!  

Girls Day

At the end of June, I got to see several of my best friends from LCC and all of their kids!  When we figured out that we were going to have such a good turnout and so many kids, I thought of the indoor park at First Christian Church in Champaign.  It seemed weird to plan an indoor event in June, but I was hoping it would keep all of our kids contained.  It ended up being a very good thing we were indoors because we had record breaking temperatures, and you could hardly breathe outside it was so humid!  

This picture contains most of the 17 kids in attendance; we did our best.  I couldn't believe we had 17 kids... not to mention the 3 Davenports, 2 Cannes, and 1 Williams baby who couldn't be there.... that would make 23 babies in 8 years... with no signs of slowing down!  Wow, girls!

 My little Jake just loved running around the playground with the big kids!

 These pictures are the most I've ever seen him look like his daddy!  

  Macey and Jake sharing a sweet hug... both 2010 babies... could we arrange this marriage now?  

I love this picture of Grace and Hannah.  These girls don't know each other too well, but their mamas are best friends, so it just fits that they should get along too!

It was so good to see my girls.  I miss the conversations and the way we all relate so easily.  If I could move them all to Catlin, I would!  And we really missed the girls who couldn't come-Lindsay, Courtney, Jonikay, Rachel, and Serena-we all love you too!

Maggie & David's Wedding

 

My cousin Maggie got married in June.  It was a beautiful wedding, and we had lots of fun seeing all of our family!

 Sisters!!!

 Aunt Linda thoughtfully remembered to bring candy for all the kids; it was a lifesaver for getting Jake to sit still!

 These smiles make me smile! 

 Aww, a daddy's girl and a mama's boy...

We wish all of our best to Maggie and David as they enter this new stage of life.  Marriage is pretty fun!!

Our 8th Wedding Anniversary

We've been having lots of fun celebrating our wedding anniversary the last few weeks.  Our actual anniversary was a Tuesday, so Josh was at work.  When I got up, Hannah said "Happy Anniversary, mommy!"  Daddy put her up to that.  It was sweet.  I also had a flood of facebook messages, including one from Josh, which just got the day off to a fun start.

Later in the day, the florist showed up at my house!  I don't think a florist has ever been to my house, and she had TWO deliveries for me, eight pink roses from Josh and a hibiscus plant in a pot from my parents!  (Pottery is the traditional gift for an 8th anniversary; my mom follows that list every year.)  Then, to make a long story short, we made plans to go out with friends that night.  We went to Champaign for Mexican with Mike, Kristen, Betsy, and Nathan.  That was fun.  We also exchanged gifts that night.  Josh gave me a "shopping spree" by myself in Champaign to get new clothes.  I ended up going the following week and got 5 new outfits and had the luxury of taking my time in the dressing rooms while Josh kept the kids at home; it was great!  I got Josh some antique PEZ dispensers that I lucked out and found at a rummage sale; they are worth way more than I paid!  I also wrote him a letter and got him some of his favorite snacks.

That weekend, we went out in Champaign by ourselves.  We had dinner at Timpone's, which is actually where we went last year as well.  The food was AMAZING-so very yummy!!!  We also visited a few specialty shops that we never get to go to (Prairie Gardens & AMKO-an Asian grocery store).  As always, it was fun to sit at a restaurant without entertaining the kids.  Josh's mom and step-dad watched the kids, and they surprised us with a stepping stone with the kids' handprints in it!

On our actual anniversary day, I had to take Jake to the doctor for his 18 month check-up and both kids to Wal-Mart for a desperate grocery run.  And on our anniversary date, we looked at landscaping at Prairie Gardens.  I couldn't help but think that eight years ago on these exact days, I was wearing the most expensive outfit I will probably ever wear and then jetting off to Mexico and 4 wheeling across the beaches.  My life is so much less "glamorous," yet exactly what I wanted.  I just thought of how happy I would have been on our wedding day to have this glimpse of our future-two beautiful children to take on errands, a home with a yard to landscape, my dream of being a stay-at-home mom, not to mention a wonderful husband...  I am one happy and blessed girl!  

Top 40 Reasons Why Josh is the Best Husband Ever

Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary, Josh!  I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you, so I wrote the "Top 40 Reasons Why Josh is the Best Husband Ever."

1.  There's no doubt in my mind how much you love me.
2.  You tell me that I'm beautiful a million times a day, even when I look my worst.
3.  You provide financially for our family so that I can stay home with our children.  And you never complain about it.  Thank-you for letting me live my dream.
4. You're organized; I really, really appreciate that about you!
5.  You constantly tell me that you love me.
6.  I can count on you to follow through with what you're supposed to do.
7.  You tell me that I'm perfect.  I know I'm not.  But it's sweet that you think that.
8.  I can trust you 100%.  I know that you're totally committed to me.
9.  You're a hard worker.
10.  We share opinions on all the things that really matter... and a lot of the things that don't matter.
11.  You're a list-maker, just like me!  And, you do the things on your lists!
12.  You're content to just stay at home when we have the opportunity.  So am I.
13.  You're a bargain hunter.
14.  You trust me.
15.  You think my cooking is amazing, even when it's just average.
16.  You change diapers.
17.  You do all of the yardwork.
18.  I have never had to take out the trash in 8 years of marriage (yeah!).
19.  You appreciate what I do every day at home.
20.  You're smokin' hot!
21. You never leave a mess around the house (and sometimes pick up my messes!).
22. You don't complain if the cooking or cleaning isn't done on occasion.  You get it.
23. We rarely have a major disagreement.  And, the only fight we've ever had over money in 14 years was over a $7 CD.  Yep, that one was your fault.
24.  You're my best friend.
25.  You respect my opinion and always ask for it.
26.  You help put the kids to bed.
27.  You love doing things as a family, and you hate to leave the kids as much as I do.  I think that's really cute.
28.  You're a kid at heart (Disney World, anyone?).
29.  You appreciate whatever time we get together and understand this "stage of life."
30.  You give good back rubs.
31.  You have gorgeous dark hair and beautiful blue eyes... have I already mentioned that you're smokin' hot?  Well, it's worth mentioning twice.
32.  You don't mind driving a 14 year old car.  You know there are more important things in life.
33.  You think I'm funny.  I'm not that funny.  Ok, I'm a little funny.
34.  You like to play with the kids and teach them new things.
35.  I like just kicking back and watching TV with you.  Watching "our shows" alone just isn't the same.
36.  You like to eat out at fun places.
37.  You keep me grounded when I get big, crazy ideas.
38.  You know not to take anything I say after 10 pm personally.... or is it 9 pm?
39.  You worked 7 days (and nights) a week for almost 8 years and never complained about it.  Amazing.
40.  You've learned how to fix a lot of things around the house in the last 6 years, despite having any experience in these areas (new sewer line, new outlets, roofed the shed, and on and on).

And most importantly, your love for me and our kids flows out of your love for Christ and your desire to be more like Him.

Josh, You're my best friend, and I'm so happy that I get to do this life with you.  We've been best friends basically since we were kids... didn't seem like we were kids at the time, but looking back, it's starting to seem like it now.  That doesn't mean that I wasn't confident in my love for you though.  I knew then and I know now that I want to spend my whole life with you.  Thanks for everything you do for our family.  You're an amazing husband and a wonderful daddy, and I really can't imagine what I'd do without you.  I'm so glad that I get to spend my life with you, and I look forward to celebrating many, many more anniversaries with you.  I love you, baby.  Stephanie

PS-If I ever forget that you're "the best husband ever," you may use this list as a "get out of jail free card."  

Happy Birthday, Trevor!

Hannah was invited to a birthday party for her church buddy, Trevor!  Batman & Robin made an appearance, and there was a bounce house, a weinie roast, and lots of fun!!! 

Weekend Guests

We've had jam-packed weekends lately!  The weekend after Chicago, we offered to keep our friends' 4 kids for the weekend.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  I just love the Nardoni kids.  They were so well behaved, and it was just fun to have a house full of kids.  It felt like home to me to be serving 6 children at meal time and just to have a full table.  Some people said it would scare me from having more kids, but it actually just made me want more.  Starting that weekend, I've been praying for twins on our next go-around!

The following weekend, Les & Sarah Evans came to stay with us.  It was so much fun!  They are preparing to go be missionaries in Tokyo.  They are just beginning the overwhelming task of fundraising.  We are so excited to see what God will do through them.  They just got back from visiting Japan, so they showed us pictures and made us some traditional Japanese food (yum!).

We also got to go to Kickapoo Park for a picnic and some frisbee golf (well, the guys played while the girls watched the kids).  We loved having them and hope they'll get to come at least once more before they move overseas.  We dreamed with them about us visiting Tokyo someday.... maybe!

This last weekend, the Burgers got to spend several hours at our house, as Dave was in town to do a wedding. It is always SO GOOD to see them!!!  I didn't get any pictures, but I was so happy they were here!!!  Other than that, on the weekends, when we don't have a crazy schedule, we usually end up hanging out with Mike & Kristen.  I am so thankful to God for our friendship with them.  It's so great to have friends who can come over whenever (like late at night after the kids are in bed!).  It's just one of those friendships that's casual and relaxed.  You don't have to have plans.  You can just throw an impromptu dinner together, and it's great!  I know God will likely eventually take them elsewhere, but we'd love to keep them forever!!!