So the van saga continues (see my previous post for Part 1)…

Eric got up this morning and decided to just take the morning to get the van squared away so we can legally drive it.  Good times.

He drove to Pataskala (30 minutes east) because their BMV and title office are right next to each other.  Kill two birds with one stone.  Excellent!  

Instead, the complications immediately ensued.

1. The BMV had no electricity (title office did), so they weren’t open.  Hoped to be open soon, but not open then.

2. Eric headed to a nearby car dealership (which would also be able to do the “inspection” required to change the title), but they weren’t open yet.

3. He waits for them to open, gets the inspection done, goes back to the title office.  

4. Gets the new title issued and pays Ohio sales tax.  Full Ohio sales tax.

Wait…WHAT?  I thought that a notarized bill of sale indicating that we paid Michigan sales tax meant we wouldn’t have to pay full Ohio sales tax.

Guess not.  According to title office lady, because Steve wasn’t a dealer, he wasn’t authorized to charge us sales tax.  So the price we paid him was just the price we paid him.  And now we owed Ohio sales tax.  All of it.  So of course, Eric has no choice but to pay tax.  Again.  (Can you tell this is the part where I’m annoyed?)  But it just wasn’t worth one more battle at that point.

5. Eric leaves title office.  BMV was still closed.  

6. So he drives to the Hilliard BMV.  They are slow.  But they do finally get the rest of the necessary stuff taken care of (plates, registration, etc). He even renews his license while he’s there. 

7. And now, at lunch time, he can finally go to work and try to accomplish something.  And we finally have a legal van to drive.   But I will definitely think twice before doing a private car purchase ever again.  Seriously…this was way more hassle than it seems should be necessary.  Seriously. *huff*

So…we begin our tale at about 7:45 last Friday morning.

Eric and his brother, Ryan, leave for Michigan, planning to stop in Plain City for a McDonald’s breakfast and coffee.  All goes to plan.

They head north, intending to arrive at the SOS office (Michigan’s version of a BMV) around 11:30.  All goes to plan.

Steve also arrives around that same time with the minivan in question.  Again, all according to plan.

From there, however, things got…let’s call it…complicated.

After waiting in line at the SOS office, Eric and Steve are told that the bank screwed up the title.  See…when they paid the car off (multiple years ago), the bank officer neglected to sign the appropriate space indicating that.  So, according to the title, there was still a lien on the van.  Um…oops.

So, Eric and Steve leave the SOS office to find a branch of Steve’s bank (keep in mind that neither one lives in Ann Arbor).  They find it.  The bank acknowledges the mistake and writes up a letter indicating that the lien does not, in fact, exist.  Excellent.

Back to the SOS…wait in the line again…

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” the woman says, “but this title still isn’t right.”  Turns out the bank screwed up a second thing on the title.  Not only did they not sign where they should have, where they DID sign indicated that the lien was to be transferred to the buyer of the car.  Um…no.  We were not picking up a loan on this van.  We were buying it.

The guys get out of line, call the bank, arrange to have another letter faxed to the SOS office clearing the second issue.  Half an hour later, the letter arrives.  Finally, they can now go through the line and officially sign the title over to Eric.  It took two hours, but that part was finally done.

Except that they were not done.  We also needed a notarized bill of sale to indicate we paid Michigan sales tax.  And the notary at the bank was now at lunch.

So they had to drive to a different section of town to find a bank whose notary was in the office.  Found it.  Filled out the bill of sale and got it notarized.  Then they went to find Steve’s wife, Sarah, so they could head back to Grand Haven and Eric could head home.

Eric finally called me at 3 p.m. to say he was on his way.  Thanks to a bank’s multiple mistakes, he arrived back at 6:30, much too late to do anything about transferring the title or getting temporary plates until Monday.  

So, the van is sitting in our driveway.  I drove it around the neighborhood this afternoon.  But until we get the title transferred and such, we won’t be using it much.  Hopefully, we can get all of that done on Monday…and then we will have full use of our new minivan.

Which, by the way, is very nice, full of amenities, and much akin to driving a tank in comparison to my little 1995 Corolla!

And that is the story of Eric’s epic journey to buy a minivan in Michigan.  

The end.

“From the fulness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another…” John 1:16

This was the part of my Bible reading this morning that really struck me today.  I am so grateful for all God’s grace…for example…

1. Today Eric drives up to get our new van.  As far as we know, the details are in order and it just has to be done.  I still can’t believe that by the end of the day, we will own a new (to us) Toyota Sienna.  I’m really excited.

2. I had my 38 week appointment yesterday.  All is well.  Definitely making progress.  My “cervix of steel” (yes, medical personnel have called it that) has finally started to soften and efface.  So we might actually get to have a baby without surgery in the next week or ten days.  Very excited about that!

3. My doctor is totally supportive of trying to avoid a c-section.  No pressure.  Totally willing to wait until 41 weeks to do surgery to give her every chance of coming on her own.  It’s just so nice because a lot of doctors would already be pushing to schedule a section, just in case.  It’s such a relief for me!

4. I’ve actually gotten a ton of work done around the house for NLS’s arrival.  Her room is inching ever closer to being ready, and I did a lot of sorting, organizing and laundry yesterday.  Still have some to do, of course, but if she decided to come tomorrow (today is the only day she’s been told she can’t come…as Eric will be in MI!), we’d be good.  

And that’s just a sampling (and the big stuff).  I’m sure there’s more I could put on my list.  But that’s a good start.  

Happy Friday!

I’ll tell you what…buying a vehicle from another state is a very detailed business. 

It feels as if I’ve been on the phone and internet constantly for the last two days, trying to make sure we have all our ducks in a row.  But, hopefully, everything is now set, and we will have no difficulties getting the van in Michigan or transferring the title in Ohio.  

Good thing our God is a God of details…

So about 4 months ago, it became apparent that we needed a bigger vehicle.  Or would need one, shortly after the arrival of NLS.   I know, we’re pretty observant like that…

But, at the time, for a number of reasons, it just wasn’t one of the highest priorities.  After all, we had months before NLS arrived, and our current cars worked just fine for what we needed.  So no use rushing into something (including a car payment), right?

Okay, I’ll be honest, I was a little more nervous about it than that…at least some of the time.  I mean, we can squeeze 3 car seats into the Jeep (which was the plan for now), but it wouldn’t be ideal for any length of time.  But we have been without car payments for a long, long time.  And going back into debt to get a good minivan just wasn’t a comfortable idea either.  

So, I decided that I just wasn’t going to worry about.  I couldn’t change the circumstances.  And God knew we needed a good vehicle.  So I would wait for him, pray about it (at least when it was starting to bug me again), and see where things went.

Then, in the summer, my sister’s friends in Michigan let it be known that, as they are moving to England to work with the youth there as missionaries, they would be selling their van.  Karen filled me in, and she mentioned me to them.  And then…nothing.  So I figured either they found someone else (closer to them) to sell it to, or they still needed it while they were making final preparations to leave.

And things returned to our non-van normalcy.  I continued to just let it go.  The right van would come at the right time.

Apparently, this week was the right time.  The friends in Michigan mentioned their van again.  Karen mentioned it to me.  I mentioned it to Eric.  He asked for other details.  So last night, I sent a Facebook message to ask if the van was even still available.  

It is.  And it’s perfect.  No, it’s actually better than perfect.  It’s just so far above what I was expecting, it’s amazing.

Things like this…

• Perfect timing – This is their last week in the states, and we’re 2 weeks (or so) from NLS’s arrival.  And, though they live 6 hours away, they’ll be in Ann Arbor (3 hours away) for the rest of this week, leaving just enough time for us to get up there to buy it from them before they head back home. 
• Perfect connection – I know of them from college and my sister; they know me the same way.  We both know enough to be comfortable to make a deal like this.  In fact, he had an appointment set up for today with a local car dealership (as a backup plan), but he wasn’t really comfortable with selling it that way.  They wanted to sell it to someone who really needed it and would love it like they have.  (Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! Pick me!)
• Perfect van – They love this van and wouldn’t be selling it for years, except that they’re moving.  It’s loaded with extras for a price that is just right for us (and won’t require a car payment).  And it’s a Sienna, which just don’t fall into people’s laps, right? 

And so, as of this weekend, assuming we can totally work out the details of meeting them in MI to actually buy it (which seems to be happening…no surprise there), God has provided exactly the vehicle I wouldn’t let myself hope for.  He’s pretty amazing…

Happy Tuesday!  

Front Page

Headline: Night Terrors: Not Fun

Synopsis: So, I’m pretty sure Alex had a night terror last night.  I wonder if some of the last couple of weeks’ sleeping issues have been those.  Even when I thought it was gas or constipation.  Who knows?  But anyway, he woke up after being asleep for about 2 hours just screaming; I went and got him, but he kept screaming.  For his dad mostly.  It was kind of heartbreaking to hear.  Anyway, we did our best to comfort or whatever, and after about 10 minutes (felt like 25 to me), he settled back down and slept the rest of the night.  So I looked up night terrors while Eric was getting him back to bed.  And yep…that description pretty much matched.  I hope we aren’t going to do that on a regular basis.  *shudder*

Headline: Family Fun Day

Synopsis: We spent yesterday with my family in C-ville for my SIL, Debbie’s birthday party.  It was, overall, a really fun day.  Everyone was in a good mood, the babies all got good naps, we played outside for a couple of hours, we chatted and laughed and generally just enjoyed the day.  Oh, and my mom made lasagna…yummy!

Headline: Making Progress

Synopsis: So the preparations for NLS are slowly moving along.  I am getting boxes sorted and cupboards rearranged.  I think Eric is going to help me move up the rest of the boxes I need to sort through today (at least I mentioned this to him last night).  Poor guy…for him all this prep just means hauling things up and down multiple stair cases.  Good thing he loves me!  But still, it feels good to have some things on my pre-baby to-do list crossed off!

Health & Wellness Section

Headline: Cold Season Hits Home

Synopsis: Erin has been quite the fountain of snot this weekend.  And she has an irregular, but still harsh-sounding cough.  So we didn’t do nursery yesterday or go to a party on Saturday night (I just couldn’t take germs to infect strangers’ kids).  But she’s sleeping okay, so hopefully it won’t last too long or transfer to Alex just as she finishes it (or to me just before I have to give birth…wouldn’t that be fun?). 

Headline: Toddler Developments Are Fun…Mostly

Synopsis: The twins are certainly doing all sorts of fun things these days.  Erin is picking up (ie, repeating) words left and right.  Alex knows a lot of words that he won’t say for another two weeks.  We love to watch Mommy write words (mostly Alex, Erin, mommy, daddy, papa, gramma, etc), and Erin is started to almost recognize them when I write them down.  They love pushing their strollers and playing with balls outside.  And of course, swings and slides just make their day.  Oh, and the other day, we discovered that they love to carry and fill buckets with “nature” when we’re outside…too cute! Then, on the other hand, we are also struggling to share, and we don’t do well when we don’t get our way.  The fit-throwing is certainly not a mommy-favorite event.  But as I think that’s all part of childhood (and being human) we’ll just keep addressing those one day at a time.  

Technology Report

Headline: Mommy Gets iPod Touch

Synopsis: As a reward for my work on the book project I had this summer, I decided to buy myself an iPod Touch.  I was going to just get an ereader, but then, I realized as I talked to Eric about it, that all I would be able to do on it was read books.  And for a just a little more money, I could get all the capabilities of both big ereaders (nook and kindle), plus a bunch of other stuff.  So Eric went with his brother on Saturday and picked one up for me.  He’s helped me set it up and link it with his Touch (and my dad’s, too, I think).  Those two spent a lot of time looking at 3 iPods yesterday during the party, comparing and downloading and such.  But so far, I think I’m going to like my new toy.  And I have a B&N gift card to spend on ebooks for my new reader.  I’m very excited!

And that’s the news for now…happy Monday!

So I had my 37-week appointment today.  Nothing much to report.  No progress from last week, but she’s still head-down, still happily moving around.

Looks like the current plan is to give her every chance to come by herself.  My last already-scheduled appointment is the day before my due date.  So if I’m still not moving forward, we’ll schedule a c-section for the end of the following week, giving her a few more days to come on her own.  

Of course, I’m seriously hoping she won’t just hang around, but really, we’re really only 37 weeks, so anything can happen between then and now. 

And that’s the update!  

that after 3 weeks, we are still dealing with some gas/poop issues for Alex.  I think it’s more gas than anything else, really.  He’s getting daily (and sometimes twice daily) doses of “white stuff” but he’s still waking up in the middle of the night.  I’m wondering now if it’s related to the switch from baby yogurt to regular yogurt.  They love yogurt, but they really don’t need the baby stuff anymore.  I may have to try a kids’ yogurt and see if things improve at all.  Any suggestions of not-too-sugary kids yogurt?

The other day while we were outside, Alex discovered a cricket on the trunk of a tree.  He followed it as it crawled along the bark.  And just as his little fingers closed to try to catch it, it leaped off the tree.  Which he totally wasn’t expecting.  So then he burst out into squeals of laughter.  Too cute…

Erin now imitates both clocks (tic-toc) and bells (ding-dong).  Both are done while tilting the head from side to side, but tic-toc is a little faster.  Otherwise, they sound pretty much the same.  But it’s still adorable to see her do it.  And I did get her doing “Itsy-Bitsy Spider” on video the other day.  One of these days I’ll figure out how to post videos and show it to you!

I got some toddler-sized cups for them to use occasionally with water so they get more practice drinking without sippies or straws.  I have no intention of letting them quit using the covered cups anytime soon, but I find it’s helpful to introduce the next step long before it’s time to move on.  It makes the transition so much easier.

We went to story time at the library today.  It’s not the best one around, I know. The lady who runs it is kind of more annoying than good.  Other libraries do better.  But at this stage, I’m not driving the extra time to the better ones.  I’m just not up to it.  Besides, the little kids just like the stories and songs, so it’s not really a big deal.  And the twins need the experience being in a room with other little kids.  

Speaking of being in a room with other little kids…on Sunday evening, we had a social time for our church’s small group.  The nursery was down to one spot left when we got there, and as I have two kids, that didn’t really help me.  So I just took them to our room.  One of the other nurseries filled up, too, so Emily (who’s 1) also joined our chat session.  There was a TV cart in the room and the lowest shelf was totally empty.  So at one point, the twins were sitting on that shelf.  Emily came over and sat down so that Erin was in the middle.  Alex looked around Erin at Emily with a “who’s that chick?” look on his face, started to walk away, and then went back and grabbed Erin by the hand.  He dragged her all the way back across the room to where Eric and I were sitting.  I guess Erin’s already got somebody to rescue her if she ever needs it!  Love that…

Okay, I’ve got to change the stinky diaper on the child standing next to me.  Yes, it’s Erin, if you were wondering.  And I’m holding my breath from the stench while I finish typing.  So off I go…happy Tuesday!

Today, the high here is only supposed to be in the mid-70s.  Which means this morning was actually chilly. 

So today was our first day of jeans and jackets when we went outside. 

And can I just tell you…I fell in love with my adorable little children all over again.  In their little long pants.  With their little fall jackets.  Running and playing and picking “cherries” from the trees and shrieking with laughter on the swings.  

I wish I could have taken actual pictures of them to show you.  But the camera was inside and we were not.  

So instead, I’ll just have to keep my own little snapshots in my memory.  

And keep this post to remind me to take those snapshots out sometimes and remember how much fun this time of my kids’ lives is.  And how much I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

Happy Friday!

As much as I love the look of a clean, white toilet, you’d think it would motivate me to clean my bathrooms more often.  But nope!  However, we did get bathrooms cleaned recently, so I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts…

Alex may be officially past his poop issues of the last week or so.  Never thought, years ago, that I’d be cheering for a stinky, gooey, poopy diaper!

You know how, when you’ve been out of the habit of daily time in the Bible, and you first get back in, things seems to get worse, not better.  That’s me this week.  Which probably means I need to get back to God more than I realized!

I’m going to bake banana bread today.  Mmmm…

And hopefully, when I bake this bread, the little flies that have been attracted to the three not-so-yellow bananas on my counter will go away.  That would be nice.

Had our 36-week appointment yesterday.  All is well.  Happy heartbeat.  Good measurements, bp, weight, etc.  She still seems to be head-down (thankfully).  And we’re dilated a whole, whopping 1 cm (with little, if any, effacement).  But at 36 weeks, that’s totally fine with me.  Don’t really want her popping out too early, after all!  And I now have weekly appointments scheduled for the rest of my pregnancy.  It’s crazy how far along we are…

My children just got really quiet downstairs.  That usually makes me nervous.  Must go check on them…happy Thursday!