sub-ur-ban: a vehicle used to carry people or cargo

Today marked a major milestone in my life. We bought a vehicle today! It's sad to say, but I have never had to buy a vehicle before. I feel very fortunate and blessed that I have been surrounded by generous family. So here is the story...

I have been dragging my feet at the thought of purchasing a new vehicle. I have loved that we have had no car payments for a very long time, but "DD" (my 2000 Dodge Durango) is on it's way out. It has gotten to the point where I don't trust to drive it out of town. I have dreamed of owning a suburban, but every time we look it's always out of our price range. We have definitely out grown the Durango and Josh's truck.

We found a different Durango for sale and we're interested in buying it, but Josh did a little research and found out that the engine wasn't good for the year that it was made. He then decided to check out Alexandria Motors. Little did he know that he would find me a suburban; within our price range, plus all of the bells and whistles for the inside. I have a thing for moon roofs-- it'll probably be the closest thing I get to a convertible-- I love to feel the sun beat down on me as I drive off into the distance. I also dreamed of leather seats that are heated-- to help comfort my freezing body in the winter. Now since we are parents of two we really wanted a DVD player for longer road trips (ex. 8 hr road trip to Canada in July) and bucket seats with a third row bench for convenience and later on to strategically place the kids where they can fight the least amount. I thought a navigation system would be pretty awesome too, especially since I'm horrible with directions. This diamond in the rough has it all!

I was sad to say good-bye to "DD," it had been my wheels since Josh and I got married (almost 7 years!). I had worn it well. It provided me with transportation for numerous daycare outings and I grew to love the rust spots over the wheel wells. The rust soon became my trademark when friends were trying to identify which Durango was mine. However, I'm ready to start the next chapter with this vehicle. As I drove it tonight I suddenly felt like a 'real' mom. A van or a large SUV is such a mom vehicle. It enables us to haul all of our precious cargo around. I can't help but to give God all the credit on this awesome find. I have been praying about our next vehicle and he answered my prayer to a "T."

My husband is simply adorable! He has literally spent the entire night in the garage with our new buy. He has tested out almost every feature on the vehicle to make sure it works properly. He adjusted the tennis ball so I know where to stop when pulling into the garage. He made sure that there is enough room in the front to still open the fridge door and enough room in the back to throw garbage away. He saved my seat adjustment (and his too), tested the headphones to the DVD, made sure the CD player works, windshield wipers work (front and back) and so on and so on. I love that he is so detail oriented. I just get caught up in the moment and forget about the little stuff. He is such a great provider and protector.

Now that I have blogged about my new experience, it's official--We own a Suburban!