Getting to Oregon

I never did post about our big purchase a few months ago, but we bought van. It's a 99 Honda Odyssey, and it's a forest green. Sorry, I don't have a picture of it right now. But we were very excited about it, and felt good about it. Well, about 2 weeks before we were supposed to leave for Oregon for Christmas, the trasnmission started slipping. So during finals time we spent our time searching for and installing a new trasmission for the van. We wanted to get a remanufactured one directly from Honda, but apparently they are fresh out and won't have anymore for a good long while. Luckily Brandon was able to find a really good one for a comparable price from another company. Actually, we would never have been able to do it without our friend Nate who is a mechanic. He literally saved our van and our trip. He was able to get a better price on the transmission, and he helped Brandon install it. Actually, Brandon helped him install it would be more accurate. But, in the end we now have a very reliable van, we were able to drive to and from Oregon with sibilings and still had tons of room, and we're $3,000 poorer! It all turned out okay in the end! It just reminds us how fun life can be sometimes! Though it also helps remind us how watchful the Lord is of us, and how things will work out all right in the end, no matter what.