A little Algebra, Leaves and an Answer to Prayer!

 So, you know, there's nothing like a little Algebra in your spare time...

That is, if you pretty much have a genius for a father;) Not my cup o' tea, I assure you! Math and I are not friends. We actually don't really like each other so I'm extremely thankful for a husband who not only likes math (really??) but is really good at it!

We took a little drive after church on Sunday to the library so Ben could pick up something. He took Eliana in with him so I sat in the car and let the boys play in the leaves for a little bit. A much better alternative to having them sit idly in the car and cause trouble!

It was really chilly out so they were pretty cold by the time they were done!

Such a beautiful fall day:)

I remember building big leaf piles when I was younger and jumping in them. A childhood experience every kid should have!

We did something big this weekend!! We cleaned out our garage (which really means that we shoved everything down into the basement~ha!) and squeezed our dear old Odyssey into it! It is a close fit but it works. This is a momentous occasion for Penny (she was newly Christened this week) because it was her very first time in a garage. Chicago was hard on her so she is looking forward to some new-found rest.

Side-note: The name Penny is short for Penelope, who is the mother of Odysseus. Get it? Aren't we so clever?!

So anyways, one of the reasons that we had to clear out the garage is....

Someone new joined our family and his name is Kermit! No, not the guy in the picture (that's Ben:), the car! We FINALLY have a 2nd car! We have been searching actively for about 2 months now and have wasted many a Saturday getting cars checked out and getting disappointed over and over. We met a nice guy at our church who has good contacts in the car business and he helped us find it. It is a 15 year old Honda Accord but only has 115,000 miles and while it doesn't look pretty on the outside (it IS old after all!), the mechanics are good and we are happy. We were able to get away with one car for 9 years in Chicago but unfortunately, public transportation isn't quite the same here so we had to give in.

It will take some time to get used to actually getting to go places or run errands on days other than Thursday only. I haven't driven much in the past 4 months. At first, it was really frustrating for me not to have the freedom to go places on my own time schedule and to rely on others so much. After awhile though, I finally came to appreciate not only the extra time with family members who were so sweet to pick us up each week but also, quiet days at home getting things done and just enjoying time with Eliana. I think I will still continue to make some days like that each week but I do know that we will definitely not take having a car for granted!

Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers!