a new ride

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So for my birthday we didn't exactly buy a new van, but it did happen to occur about the same time, so I guess you could say it's my present, since I am the one who will drive it the majority of the time. We purchased it on Wed. and were able to bring it home, although we took it back to finish paperwork and get it detailed. It is an 07 Honda Odyssey, and will give us the room we need for all the "stuff" that comes with the kiddos. Our camping trip last summer proved to us that we definitely needed something with a bit more room for kiddo #2. Maria was literally packed into the back seat between two tubs of camping supplies!
Also for my birthday we went to the doctor. WooHoo! Maria had her 2 year checkup, I had my 35 week checkup. We're both healthy, although I am measuring a bit small so I have another, third, ultrasound scheduled on Monday.  After the doctor we were able to tour the OB department at the hospital. Since we will be a different hospital than where Maria was born, I figured it would be good to at least see where everything was, where to check in, what the rooms are like, etc. After the hospital visit we ran some errands and took Maria to get her two year pictures taken, had lunch and ran another errand.
Then we drove up to Benton Harbor to the dealer to have the van detailed a bit.  We went over into St. Joseph, MI and spent about an hour on Silver Beach.  The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed our time there soaking up some sun. Maria got to try her hand at flying her new kite, splash in the water some(which was freezing!), run around in the sand, and play on the awesome playground at the beach.  We ate at Silver Beach Pizza, walked around downtown to see some of the shops and stopped at Kilwins to have some yummy ice cream, chocolate with peanut butter swirl, my favorite.
We have plenty to praise God for; provisions to purchase a new/used van and a wonderful day to celebrate my birthday!