Goodbye Minivan...

We sold our van today.

It was a sad day. We put the car seats in the truck and Stephen drove the boys while I followed in the 2009 Toyota Sienna I got to own for just over two years. I cried the entire way there.

It was a great van. But, I don't think it was just because we were selling the van that I was crying. It was just that reality was setting in. I began to realize that in another couple weeks the truck would go too, and with it, much of the American freedom I have. I'd be using these legs God gave me (and an occasional moto-taxi, which is a trailer pulled behind a moped) in a third world country.

I realized my world was about to change.

I mean, it was just a couple years ago, at 39 weeks pregnant with a 10lb baby that I bought that minivan. It was loaded with all the bells and whistles! It had it all - DVD player, GPS navigation, leather seats, satellite radio, automatic sliding doors that opened and closed with the click of my remote, and even a sunroof, which no one really needs in a minivan but I decided I'd take since it came with the package! Here's me and my big belly right when we got home with the car that day:

Now, 61,140 miles (I think), 18 states (I think), dozens of movies (at least), countless memories, and 4,327 cheerios later (I'm pretty sure), it's out of our lives. I mean, why not? We still owed money on it so there was no since in keeping it sitting around here for a year while we are in Cambodia and making payments on it and insurance, right? And yet it was still so sad.

Everything in our little world is about to change. God made such a big world out there and we've seen such a tiny part of it. It's hard to remember that sometimes. We are blessed with so much, especially in America. Tomorrow is our son's birthday - not the one in my belly above but the first one. He'll be turning five. We had to explain to him that valuable things are not the presents that come in boxes. That's hard to do with a five year old. I'm sure I'll have stories about that tomorrow, so we'll wait for that!

For now, since the kids feed off my emotions, I'll try myself to remember that the van is just a "thing." And though it was a pretty great treasure that gave me memories I'll always treasure, God tells us to store our treasures in heaven because what He has is so much better.

Time is ticking. We leave in 28 days. Oh, how life is about to change!