Deny Self ... and Get a Minivan?

I drove a minivan over the weekend. Oh. My. I think that anyone who knows me longer than 10 minutes knows my hatred of a minivan and all the stereo-types it holds. I think the only thing I dispise more than minivans is country music!
When I found out I was pregnant with my third, one of the first things out of my mouth was "I WILL NOT DRIVE A MINIVAN!" This is what I was yelling through my sobs.
Anyway - back to me driving one. On Saturday we were on a mission: to test drive one and also a SUV we've liked for several years that would accomodate The Three. The salesman drove a minivan into the service garage; while Mike installed all three of the car seats in it so we could test drive it, the salesman also drove the SUV-in-question into the garage next to the minivan. I ignored the minivan and immediately went to the SUV and opened it. Then my mouth hung open as I realized that while there IS a third row, there isn't a way for the passenger (namely my 6 year old) to get into the back seat - unless you slide the second row forward. I stood there with a dumb look on my face and asked the salesman "how do you get back there?" (duh, I know the answer) My reply to the obvious question was "Well, I have the girls in car seats." And then it was all over. I had a totally rebelious attitude as I drove the minivan. That was the end of Saturday.
When Sunday rolled around we overcame several obstcales to get to church. God always has a really good message what that type of morning occurs. It was about denying self. Ironically the first analogy was about vehicles - how there's always the vehicle you really want (SUV, in my case) and the one you can afford (or stuck with - in my case, the minivan). So while God impresed on me several months ago that I'm not defined by what I drive, I know that He was speaking to ME! ME! I think that someday I'll think this is funny - like all the other things I'm doing that I PROMISED I never would. I guess I pray for a change of heart, so why am I surprised when it happens?
Apparently, I'm now in the market for a minivan.

Vehicle shopping

The time has arrived! Squeezing our three-ring-circus into one-ring is getting absolutely ridiculous. Hailey is now in Chloe's old seat and Chloe is in a new booster. It's exciting, but wow - the three of them squished into the back seat is quite a sight. Anyway, we've spent several hours test driving minivans. And I literally mean hours ... we ALL go out, drive around a lot and "pick" 2 or 3 or 4 we want to drive from the lot .... Mike goes in to a sales person and begins his little speech "I'm not buying today but we need to know what fits our family and how easily the car seats fit in, etc."

So the sales person drives one up at a time, while Mike installs each car seat. I chase the girls in and out of the snow. Entertain Hailey. Take Maddie and Chloe to the bathroom - at least once, sometimes twice. Or even better - once before we leave the lot, once while we're out on the test drive (McDonald's), and then once we get back to the dealership.

Then the seats are ready, we convince Chloe that she has to be strapped in and we drive around for a few minutes or miles - whichever comes first. A few vehicles we knew before we even got out of the lot that we hated it, but we figured we made it that far, we might as well continue w/ the test drive. Then, we drive back to the dealership and do it all again in the next vehicle. So far our top three are the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, and Nissan Quest. Talk about quality family time!!

But let me back up ... here's my initial minivan adventure that I forgot to post: