So Worth It

I wrote about getting our van legal (so far she has no name yet, and the kids keep asking), and doing our errands for the first time with it.

I didn't mention my favorite part.

In Mary Jane (our camry), Little Artist sat along the rear passenger window.  Her carseat wasn't quite tall enough for her to get a good look out the window, and any time someone would say, "Oh, look at that!" and point, she'd strain against the straps and most times would miss it entirely.

In the van her carseat is on the passenger side as well, in the 'very-back.'  For the first 20 minutes or so of drive time, all I could hear was one breathless exclamation after another:  "[Big Sister], look, I see a sheep!  Mama, I can see the grass and the road!  Oh, wow, they have a tire swing in that tree!  Look, I see a white horse and a brown horse.  When I get big I'm going to borrow the white horse and ride it."

It brought tears to my eyes (still does, when I think of it) to think that my Little Artist has missed all this wonder during each mundane car ride in the past.  She, to whom the beauty around us likely means the most, has missed it, up until now.  And aside from all the obvious conveniences and necessities that the van offers, I'm so grateful that she now gets to bear witness to God's wonderful creation as we "walk by the way."