Passed IFR Checkride

Christmas came a little early this year in the form of a piece of paper that now reads "Airplane Single Engine Land, Instrument Airplane". Yipeee!I didn't think we'd actually get it in today. The weather was deteriorating all day with the TAF showing quickly lowering ceilings, light rain and ice pellets and an Airmet Zulu for icing from the surface to 10,000 feet during our anticipated flight time.Once at the airport, the practical exam went well. The examiner picked a great departure airport, Lebanon, NH which is in the White Mountains with some minimum climb rates needed for departure. He kept changing wind scenarios and available runways until finally there was no way out, keeping to the minimum climb gradient with our Cessna 172SP. He also picked some good destination airports that were along a TEC and required an alternate. The whole experience was great and I learned a number of new facts, especially the advantages of using TEC when able. Then off to the aircraft. After preflight and a simulated clearance delivery, we were off. On the way out to the first GPS approach, we did a couple of steep turns and some abnormal attitude recoveries which went off with no problem. After that come some timed and compass turns and some partial panel abnormal attitudes as well.Finally I set up for the first GPS approach, flew the T configuration when all of a sudden I get a red NAV flag just before the FAF and the trusty KLN 94 GPS gives a "press PROC button now for navigation". No clue that this was going to happen....the RAIM check before reaching the IAF showed good integrity. I press the button and I go back to approach active mode and tell the examiner we can proceed. He agrees and we descend and go missed as he asks a flurry of questions about what would happen if this occurred after the FAF as well as some other scenarios. This was not to be the only navigation challenge of the evening. He then vectored me to intercept a cross radial leading to a VOR/DME FAF. I set up the radial to track in VOR #2 and the approach VOR course in the HSI. Fate struck again as the #2 VOR went red flag and that was it...it was dead.I checked the identifier....still there. Checked my circuit breakers....all set. I finally brought the frequency over to the HSI and tracked the course using it and identified the FAF by flipping back and forth between frequencies. After holding at the FAF, he allowed me to shoot the aproach and then just after going missed he failed my attitude indicator. He was going to fail my HSI at the same time but couldn't since the #2 VOR was out. By this time it was dark so we headed back to the barn shooting the ILS back into Hanscom Airport. He had said very little during the checkride besides asking for maneuvers and giving vectors but I knew when that stall warning horn went off and those wheels touched down that I had made it, in spite of the extra adventures tonight. All in all, it was a great experience. The examiner took time to congratulate me but also to point out how to best build real IFR solo time now that I had my ticket. You couldn't help but learn from him.Well, this will make Christmas extra special around our house this year!