Sunday, August 28, 2011

Just 6 more days 'til Addis!

How grateful am I for a husband who is a planner?  Phew!  Sooo glad!

He's spent the whole weekend ripping our DVDs to our hard drive so that he can bring movies for the kids to watch on the plane ride.  He's charging all of our electronics and thinking about what we do and don't need to pack.  I would love to take some other activities for the kids to do on the plane - any ideas? I packed the staples: playdough, markers, coloring books, cards.

And my head is spinning... I had the job of getting everything together for Penny and I cannot believe how much I have packed!  I am usually a very light packer (and pride myself on it, actually) so thinking of everything plus the kitchen sink to take is killin' me. But, in a weird way, super fun too!

I have tried to make appointments for things that I know I won't want to do in our initial months home so that we're pretty squared away for a while:  dermatologist, dentist, hair salon, scheduling trent and kate's actvities, getting our school calendar settled, prescriptions (man, do we have a lot of them! ... malaria pills for all of us, several general antibiotics, fungal cream, over-the-counter meds for Penny if needed, Lice shampoo)  Seriously, our bags are like a pharmacy!  Although we are taking a billion things for Penny, I am packing very light for the rest of us - each of us gets one backpack with one set of clothes and one set of pajamas inside: wash one/ wear one.  If only I could live that way all the time - i looove how simple life becomes when I shed my stuff (and surprisingly, don't miss a thing about having choices).

And with all of the logistics of our trip and travel plans swirling around my head, my thoughts are constantly drawn to Penny and to her adjustment.  I know the initial weeks home are going to be rough.  We've tried to prepare the big kids for lots of crying and have talked about how much she will be feeling so completely out of control and afraid.  But no amount of preparation can take the place of actually experiencing it.  I have laid awake in bed, wide eyed and staring at the ceiling, the last few nights in anticipation of the time that is finally here!

Here it is midnight and I cannot sleep for the life of me - it's time for some tylenol pm!

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