Packing and Pictures (or lack thereof)

Well, it's finally done! After almost a week of packing, unpacking, re-arranging, and packing again, I have all of the items to take to the orphanages we will visit in Ethiopia packed. And, I finally got it down to 2 1/2 suitcases. This leaves 1 suitcase for Rosie and I to share, and a half a suitcase for my Mom! (Don't worry, she's cool with that.) We wanted to pack really light so that we would have room for lots of donations.

Wondering why it took so long to get it all packed? It's because of how much there was. Thanks to my choir friends and the homeschool group from our church this is what I needed to fit into our packing: 112 (4-dose) boxes of electrolyte replacement, 72 pairs of crocs, 15 pairs of socks, 3 pair girls undies, 7 t-shirts, 2 pair shorts, 3 sleepsuits, 23 toothbrushes, 500 band-aids, 4 tubes triple antibiotic cream, 4 tubes of hydrocortisone, 2 bottles of multi-vitamins, gallon ziploc bag of hair accessories, 22 boxes of crayons, 10 boxes of markers, 8 boxes of colored pencils, 64 pencils, 1 pencil sharpener, 25 ink pens, 3 highlighters, 1 pair scissors, 20 notebooks, 16 coloring books, 4 children's CDs, 100-piece puzzle, large bag of stickers, bag of girls' bracelets, 25 small tubs of play-doh, 2 travel size etch-a-sketch, 16 balls, 8 dolls, 4 recorders, 18 toy cars, 1 toy airplane, 8 jump ropes, quart bag of plastic animals, and 4 baseball gloves.

I am so excited to have these items to take and want to send another big thanks to all of those who helped gather items to bless the kids I will have the chance to meet!

Now it's on to trying to pack the small infirmary I am taking with me for just in case. My packing list gives a whole new meaning to "everything but the kitchen sink", but it is Ethiopia and I don't know exactly what Rosie will need and want to make sure I can treat anything she has when I get her and can treat any nasties that Mom or I might pick up. A look at my carry-on would give the impression that I am going to start my own hospital, equipped as it is with stethoscope, thermometer, nitrile gloves, iodine, ointments, bandages, and a large assortment of pills to treat just about anything you can think of.

We haven't heard anything about changes to our travel dates yet, so I am going ahead and getting prepared now, and then if they aren't changed I'll be ready, and if they are I'll have some extra time to play in the garden and fit in extra school with the boys.

Some of you have asked about where a picture of Rosie is. For now, there aren't any posted. Ethiopia takes the privacy of its' children very seriously, so until Rosie is legally a Moffatt we aren't able to share her photos online. But I promise that as soon as we hear that we have passed court there will be pictures posted!