1 WEEK!!!!

I had a slight feeling of panic as I went to my hair appointment this morning and realized we are leaving in 1 WEEK. ONE WEEK PEOPLE we have so much to do. It seems like every day we think of something else we need to get done. Thankfully we were able to check so much off of our to do list yesterday, but also had to add several more things to it. I'm just trying to remain calm, and trying to put myself in bed at a decent hour too. Getting sick is the last thing we need right now.

We decided to eliminate two of our suitcases so this means we're back to square one and square one can't be started until Friday, since all of our bags are at Marvin's folks house. I guess black Friday will have an entirely different meaning for us. We really do want to enjoy our last days with family so let's just hope we can get everything done on Friday when we'll be back at Marvin's parents house. We already have a mental list of what we are taking out of our suitcases, but we'll see if it totals up to 100 lbs. We just don't want to be killed with baggage fees when we get to our flight to Nineveh. We'll be having an overnight pit stop, flights to our city cannot be purchased from the states and this means the airlines cannot route them to our final destination. In short it means we have to check all our bags again and pay for them again, so we're just praying we're not going to be pounded by fees (sometimes they do that). Thankfully there is storage at the airport and we won't have to luggage 12 suitcases to where we are staying for the night.

I hope to conclude my sewing projects this evening. I'll post some pictures tomorrow, I promise. I've finished two aprons, started two more, and am about to finish Calvin's duvet cover here during nap time. I still have a couple more Christmas presents to finish up today and because I'm crazy decided to make some baby legs for Calvin out of long socks. Kids must wear tights there, but I'm going to bend that rule and use baby legs instead.

So I guess I better get to work, rather than waste time blogging.

P.S. Anyone know how to get the music from your ipod to your computer? I've seen lots about how to do it the opposite way but since the little punks stole our computer we can't do it that way. Any thoughts? It would save us hours of loading Cds.

What a Rock Star

It's been so amazing to see Father's hand in all the events surrounding our return. Most recently we were granted visas. You have no idea how nervous we were about that step but once again it's all in his timing and we are privileged to be able to return at this time. PTL!

Another huge answer has been our housing. Thankfully he's opened up the door for us to live here! I can't wait. Our timeline is clicking away tomorrow we leave in 2 weeks! Awesome. Our God certainly Rocks.

Love It! (With lots of exclaimations points)

Lots to be thankful for today!!

We offically have VISAS!!! We can be officially ticketed on Monday for our December 1st flight!
We have 8 bags packed, at weight and ready to go!!!

We got our pictures back from our photographer. She did a beautiful job. If you are in the Wichita area I highly recommend her. She was professional but very laid back and with a 2 year old you have to just go with the flow. Thank you so much Pampering Beki! (She also has the sweetest jewlery for sale, she's quite a talented gal.)

For those of you who I haven't contact via facebook and want to be a part of our update team please send me your contact info including your home address. Since our computer was stolen we lost all that info. Our email is our last name@pobox.com

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

When life gets stressful....why not take a sewing break

Seriously folks I have about a million projects to finish while I still have my beloved sewing machine. Those of you who sew know how funny we seamstresses are about our sewing machines. I know the speed it will go if I press the peddle a certain way. I know all of it's unique characteristics, she's become a great part of our family. Even though I can get a new one overseas, she'll be missed.

So here are a few projects I whipped up in the moving process. They were for my trade secret swap partner. Since it's not a secret anymore I'll share them.

I experimented with scalloped edges! I love them. I have a few sketches in my mind that I'm dreaming up for the aprons left to complete. It will come as no surprise to a few of you that most of my Christmas gifts will be aprons this year. I'm also working on a few matching pot holders too. I know I'm nuts but apparently I thrive in chaos.

I'm really hoping the packing process will end today and while we're in E-town I can focus on the a few fun projects including a couple quilt tops I'm turning into duvets (I promise they are very simple quilt tops.) Among the Christmas gifts I'm working on.

May the packing end so I can do something fun for a change.

What's it worth to ya?

My my, I forgot how much I dislike packing. I can pull together a weekend bag in a snap, but when it comes to moving half way around the world with only a few suitcases that's where I start to get a little frazzled. I had a little melt down over my sugar, tea and coffee containers. They just didn't make the cut. I know we can get that kind of stuff there, but I really loved them.

We're trying to thin our bags at this point and man is that a tough thing to do. We're making the hard calls right now, today I pulled the Velveeta because what good is Velveeta without any chips. I talked to the airline and we get 6 free bags between the three of us. Every bag after that is $250 each, plus another couple hundred a piece for our second leg of our trip. Thankfully we're graciously given the funds to compensate for that. It's given a better direction to our packing. It makes us evaluate how valuable each item is in our suitcase. So what would you take? I'm curious!

The Winner is....

Green!

I finally ordered her and am so pumped about having her in my life. I also bought the slicer/shredder attachment, so watch out Central Asia here we come. We'll be whipping up all sorts of homemade goodies.

I went with green because well we move alot and and decided it would be easier to work around a green kitchen aid than a red one. I really love it and am so happy with my decision. Sorry to disappoint those of you who loved the red one. It was a close call. I can't wait for it to arrive! Oh I also ordered a 220 Volt crockpot, seriously so excited, now here comes the hard part, getting it to Central Asia in one piece.

Goodbyes Stink

You'd think we'd be used to saying goodbye. It's something we've done a ton of the past few years. It's a part of the life God has desired for us. Even though we've done it a ton it's never easy.

We were so blessed by so many people at Tyler Road who really opened their hearts to us. They loved our son and watched him grow from a baby into a little boy. They were with us and were patient with us as we adjusted back to fellowship in America (it still is hard). They've become a sweet part of our hearts and I'm thankful for the time he's give us together.

There are also sweet friends we'd love to have more time with. Some of which we hope we can even meet before we leave.

There's the special people we see on a daily basis. (don't laugh but Hobby Lobby has been a big part of our life, and "set" really is special to Calvin.)

Then there's this one goodbye which brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. Our friends, who are closer than anyone we know, they've been our family for the past four years. It's sort of ironic we moved on Halloween because we started this journey together 4 years ago exactly as we headed off to training together.

Over the past four years we've been through so much together. Gotten rolled over by the Djamilla truck our first day of language, laughed until we cried at things we said, did or by deep thoughts. Been broken hearted for friends together. We get each other, been through a ton, even lived together as we both had newborns! And still love each other like crazy.

They've been a huge blessing over the past year and a half. It was such a relief that in the midst of all the craziness surrounding our return to the states that Dan and Jamie would be in Wichita. We could laugh about flannel shirts, reminisce about the good times in Nineveh and be sad together that we weren't there. We've watched our boys grow up together become best buds. I love seeing Calvin's face light up when he sees his best buddy. I love how his loves his Aunt Jamie and Uncle Dan.

It's going to be odd traveling overseas and not having our "teammates" there. So I am thankful for them, what they have meant in our lives, but also thankful that God is one who sees our hearts also comforts us in those tough goodbyes.

We love you guys and are excited to see what God has planned in each of our lives and how he grows our friendships through the years.