Getting Ready

So today I have been spending WAY too much time on my computer. Then I decided I wanted to do a quick blog post on my packing progress so set Isabelle up painting. I haven't even started yet, just downloading pictures, and she is telling me not to look at her. Not a good sign. Doesn't she know that is universally known to be the words kids say when they are about to be in trouble? She has paint brushes and paints and knows how to use them properly but lately has other plans...



I think I need to get a finger painting set up since that is what she seems to want to do all the time.

Anyway....Packing

Here is where I am so far...


I put like items in Ziploc bags. I have a power conversion kit but we aren't sure it can be used with our computers. Might need something different for that. And I bought Isabelle her own water bottle. I think we have enough for the rest of us already.


Shampoo, conditioner, etc. I bought new face wash since the one I use has a pump and I didn't know how easy it would be to travel with. Luckily my skin transitions fairly with whatever I use to wash it. I am thinking I will need more shampoo for the 3 of us (you know, no hair for John) but I do have travel sizes already. Do you think 2 travel sizes of shampoo is enough for 3 people for 3 weeks? I don't expect to wash my hair daily. I don't even do that at home. Although it sounds like we will have the opportunity to wash our bodies daily as cleanliness in such a dusty part of the world is a big deal. So maybe more than 2 body washes? Maybe I should pack a bar of soap instead?


The germ killing bag. Lots of hand sanitizers and wipes. Plus a little something to get stains out of our clothes while we are gone. Although apparently we can hire women in the village to do our laundry while we are there so if there is a particular mess we can get it washed.


I found a compact size with multiple sizes because, you know, it will happen in the village. I feel I am ovulating this week. What is the maximum that I would go after ovulating? 16 days? Yep that puts me exactly in the village with my period. Yeah me.


The doctor at the travel clinic said to bring extra toothbrushes because we might, out of habit, put them under the faucet while there and then we need to toss them. I think I got carried away. On top of the 4 toothbrushes we already use I have 10 extras with me. How absent minded do I expect us to be?



Drugs. I decided to buy new boxes of ibuprofen and children's Tylenol so that hopefully with customs there will be no question what I am bringing into the country. I also have Imodium, a first aid kit, hello kitty band aids, some propel water packets in case we need extra nutrients with our water and melatonin which is supposed to be a natural sleep aid. Might even try it on Isabelle on the air plane.

That is it so far. I know there is so much more to get ready but somehow I am feeling so relaxed this last week before the trip. Good thing too because John called me at lunch to say it just hit him. His freak out now begins. He has less than a week to finish up the kitchen re-do he is working on. Apparently it has been going very smoothly but today he started laying out all he had left to do and started panicking. I know I can be calm and encouraging to him as he was to me during mine. God is with us.

One more great story of how God is taking care of all the details.

One of the prescriptions we got from the travel clinic was for Zithromax. In case we get travelers diarrhea. Since we are out of pocket insurance people I called around to get the best price and the cheapest I found was $40. Each. Then I wondered if I could get samples and so decided to ask a doctor at our church about it on Sunday. Well she said that although she couldn't get samples of it for us she had done travel medicine and didn't think the Zithromax was the best choice and knew of a drug that was only $4 at Target which she thought was better and had taken when she traveled to Kenya a few years ago. She called in a prescription for us. And she called in a 500mg instead of 250 for me so that John and I could share one prescription. So we went from having to spend $160 to only $12. God is taking care of all the details. We are just going along for the ride.

So Isabelle went out to clean herself up several minutes ago and I have been busy typing and not thinking about what she is doing. I just turned around to see this:


Did you catch what I am concerned about?

Looks like I will be doing a little mopping of the hardwoods this afternoon. Praise the Lord for washable paint.

I wonder what she is doing now...Better go find out.