Mission Impossible

I thought it was, but here you have it:

100 blankets

45 sponsor letters

5 care packages

2 special deliveries

clothes/shoes/books/games for Rahel

snacks

gifts for our Ethiopian friends

and I even managed to fit

most of my clothes (the rest are crammed into my carry-on.........

You get the picture--we got it all in. Well, almost all. My mother-in-law arrives tonight and I'm sure we'll have to make a few adjustments (let's just say she's not the lightest packer:). I think we're going to be able to get everything in our alotted 6 bags of 50 lbs each--but boy are we close. The space saver bags saved my life--never would have fit everything without them.

In addition to packing, I spent many hours in the kitchen today ensuring that my family will not starve while I'm gone. I'm leaving them in the very capable hands of my husband and while he does many things very well and I know the kids will have a blast with him, cooking is not his strong point and I feared they may have been eating pizza every night (which isn't the worst thing I guess). We also have a few volunteers bringing meals while I'm gone.

Before

After

I was thinkg while I was cooking that I should do this every week--cook once and pull a meal out of the freezer each night. Wouldn't that be nice to have everything prepared for the whole week? Well, I don't think that will happen. At least it will be simple for the fam while I'm away.

I also had to leave the girls with a hairstyles that would last until I get home. I love them in braids because they can swim and play and their hair lasts about 2-3 weeks in this style. It's about a 2 hour process per kid, so I don't do it too often--although I'm sure it will be a staple during the summer this year.

Don't you think Meron looks like the little girl on this book?

Next hair day, I'll have all my girls together! Can't wait!