February 24 - Down to the Wire

We are in the middle of packing, only 3 days before we pull out of the driveway to start our journey......  that dream trip we’ve waited 50 years for!   The last week has been exciting around here, there has been a lot of arguing between my clothes as to who gets to go and who doesn’t!   The blue & white checked blouse keeps trying to push the black slip top on the floor, and the white sweater is fighting with the windbreaker!   There are clothes in my closet crying because they haven’t been chosen to go.  It’s their own fault for shrinking over the years!

This is the mess in my packing room, where I've taken over the whole guest bedroom.

Jim made himself a makeshift closet rod in the den where he's declared that "his room".

How can I decide which pairs of shoes to put in the duffel bag, I can't take them all!.....or can I?  You know how ladies and shoes are!   Black heels & flats for the black outfits, Brown heels & flats for the brown outfits, white shipboard shoes and flip flops, beach shoes, evening and day purses, tenny's  for tours white and tan of course.......and then there are Jim's dress boots, his tennis shoes for on & off the ship.....and the list goes on.....and on.....and on......and on.......

Which pieces of jewelry do I take? And, don't forget the packet of thank you  notes for the crew!

Along with all of our luggage, we are taking 3 old suitcases packed full of special supplies we will be delivering to "Fanning Island" as our ship arrives there on March 12th.   Donations have been coming in from all directions.  Some of our Church members gave money to help us purchase items to take in bulk, others have donated individual items, family members have given us many donations in the form of medical supplies they gathered from the hospital.   We feel so blessed to be able to share with those who live in such a remote area and have little in the way of basic living needs.

Notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers

More notebooks, toothpaste, crayons, pencil sharpeners

Bandaids, wound wipes, medicines, blood pressure equipment, suture kits

The sunroom is totally taken up with those cases full

The youth group at the Church made this their project for the month..  We visited their first meeting on it and gave a presentation on where we were going and told them a little about the people of Fanning Island and how we wish to share our blessing with those less fortunate....  At their meeting this week they went shopping and gave us many sacks full of supplies to take with us.   Along with that we received a whole packet full of letters! I scanned some of them and want to share them with you as they are heart warming...  We know for sure we're going with a prayers and wishes for a safe trip.  Please click on the letters to enlarge them for reading.

From now on the pictures may become more scarce...... I am just not sure how good of connections I will get once we hit the road and get on the ship and are traveling on the sea.   I have been told the connections are slow which will probably mean just a daily journal of what we're doing every day.  We will just have to see how it goes from this point on.  I am going to try and give you a daily update and let everyone know that we're doing fine.......The house sitter will be moving in on Saturday and we'll be out of here on Sunday......

If I ever finish packing, the next entry will be from the hiways of New Mexico, Arizona, and California.....  Destination San Diego, then our ship on March 4th!   Wow!  It's hard to contain our excitement and hard to believe until we're actually on board.

Just a word about the blog....  You can also easily leave a comment under the posting, or you can email me at my regular email address.   Since I can not send personal notes to everyone the blog will allow me to reach all of you, letting you know how things are going and a little about the places we will be visiting.  I hope you follow along with and check for updates every day after we leave home on March 27th........