Get Ready, Get Set....(GrOw)

This week has been crazy busy!  But, we're thrilled to be in the craziness of preparations :)  I think, we're pretty much set- yikes, hope we remember everything we're supposed to! Here are the highlights of the past few days...Shoes- we spent a large portion of Saturday morning rubber banding pairs of shoes together.  This helped to keep the correct shoes together and to suck them together in an effort to pack as tightly as possible.  We believe we have about 150 pairs packed.  We have found that the 22 gallon tubs fit within airline regulations and fit a little over 50 pounds of shoes.  We are only allowed 50 pounds by Turkish Air so, we threw in a few fleece sleepers I had purchased at Walmart. 

Hills Alive- Our annual free Christian music concert was this past weekend.  We had a great time with the musical highlight being Third Day!!!  Sunday afternoon we helped on the garbage crew- it was a good time even though it was literally about 100 degrees I believe at that point.  I have to admit, I have it pretty good...I drive the four-wheeler and Wes does most the truly dirty work :) Rain Coat- Do you know how hard it is to find a rain coat in South Dakota at the end of July?  It will be in the 60's and very rainy while we're in Ethiopia.  Its their 'winter' so to speak- cooler and very wet.  So, I need a new rain coat...my old tree planting windbreaker wasn't going to cut it.  Each store, I asked the clerk "Do you have any rain coats in stock right now?" To which they answered- 'ah, you must be traveling very far away'.  Every single one.  And then they laughed.  You see, its like 105 here right now and miserable.  Finally, Cabalas delivered : ) For English press 2- I had to chuckle when talking to Turkish Air.  I dialed, heard jibberish, jibberish, jibberish.......'for English press 2'.....jibberish.... We are leaving our comfort zone starting Friday night- the shoe will be on the other foot.   And, we're excited about that!  Gardening- Wow!  This year for my birthday, Wes gifted me with a legit garden (fence and tiller rental included)-yay!  After the monsoon month of June, I'm amazed at how quickly things have turned around.  We did not water our yard until after July 15th this year which is bizarre for this part of the country!  I can't wait to come home and see what God has grown in our absence. 





As a family, we're kind of at the same stage as the garden.  Seeds were planted long ago, we've taken root and the fruit of our labor is within sight.  The time of harvest is just around the corner...