Every Wednesday TCBY has their 99 cent waffle cones. Last week I had mentioned to Kristen that we needed to go this week since it would be the last Wednesday that we could go together. So today, Kristen, Brooklyn, Preston, Victory, Erin and I went to get some ice cream. Yummm.....
Erin had the strawberry kiwi sorbet.
Kristen
Preston
Brooklyn
Me
Today I colored Erin's hair in preparation for moving to Mexico. It is hard down there to be a blond when the other girls have such dark hair and she gets many people staring at her. She is in quite a shock about how it looks since it is so much darker than her natural hair. I hope that after a couple of days she will like it better. I personally think it looks really cute. At least with hair, it will grow out in time. If you think it is cute on her, please feel free to comment on it. It may boost her spirits about it.
Yesterday's color:
Today's color:
Where has the time gone? It is now six days till our departure and we are getting a lot done. Yesterday I brought all the boxes that we had in the storage shed that are going with us into the house and I have sorted through most of them again, trying to pack tighter with with the hopes of eliminating some of the boxes. I have actually been able to do that on some of them. Yea! I have been so busy that I haven't blogged any of our recent celebrations so here is a recap of last week.
Last Wednesday night:
Gerri, one of the leaders in the children's center at our church, did a little going away party for both of the kids. They had a cake for them and they also had a t-shirt for each of them that their friends were able to sign. Jonathan had served in the children center on Saturday nights for quite a while so he knows a few of the kids and the leaders over there pretty good. Erin also received a gift of a picture that had a collage of different pictures of her over the years in the children's center. That was very special and so cool to see the changes in her over time.
Saturday morning:
We had a going away party for the kids with as many of their friends that could come. We held it in the youth center at our church so the kids were able to play pool, ping pong, air hockey, and of course the boys enjoyed playing video games. It was the last Brawl they had as a group. We also had two piñatas which were interesting since they each broke several times. We kept putting the rope back on them and trying again. The boys broke there's totally apart in three hits. 
Sunday afternoon:
My mother-in-law held a farewell going away party for us. It was so wonderful to be able to see people that we haven't seen in years. There was family, friends, friends from churches we attended in years past and friends from our current church. I think at one point we had about 50 people in my mother-in-law's little place. It was a perfect day with warm weather and the sun shining so people were able to visit outside also. The support that was shown to us is beyond words, it was a marvelous thing to experience. Thank you to all of you who attended. The only bad thing was that I forgot to take even one picture. So, today I took a picture of the banner we haven't taken down yet.
That kind of recaps our week. Today, Erin is at an extra gymnastics practice. She doesn't normally attend on Tuesdays but she was told she could come and we decided that it would be good for her. She can't stay the whole time though because we are having dinner with our friends, the Chambers. The Chambers were our first friends when we moved to Oregon 13-3/4 years ago. We have so many good-byes to say. The hardest will happen on Monday when we say good-bye to our adult children and our grandchildren. It is hard but we are excited for to begin our adventure in God's calling on our lives.
As I have time, I will update more. We will also continue to update when we can on our trip. As we get closer I will post an itinerary of where we will be and when.
With ten days left, I am kind of at a stand still but gearing up for the next big wave which will be the parties that are planned this weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday)we are doing a going away party for Jonathan and Erin. I have two piñatas for the kids to do and games and such. Basically it is a time for the kids to visit with their friends before they go. Then on Sunday my mother-in-law is having a farewell open house for us. There will be many people coming through and we are excited to see some people we haven't seen in a long time. So today we will finish up the shopping for both parties.
Once the parties are done, we will be moving all the boxes that are moving with us back into the house so we can see what will actually fit in the car and what we need to choose to leave behind. I already know it is what we will need to leave behind not if we need to leave something behind.
We still have much to do but we are getting closer. Basically, we will be ready when it is time to leave. I'll continue to update later.
There is proof that I have been organizing for the last week. Yea! This is the same spot on the floor that I posted the other day when we brought everything into my mother-in-law's house. It's even vacuumed!
This is the last pile in the living room and it has actually been organized into boxes and is awaiting the storage shed or the car. :o) I am hoping that it is mostly the storage shed. 
Jermaine was home for a few hours so we were able to see him and Ashley before they leave. They are moving to Washington D.C. where he is now stationed for the next 3.5 years. They will begin their drive tonight with the two of them and one of Ashley's sisters. Jermaine says they will come see us in Mexico. So until then, we said good-bye.
With the progress made in the house, I am feeling like we might be able to host the farewell open house here. That is very good since this is the address on the invitations. We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
Posts
