Trippin

Trippin!

We're "trippin" and I don't mean the illegal kind! Left Fort Wayne this noon and are on our way south through the crystal palace in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Drove 150 miles and not a rest area open from lack of power. Good thing we filled up and emptied out in Marion. Practice, right???

This weekend and the coming month will be all about closure. We have enjoyed sharing meals with wonderful friends we have made in FW and family we have lived near for the last almost 20 years. It is a bitter sweet time. Everyone has been so supportive and we love you all. I thought I could blog about some of the emotions, but now I am not sure. It is so emotional to have so many nice things said and written about you. I believe we as humans are in part a compilation of the people we meet. So it is because of our family and friends that we are who we are and can embark on this adventure with confidence that we can make a difference. Those who have said they admire us, you are with us, those who have and continue to pray for us, you are with us and those who have encouraged us, you are with us too.
We couldn't do this alone. We will carry with us a book made by the first grade teacher I volunteer for, a calendar of pictures of my quilt retreat, a calendar of family pictures and a heart pin "filled with all of you!" So whether or not you WANT to go, you ARE going with us!!

WhoooHooo! We got Rosetta Stone access today. How fun! I got 94% in the first lesson and that was without understanding how it works. Boy did we need it! Guess I'll quit while I'm ahead!

Cleared For Take Off!!!

We are finally cleared of all application paperwork! Now reality has set in and we are in a real panic as we realize how much there is to be done and how little time. Since we have planned to leave from Texas and need to see family before we go, we will have the house packed and stored Monday and be on our way Thursday with "my backpack on my back. Val de re, val de rah". Packed with all we will be taking for the next 2 years. Oh, and each of us is limited to 80 pounds in no more than 2 bags each! No problem, right? Suddenly the french press coffee maker isn't so important!! Creativity is the mother of invention.
We are EXCITED and so appreciative of our great family and their love and support in this endevor. God has guided us in all this and made things happen, so it must be right.
To each of you "!Muchas Gracias por ser un bendicion!"
We will be "on the road again" with cell phones and laptop for the next month, then will fly to D.C. March 1. All we have to do now is become fluent in Spanish! HA! We will see if you can teach old dogs new tricks.

As many of you know I am a person with a lot of silly songs in my head, mind you I don't sing well, but I can burst into song at almost any occasion. This past weekend I attended my annual retreat for Project Linus (look it up at www.bestlinus.org). We always have a blast and this year was no different. It is an all gals weekend and we sew (well most of us do) for the better part of 30 hours. I have had the pleasure of having my wonderful daughter join me the last 2 years, so this year was especially great. It was also bittersweet as I know I will be leaving my good friends soon on our Peace Corps mission. They are all so supportive and encouraging! And I love them! Well, this all relates to song doesn't it....I gave my infamous version of the "Tarzan" song for them (among other camp ditties, thank you Nancy) and we all laughed til we cried through out the weekend. It was a great stress reliever( thank you Gretchen).
Now I am singing in my head again, but it is more of a panic song about needing to be ready to depart from our house lock, stock and barrel in two weeks!!!!! with everything we will need for two years! Remenber "Home Alone"? That is me right now, AGHHHHHH......What am I doing writing YOU????
Later dudes and dudettes, I"m outta here!

The journey continues

We apologize for not blogging sooner, we have been on a side rail for a while awaiting information from Peace Corps, but the train is moving again. We had some bumps in the road over medical issues which have had us scrambling to get into doctors' and get more tests done. We should soon have them resolved, we hope. We have a tentative invitation to Mexico for early March contingent on the final medical approval. What we are finding is that "the only constant in life is change" and so things may yet change before we go.

Meanwhile, we had an insane but wonderful holiday trying to stay ahead of weather so we could spend time with our families

and trying to keep the house from freezing during the ice storm
which had our power out for 3 days. We now have a lovely gas fireplace log.

We appreciate your interest and have enjoyed seeing who is following our adventure. At this point it has been a huge emotional roller coaster ride, but we are still along for the ride.