Bags Packed and Ready

Well, T-0. Caleb and I are flying to Germany today. In fact, we are leaving for the airport in less than an hour. I cannot believe it.

The last few days have been filled with running errands and getting everything ready and ends tied up for our trip. It's been a lot but I thankful to have gotten it all done - that is everything that I could think of. :) Our carry-on is filled with plastic zip-locks, organizing meds, books, toys, snacks, extra outfit, etc. Wow, traveling with a toddler sure is different. For one, I haven't even considered what to take to occupy myself on the plane. That sure is a change!

I also caved yesterday and bought a portable DVD player. And yes, I bought the one with the longest battery life - 11 hours!!! I was hoping to just get some Baby Einstein on ITunes but they do not sell it. Then, I tried the App but that did not work either. So, now we have one more piece of technology, which Caleb already loves. I have a DVD case filled with Baby Einstein videos from Once Upon a Child and baby headphones - hopefully, Caleb will not continue to pull them off. I'm guessing that everyone around us is hoping to listen in on Caleb learning numbers and colors. I was thinking that I might ask if anyone on the flight wanted to contribute to the DVD player fund as I bought it for their benefit! Just kidding.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us as we have gotten everything ready for this trip. I have been convicted this week about for what exactly I should be praying. I was praying and asking others to pray that there would be an extra seat on plane so that we would be able to bring Caleb's car seat on the plane and I would not need to hold him for the 8.5 hour flight to Paris. Although I know that there is nothing wrong with that prayer, I was convicted that I really needed to just pray that God would give me the grace and strength to deal and care for Caleb and those around me during the entire trip. I need(ed) a heart change to focus less on my comfort and more on serving. So, if you would, I would appreciate your prayers for grace and strength and if you wanted to pray for an extra seat that's ok, too. :)

Well, it's about time for me to wake up Caleb from his nap and get his shoes on and head out the door. Andrew will be taking us. We appreciate prayers for our family to stay close while we are going to be apart from Andrew/Daddy for the next three weeks.

On a fun note, I'm excited for this "little cow" to go to the "Land of the MILKA cow"! Watch out!

FYI: Andrew reports that Mariano's in Wheaton sells Milka chocolate. If you've never had it, you've got to try it!

Alright, well, our next update will hopefully be from Hannover, Germany. We're excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and so many friends that are basically family. Can't wait to be back in my birth place and show Caleb the place where I used to "toddle" around!

Ok. Auf Gehts! Bis Bald!