Guess How Many Bags....

So, I've been fooling everybody telling them that I'm not organized at all, and nowhere near ready to pack. HAHA. Gotcha! Really, I'm way too Type-A, and am actually incredibly organized. Are my things in bags yet? No. But they are separated into piles ready to be packed. I did this so that I could pack AROUND the formula we are wanting to take. So, here is what we have.....

Malachi's Stuff -

Donations - (Our donations include many things, from Scrubs to children's clothes, to toys, to formula, to diapers, to the beautiful quilts (stacked up in the back) that my sister's quilt group made for these little ones.)

The most important of the donations, however, is the formula. We have been told by our director that there is a severe shortage of formula in Ethiopia. It can't even be bought, it's no where to be found. Can you imagine that in the states?? It just wouldn't happen. So, we are going to do what we can to help. Actually, what my parents Sunday School Class can do. They were gracious enough to send us a check to cover 8 cans of formula (16 technically, as they are the extra extra large cans), 1 box of diapers (which there is also a shortage of, but we figured formula is a bit more of a necessity) plus pay for the bag to get it there! (A whopping $180!!!) We also received 12 other cans of regular sized formula cans from a friend who's neighbor works in pediatrics. They get lots of samples!


Toiletries - (Yes, yes I did splurge and buy the travel size of EVERYTHING. Really, who wants to be packing their shampoo and hairspray and toothbrush the morning you are trying to get out the door?? Not me! I want to be done by Thursday and ready to walk out the door Friday if they call and tell me my plane is leaving 24 hours early! Will this happen? Of course not. But I still splurged! Besides, it takes up less room.)


We have a snack pile too, which isn't complete yet, so I didn't photo it. But, all it all, here is what we've got.....



So, other than our clothing (which I will try to pack as light as possible....very hard for the woman who packs the kitchen sink when we leave for church on a Sunday morning), that's our "luggage".

Now, do you remember that game you played as a child? The one where you had to guess how many button's were in a jar? Then it evolved to how many jelly beans were in a jar? Well, now it will again evolve. How many suitcases will it take for us to get this all there? If you win, you get ... um, nothing. If you lose (which there will be many of you), you have the penalty of paying for the extra bag that it really will take! :)

Off to pack.........