I cannot believe the trip is only a little over three weeks away! There is so much going on right now with the move (June 26th) and focusing on small details for the trip (last hepatitis shot scheduled, visas ordered, trips to the store for various items for the kids and myself...) that it's really snuck up on me. I will be in Africa, which has been my dream for so long, in 24 days. 

I keep imagining the kids, and I am so excited, yet a little nervous, because really I don't know what to expect. Will they be excited? Shy? Angry? Stubborn? Friendly? Well, I suppose it will depend on each of their individual personalities, won't it?

So many things came in the mail yesterday. Our passports came back from the Embassy of Ghana with our visas inside. Our mosquito nets came, and the books I'd ordered from Barnes and Noble. I got two educational books, a shapes/colors book and a picture dictionary. Plus I got three Don and Audrey Woods books. Piggies and The Napping House are board books so they'll be great with toddlers, and Elbert's Bad Word is one that I remember liking a lot when I was little. I read The Napping House and Elbert's Bad Word to Chris last night. 

Because we're packing the condo, I've been putting all my Africa paraphernalia in a suitcase to keep it separate. I don't have my clothes or most toiletries packed, but the case is already very heavy. Our trip came just in time for the airlines to start charging for bags. For as long as I can remember, it has been two bags under fifty pounds free, and this is how I planned to bring the school supplies and all these other things to the orphanage. Oh but wait, I just went on the Delta Airline site, and it looks like they're down to one bag free if you're traveling inside the US, but two free bags if you're traveling outside the US, so I think I'm still in the clear!

Checked Baggage

You can check one bag per passenger free of charge when traveling in the U. S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. If traveling outside the U.S. you can check two bags free of charge.

Each bag must:

• Weigh 50 pounds (22.5 kg) or less.
• Not exceed 62 inches when you total length plus width plus height.