Let the Chaos Begin...

Well we finally received our visas and passports. We picked them up on Wednesday. On Thursday James had a seminar to attend all day. So Thursday he notified Wright-Patterson AFB that we were ready to receive our pack-out dates. We needed to be packed up and ready to leave by the first day of a pay period (Sundays). So we needed to be ready to leave on April 11th (only 2 weeks away) or April 26th. Hate waiting so long but there is no way we could be ready to go by April 11th. The biggest reason being that in order to have permission to ship our new vehicle there is a lot of paperwork to submit to the lien holder. Once the lien holder gives permission then the military will happily ship our vehicle. I called on Friday and found out what the requirements would be. Now we just need to gather up all the information and send it in. They will look it over and (fingers crossed here) give their permission within 5-7 days. So obviously the gathering of the information and getting permission could take at least a week and then we will have to drive to St. Louis to ship it. Along with that we would need to have the packers here for 3 different shipments. Two weeks would probably be pushing it to the limits to finish in time.

Our packout dates are April 13 & 14 for hold baggage. This is our air shipment which will arrive in approximately two weeks. (This will include clothing, some school work, craft supplies, towels, some dishes and our bikes). The second shipment will be HHG (household goods) and this will go by sea. The shipment that goes by sea takes about 8-10 weeks to arrive. Most of that time we will be living in a hotel or temporary quarters so it shouldn't be a problem. The last shipment is our NTS (non-temporary storage) will be last on April 20th. We didn't store items last time we moved. This time, however, we decided to store things that we knew we wouldn't be using. Our new washer and dryer, vacuum, most 110 appliances, things we are saving for posterity or grandchildren (i.e. family made baby blankets, favorite toys and books, etc). This will help us out quite a bit because in homes overseas there are often not closets or storage areas.

We are going to send a lot of our clothing that will be needed immediately in the air shipment. That means less for us to take on the plane. Plus, these items will ship out some where around the 14th which is 12 days before we fly out. So of course, our items should arrive there soon after we do. I have already decided (much to the amused delight of my friend "C") that instead of having 2 suitcases full of clothes in my checked baggage that I will have one of clothes and one of craft supplies. I have a nifty craft suitcase and will pack it up. That way I will have something to play with in my time in the hotel. Other craft supplies will be sent in our air shipment. I really have to make touch decisions on what to take and what to leave for the big shipment. And I also need to have our homeschooling supplies in our suitcases and air shipment. (We only have 13 weeks of school left so leaving it for the big shipment really isn't an option.)

We have been going through things and purging items so we don't have too terribly much of that to do. We need to set up a garage sale for those items that we don't want to take with us. Bikes that are too small for the boys, old clothes and toys, etc. I have gone through my clothes, much of my craft room and helped the boys go through their closet and toys. James went through his clothes as well. The main things left to go through are the guest room and closets and my craft room closet.

Definitely a lot needs to be done but since we do have about 4 weeks it should be completely manageable. However, some where in there we are also hoping to go to Washington D.C. to see some friends and take the boys to the capital. The last time we were there Jared was 10 months old and Caleb was 3. They are at an age now where they can appreciate and enjoy the Smithsonian Museums. They have already voted for the Natural History and Air & Space Museums. Leave it to my brainiac kids to want to see the "interesting" stuff. Hopefully, we will be able to get there and visit our friends and enjoy the museums.

Not much else to say today. Just really wanted to let those of you who are followers what is going on.

God's blessings upon us all.

Angy