Today was pretty busy. I took the three packages of donations to the DHL facility about 2 miles from our house. Shipping was a lot less than I was expecting to pay. They say the packages will be in Tennessee in 2-3 days, so that will be plenty of time to go out in the August 15th shipment.
When I got back home, Patti came over to bring some things for me to take to her son in San Salvador. Her mom will meet me at the airport when I am en route back to the United States & we will both spend the night at the same hotel, as well as her cousin who flies in that day.
After my visit with Patti, I ran to do some last minute errands like: returning library books (and checking out a book for Andrés), going to get some last-minute supplies (OFF w/ 98% DEET, gum for the plane, sunglasses, SPF 80 sunscreen, etc), and finally stopping at the Christian bookstore for a book for myself to read on the way down. I had 2 books at home as well as a sudoku book, but want to be sure I have too much rather than not enough. I'm also taking a few Christian CDs and a CD player which I picked up at a church rummage sale yesterday for $1. I'll be leaving those down at the orphanage.
After packing Patti's things and the extra supplies I bought, both large suitcases were exactly 50 pounds according to my scale. Let's hope my scale matches what the scale at the airport says so that I don't have to pay a hefty fine.
Jenny came over tonight to participate in our Family movie night. We watched Hermie's video on sharing and then the new Bananas comedy: Bunch 3 (?). Mom & dad came over with Max to visit while we were about 1/2 way through the comedy and watched the end of it with us.
After everyone left, I called my uncle Jim down in Wheaton, IL. He'll be taking me to the airport and picking me up when I get back. I mapped out some directions and now am blogging. I'm winding down for the night, so hopefully I'll be able to get SOME sleep before waking really early to take off. I'll most likely leave around 8:00am. Have a great night!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
2 Days to Go
Today was pretty busy for me, although I spent most of the day at home. My arms are quite tired from packing a suitcase and running to a non-carpeted area to make sure it's less than 50 pounds. I've had to unpack and repack quite a bit to make the 1st suitcase work out. I'm now on the 2nd suitcase and it's currently at 55 pounds. I have to figure out how to get 5 pounds out of much-needed items out of there and onto my carry-on.
Speaking of carry-on, I'll have to check back onto the Delta Airlines website for the 3rd time today to double check on the dimensions I'm allowed. I had one carry-on in mind, but it didn't have enough room to get close to the 40 pounds I'm allowed. The duffle bag I tried seemed too big. Now I'm using a carry-on that came with one of the luggage pieces I purchased at Savers (for $0.99), but I'm not sure that it'll have enough room either.
Julie stopped by to drop quite a few boxes of crayons off for the children at Orphanage Emmanuel and Mari brought over the Lempiras that came in today. The kids had fun looking at the money from Honduras. I just hope they don't think it's "play money" and it disappears before I take off, lol.
Speaking of the kids, Noah was very eager to grab a bunch of his trucks and put them into the boxes that I will be shipping off to Dr. Reynolds tomorrow. Alina was a little more reluctant, but did grab a Dora the Explorer hand-held toy as well as a Dora doll (complete with shoes, backpack, a book & dog!). I would love it if the kids sent some of their toys each year down to Honduras!
Andrés asked Noah where Mommy was going and he said "to Honduras". For all the times that I think he's not listening to us...he's ALWAYS asking "What?" when we say something to him. I'm so proud of him for paying attention to this! I showed Alina & Noah pictures of the Orphanage Emmanuel website today, so they got to see the pages with pictures of the girls and boys - along with their names, which made it a little more personal for them.
I am actually going to turn in early tonight because I have quite a bit to do tomorrow - seeing as it's the last full day I'll be home. Have a great night!
Speaking of carry-on, I'll have to check back onto the Delta Airlines website for the 3rd time today to double check on the dimensions I'm allowed. I had one carry-on in mind, but it didn't have enough room to get close to the 40 pounds I'm allowed. The duffle bag I tried seemed too big. Now I'm using a carry-on that came with one of the luggage pieces I purchased at Savers (for $0.99), but I'm not sure that it'll have enough room either.
Julie stopped by to drop quite a few boxes of crayons off for the children at Orphanage Emmanuel and Mari brought over the Lempiras that came in today. The kids had fun looking at the money from Honduras. I just hope they don't think it's "play money" and it disappears before I take off, lol.
Speaking of the kids, Noah was very eager to grab a bunch of his trucks and put them into the boxes that I will be shipping off to Dr. Reynolds tomorrow. Alina was a little more reluctant, but did grab a Dora the Explorer hand-held toy as well as a Dora doll (complete with shoes, backpack, a book & dog!). I would love it if the kids sent some of their toys each year down to Honduras!
Andrés asked Noah where Mommy was going and he said "to Honduras". For all the times that I think he's not listening to us...he's ALWAYS asking "What?" when we say something to him. I'm so proud of him for paying attention to this! I showed Alina & Noah pictures of the Orphanage Emmanuel website today, so they got to see the pages with pictures of the girls and boys - along with their names, which made it a little more personal for them.
I am actually going to turn in early tonight because I have quite a bit to do tomorrow - seeing as it's the last full day I'll be home. Have a great night!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
3 Days to Go
I thought I'd get this blog on yet tonight to keep you updated on my progress towards this trip.
Yesterday and today were packed with appointments and errands. I met Mari downtown so that she could exchange some money for me into Honduran Lempiras. The current rate is $19 Lempiras to $1 USD. I guess it's considered "exotic money"...that's what Mari told me...which means that it takes just a hair longer than overnight to get. They were pretty sure I'd have it by Friday afternoon though.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up my malaria pills, but since I didn't have a "substantial" supper, I didn't take them. I took one this afternoon and got quite an upset stomach. I guess next week when I take the next one (you take one weekly) I'll have to be sure to eat quite a bit of bread to absorb the chemicals coming out of this pill.
Last night, Linda and Jenny came over to bring some money for shipping all of the donated items that I now have in the garage. Linda said each of the kids had chipped in to help. THANKS SO MUCH FLENZ FAMILY!!! You are the best!!! I will most likely ship these items either Thursday or Friday.
Speaking of donations, here is a glimpse of all the items that you have sent my way and will be going down to Orphanage Emmanuel:
Today I took the kids to go visit Patti - our old babysitter. I gave her my flight information since I'll be in El Salvador, where her family lives. She let me know that she's going to arrange for me to meet up with her mother & her cousin in San Salvador on my way back to the States. I have an overnight stay there and was hoping that I could meet them.
After having lunch with Patti, I took Andrés to the post office to finally have his papers and application approved for a passport. The lady told us that he'd have his passport within 4 weeks. Jenny had turned in her application yesterday...so we'll have to see who gets theirs back first.
I packed some of the donations this evening, the toothpastes, toothbrushes, and medical supplies. They are currently all in one suitcase, and the suitcase is 48.5 pounds (I have a limit of 50 pounds per suitcase/carry-on)...WHEW! I thought it seemed a LOT heavier than that, but that's what the scale said. So I still have about 70-80 pounds of stuff to pack. I'll keep you posted on some more of my creative packing strategies as I figure them out, but for now - have a great night.
Yesterday and today were packed with appointments and errands. I met Mari downtown so that she could exchange some money for me into Honduran Lempiras. The current rate is $19 Lempiras to $1 USD. I guess it's considered "exotic money"...that's what Mari told me...which means that it takes just a hair longer than overnight to get. They were pretty sure I'd have it by Friday afternoon though.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up my malaria pills, but since I didn't have a "substantial" supper, I didn't take them. I took one this afternoon and got quite an upset stomach. I guess next week when I take the next one (you take one weekly) I'll have to be sure to eat quite a bit of bread to absorb the chemicals coming out of this pill.
Last night, Linda and Jenny came over to bring some money for shipping all of the donated items that I now have in the garage. Linda said each of the kids had chipped in to help. THANKS SO MUCH FLENZ FAMILY!!! You are the best!!! I will most likely ship these items either Thursday or Friday.
Speaking of donations, here is a glimpse of all the items that you have sent my way and will be going down to Orphanage Emmanuel:
Today I took the kids to go visit Patti - our old babysitter. I gave her my flight information since I'll be in El Salvador, where her family lives. She let me know that she's going to arrange for me to meet up with her mother & her cousin in San Salvador on my way back to the States. I have an overnight stay there and was hoping that I could meet them.
After having lunch with Patti, I took Andrés to the post office to finally have his papers and application approved for a passport. The lady told us that he'd have his passport within 4 weeks. Jenny had turned in her application yesterday...so we'll have to see who gets theirs back first.
I packed some of the donations this evening, the toothpastes, toothbrushes, and medical supplies. They are currently all in one suitcase, and the suitcase is 48.5 pounds (I have a limit of 50 pounds per suitcase/carry-on)...WHEW! I thought it seemed a LOT heavier than that, but that's what the scale said. So I still have about 70-80 pounds of stuff to pack. I'll keep you posted on some more of my creative packing strategies as I figure them out, but for now - have a great night.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
4 Days to Go
Sorry about not having blogged over the weekend. We went camping down to Richard Bong Recreational Area. It was our first & only time down there. Bob mentioned on the way down that a website claimed "the mosquito population is healthy" down there. It was EXTREMELY healthy! I don't think I could count the number of mosquito bites that our children had on their bodies. It's like the insect repellent we put on them had absolutely no effect. We ended up keeping Kaylyn in the camper almost the entire time - only taking her out on Saturday when we went swimming. She was such a good sport!
As far as plans go, we had Andrés' passport photos taken on Thursday - but Walgreen's was too busy to print them right away, so I had to wait for my sister Julie to bring them to me yesterday. We have an appointment with the post office to take care of his passport materials on Wednesday this week, and can then send them off in the mail to the National Passport Agency.
I went in yesterday to get my Meningitis & 1st of my Hep A vaccinations (the 2nd one needs to be done within 6-18 months from now). Noah came along with me to "hold my hand". He was so cute. I've showed Noah the pictures of children from the orphanage (the ones I have posted on this blog), and when he found out that I'll be riding in an airplane to go to see them, he has been insisting on going with me ever since!
Linda brought over the boxes of donations last night - and there is quite a bit more than I'll be able to take in my suitcases. I'm so glad that Dr. Reynolds does take care of shipping down to the orphanage, because I'll just have to "creatively pack" the items into my suitcases...and whatever doesn't fit, I'll send down to him. It's SO great to see all of these things that people are willing to send to children in need. I will try to get a picture of all the donations on to tomorrow's blog.
I've heard via email from the hotel in San Pedro Sula that my reservation has been "confirmed". Their name is the Hotel Real and their website is: http://www.hotelrealhn.com/. I was beginning to get a little worried since I hadn't heard from them. The mentioned in the email last night that they've been having internet problems for the past week. I had called my cell phone company to activate the international calling feature yesterday so I could call this hotel to confirm, but I was still not able to call the hotel. I'll have to call my cell phone company again today to ask why those international numbers weren't working.
With those thoughts, I'm going to end this blog for the day. Since my days until departure are dwindling down, I find myself more & more busy each day.
As far as plans go, we had Andrés' passport photos taken on Thursday - but Walgreen's was too busy to print them right away, so I had to wait for my sister Julie to bring them to me yesterday. We have an appointment with the post office to take care of his passport materials on Wednesday this week, and can then send them off in the mail to the National Passport Agency.
I went in yesterday to get my Meningitis & 1st of my Hep A vaccinations (the 2nd one needs to be done within 6-18 months from now). Noah came along with me to "hold my hand". He was so cute. I've showed Noah the pictures of children from the orphanage (the ones I have posted on this blog), and when he found out that I'll be riding in an airplane to go to see them, he has been insisting on going with me ever since!
Linda brought over the boxes of donations last night - and there is quite a bit more than I'll be able to take in my suitcases. I'm so glad that Dr. Reynolds does take care of shipping down to the orphanage, because I'll just have to "creatively pack" the items into my suitcases...and whatever doesn't fit, I'll send down to him. It's SO great to see all of these things that people are willing to send to children in need. I will try to get a picture of all the donations on to tomorrow's blog.
I've heard via email from the hotel in San Pedro Sula that my reservation has been "confirmed". Their name is the Hotel Real and their website is: http://www.hotelrealhn.com/. I was beginning to get a little worried since I hadn't heard from them. The mentioned in the email last night that they've been having internet problems for the past week. I had called my cell phone company to activate the international calling feature yesterday so I could call this hotel to confirm, but I was still not able to call the hotel. I'll have to call my cell phone company again today to ask why those international numbers weren't working.
With those thoughts, I'm going to end this blog for the day. Since my days until departure are dwindling down, I find myself more & more busy each day.
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