Stress level alert!

I have been through a few stressful things in my life, but this week might rank up there among the top three. There are a lot of things that have to get done in a very short amount of time. Things here at home, things at my work, things at Niklas’ work, things at church, things at the kids’ school, things with our cottage, things, things, things. You don’t want to see my to-do list; you’d probably faint! Oh, and you don't want to see the shape my house is in right now either!

Thankfully I am rather good at handling having lots to do, especially regarding getting ready for long trips and all that entails, so I do think I will make it through this week. I think. I had to ask friends to help us with meals all this week, because some things just have to get delegated.

We have bought plane tickets, so that’s done. We leave Friday afternoon. We will have a layover in the middle of the night in Turkey. We arrive in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.

What has been the most challenging has been finding accommodations. Not only is it way too short notice, but South Africans take vacation starting at the end of November, so most places are fully booked with vacationers. I have no idea how many places I have called. Some bookings have been made, but we are going to end up having to move around at least FIVE times. Not ideal when you have a new little one who needs some kind of normal routine in her life with her new family! But there is simply nothing to do about that. It is what it is, and we are going to have to make the most of it. Thankfully we are going to be making the most of it in one of the most beautiful regions in the world with ideal weather. So no complaints here!

The kids are really excited, and everybody has been talking about it at their school. I am going to give each kid their own digital camera so that they can remember the trip from their own perspective. I am also going to give them 1000 Rand each. Here at home they are already in the habit of saving some and giving away some, so it will be the same with this money. They will be free to give away 30% of it however they want to, and use the rest however they want to, hopefully learning that it needs to last for four weeks. I printed out some fake money so they actually could carry it around with them in a safe way. 

Now I am going to go through Esther’s old 1 year-old clothes and toys so we can pack a few things.