We're Leaving for France!

It's late, and I need to get a good night's sleep tonight, but I wanted to let everyone know our good news--we're leaving for France tomorrow!

The story of how our visas worked out at the last moment was really miraculous. After much sweat and a few tears, the essential document finally arrived at the consulate. We went up to Chicago on Thursday, and they processed all of our visas without hassle on the spot. Even more significantly, they didn't ask for Jason's FBI background check--a huge blessing since it didn't arrive in time. So even though it took a while for our prayers to be answered, we feel as if Heavenly Father has really been watching over our family.

So now, after a week of hard labor, we are all packed and ready to go. We're not exactly traveling light--seven checked bags (six at 50 pounds plus one at 22 pounds for Talia), three rolled duffels, two backpacks, a camera bag, a diaper bag, and a new double stroller. Oh, and lets not forget the toddler and preschooler. This will definitely be an adventure! All the rest of our belongings are packed away in a storage shed. We are SO grateful for the help we've had from friends and especially loving family in helping us make this adventuresome move. We never could have done it alone.

As everyone knows, moving is hard work. I expected it to be hard. I expected it to be challenging. What I didn't expect was to spend two hours this weekend fishing the change out of the car CD player that Talia deposited into her "piggy bank." All in all, we recovered 38 cents. :) It's a good thing she's got such a cute smile that rights all wrongs.

Wish us luck in France! I think we'll need it...