Hey all! Sorry no post there for a little while. As I am sure you can imagine, things have been a wee bit hectic. But I have accomplished much in the last few days, and our departure time is now just over 48 hours away…woo hoo!!!!

I am really trying to keep my emotions contained. I told Josh that if my head flies off at some point, it’s because I just couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. He told me very matter-of-factly that if my head flies off, he will not be taking me to Africa.

So let’s see…besides keeping my head on, in the last few days I have Windexed every glass surface in my home, mopped all of the floors, vacuumed all the carpets, gotten completely caught up on laundry, deep cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned and organized my laundry room, cleaned and organized my walk-in closet (aka the dumping ground), cleaned and organized the boys’ walk-in closet (aka the other dumping ground), washed the bedding for everyone, cleaned out and organized drawers and cabinets in the kitchen (don’t ask why…once I start cleaning like this I am compulsive), cleaned out our mud room, rebraided my older girls' hair, gave all of they boys haircuts, packed two huge suitcases of donations, packed for my four older kids who will be staying with friends next week and finally convinced Josh to pack his clothes. WHEW.

If you have never been here, I keep a very clean house…it isn’t like my house was a big mess that needed a giant overhaul. I just “nest” like a wild woman. It can’t be controlled, and Josh has learned to sit back and laugh.

But he did help me finish our big project. With the addition of Belane we decided to finish off another bedroom. We had a room that was just a storage room, and we figured it would be a better use of space to make it a bedroom. So that got completely cleaned out…spackled, sanded, primed and painted. Add a cute carpet, a gorgeous beaded hanging “door” and a few other details, and Mercy has her own room for the first time in her entire life. (She is a very grateful preteen!!!!!)

The room that attaches to Mercy’s new room is her old room, which she shared with Des. Now Des will share that room with Belane. We decided that the entire “girl suite” deserved a makeover, so Des and Belane’s room got a beautiful bright yellow coat of paint and the cutest wall paper border around the top. Throw in some new white bunkbeds and a few cute accessories, and voila…another room done.

I was starting to panic last week that Belane wouldn’t have a room to come home to…even though realistically I know that she will probably sleep up in our room for quite a while, it just felt sad to bring her home and not have a room ready. Josh sensed my urgency, and spent the ENTIRE weekend painting to get it all done. He’s awesome.

For those of you wondering, our house is about 2900sq feet…six bedrooms and three baths (one of which is currently being remodeled…ICK. I hate being in the middle of projects….or should I say, at the mercy of Josh being in the middle of a project).

Continued...