So, now you know...

I have made the executive decision today that it is time to just let people know about the move. I updated my status on Facebook and will begin telling non-Facebook people as I see them throughout the week. I have had 3 people ask me in the last few days about the move, so I know that word has been getting around. That is ok. I'm not upset about that. I just want to be the one to break the news to the people who haven't heard yet. So, there. If you've found this, you know. Feel free to talk amungst yourselves.

If you are just finding out about our move now, please do not be offended. We kept things quiet initially, because we weren't sure that it would actually happen. Obstacles have been overcome now, so we began to tell an handful of people. But then we (or, I anyway) worried about The Long Goodbye that can become an issue in things like this. You know, every discussion becomes about the move, or people start to withdraw a little, because they want to make that ultimate goodbye easier to deal with. So far, though, there has been very little of either, and I'm feeling ok about letting everyone know now.

Things are progressing on the home front. The most important thing, I suppose, is that the kids have been informed and are on board. K was easy to win over--A just had to log on and show her pictures of the animals indigenous to the Philippines. I'm still not sure how the youngest came around. I think we just wore her down by constantly talking about it, and it's just become a given that we're going. It's not like she's got many options at age 4. She either comes with us or she comes with us.

This last Saturday I had the first of what I think will eventually be 3 tag sales to start off-loading our non-essential items. It's amazing how much stuff in your home becomes non-essential when you really take the time to look at it. It is also amazing just how much stuff can hide in a house that is less than 2000 sq ft.

We are starting to enter the realm of the "lasts," and it's a bittersweet position to be in. Every last means we're one step closer to embarking on this adventure, but it also means we're one step closer to embarking on this adventure! Today, I taught my last Relief Society lesson in the ward. The way our Stake Conference hits, I won't be teaching in February, and then March we'll either be gone or so close to going that I will be insane. I honestly love this calling, and I doubt I will have the opportunity to teach very often, if ever, in the Philippines, as it seems that church is conducted in Tagalog. Soon, we'll be having the last trips to visit grandparents before we leave, last trips to the zoo, last playdates with friends. One "last" I'll be completely ok with when it comes: cleaning the bathroom!