Look ahead to summer

Although we're not technically counting down, we're certainly thinking often about packing, traveling, goodbyes and reunions that are coming soon! At the same time, we'll need to be embracing a new country, school and many new people.

Recently, Nate and I have been having discussions about what we'll take and what we'll leave behind and neither of us could quite remember exactly how many bags we brought with us when we packed up our american life and moved to India in 2006. Above is a picture taken in the airport - and we did indeed check 9 bags (one is behind the suitcases) as well as a guitar and stroller and 9-month-old baby!

As I was going through old pictures in search of that one, I also found many pictures of summer 2008 when we returned to the US with our 2.5 year-old Will and 6-month-old Annie. What fun that was! And how the pictures of that summer reminded me of all I'm looking forward to in our short summer ahead. Here are a couple of precious ones that I thought I'd post:

(My grandparents with Annie)
(Will and his Uncle Danny)

So what will our packing look like this time? How much junk will we decide is worth dragging around the world with us again? 8 bags? 9 bags? more? I am finding that it is SO much easier for me to look at everyone else's stuff and decide what they should leave behind, but when I try to sort out my own clothes or books or treasures, I don't want to part with any of it! I long to store up my treasures in Heaven and let these earthly things run through my hands and go to others who can use them if that's where they're better placed. I hope I can be wise enough to only hold onto the things I should hold onto, and give up the things that I really don't need.

Stuff.

As I look around, I have a lot of sorting to do! I pray that God will help me sort well.