Prayer, Updates, and Rambling about Underpants

My church prayed over Abigail and I today in anticipation of our trip. It was really good, and made this feel so much more real.

I can't believe the countdown is now less than a week until we leave! I went to B*biesRUs today and finally found a diaper bag that I like at a price I can afford. (There were lots that I liked, but I refuse to pay more than $30 for a diaper bag!)

I am writing the world's longest email to my house-sitter/Lily-sitter. I don't know why I feel like I need to list what to do in every scenario, but it might have to do with the fact that I may be coming home with an ill baby, an ill first grader, an ill Gagie, or an ill me! None of those scenarios sound good to me, but I recognize the possibility, and want to minimize the difficulties associated with them if at all possible.

Also, I think my cat is likely to puke multiple times while I am gone. She is a bit bulimic, and when she is upset, she likes to puke on Abigail's bed (and now on the baby's bed, too.) I am hoping the Lily-sitter will find these little puddles and clean them up.

It also occurred to me that a short 14 days after we return from Ethiopia, we will be leaving to head to John's sister's wedding in Gatlinburg. I guess after 20 hours on a plane, 8 hours in a minivan should not be too bad, but I am still nervous:) Especially after the fiasco of driving through the West Virginian hills. Ugh. I do not want to repeat that!

They say that when you pack for Ethiopia, you should not pack any clothing that you would be embarrassed for the neighbors to see, because when it dries out on the line, others are likely to see it. This has left me with a small dilemma when it comes to packing underpants. I have 2 categories of underpants: work underwear, and fancy underwear. My work underwear are seriously granny panties; this is purposeful. When you work as a nurse and you are very physical, you want something that will be comfortable all day long. You also want something that, if your patient decides that the best way to lower themselves into the chair is by using your pants to steady themselves (and thereby effectively "pantsing" you), stays up and keeps you covered. I speak from experience on this point. Therefore, granny panties work for me in the work setting.

Behind door number two, I also have the kind of underpants that women wear to prevent panty lines and as a cruel and unusual form of punishment. I only wear them when necessary.

Honestly, neither form of underpants is something that I want the neighbors (or the roomies) to see. I mean, my underpants are personal- no one sees them except me! They are not meant to be seen! That is why we wear them under our pants! And here I am, knowing that others will be seeing my underpants, and having a near freak out while strongly considering a new undergarment wardrobe.

And yes, it is ridiculous that I am thinking about this. But at the same time, this is totally in the category of things that I would think about, so it's not that ridiculous. Honestly, you are not surprised by this, are you? This is definitely typical Grace. Ah, what to do, what to do?