larger or worth less than ...

a hundred dollar bill.

Packing is constant decision making, choosing between what goes and what stays.  Some choices are quite obvious.  Winter clothes for the children?  (Must go.)  Some are more difficult. How many children's books can I part with?!?  (I wish they could all go, but they just can't.)  And some are crystal clear to me but fall in the "difficult" category for the younger set.  Isaac's 3 lb. sea shell collection?  The wooden shelf Julianna made?  (No way, no how... but you have to deliver this answer carefully!)

Late in the game today I decided that the rule of thumb was this:  If it's larger than or worth less than a hundred dollar bill, it doesn't go!

In all seriousness, we have 6.5 bags packed.  That means we are down to 25 more pounds before we tip the scales and pay overweight charges (no thanks!).  We'll also have plenty of carry on, and at this point, the hard decisions are history and the last load of laundry (in the dryer) will definitely fit :)

In an effort to head off some of the packing-crazies that infect us all we started our day on the greenway.

It worked ok.  Good outdoor fun, no one fell in the river (only a few close calls!) and the packing-crazies were mostly contained.

We leave for the airport at 5:15am.  Flight to Newark and then a noon departure for the big country.  One last transfer to a domestic flight and we could potentially be at our apartment by 9:00 pm (local time), making it a 28 hour journey, door to door.  There's plenty of room for our itinerary to self-destruct though, and I won't be counting any hours, just putting one foot in front of the other (or at least trying to).

Oh for grace, to trust Him more.