two weeks and packing...

well, we ship out two weeks from tomorrow and it's all starting to get very real. last week we said our goodbyes to family and friends in harrisburg with a fantastic picnic in the park organized by coy's mom. just last night, we did the same in pittsburgh with a great backyard bonanza hosted by melissa's parents. we are so honored to have so much support and encouragement and would like to thank all of our friends and family for being so wonderful. you have no idea what it means to us.
throughout these many hugs and well wishes, we have had many discussions regarding visitors. for the record, we ARE allowed to have visitors during our service, and we encourage everyone to come see our new home. there are a few restrictions on our part, but nothing we can't work around. we technically receive 2 vacation days per month of service, which comes out to be 48 days of vacation during the next two years. however, we cannot use vacation time until approximately february (2009), and are also unable to use vacation days during our last 3 months of service. just something to think about for those of you intending to join us in paradise.

this is a photo of the maya ruins at caracol, in belize.

the next two weeks will be kept busy by last minute shopping, organizing, and attempts to pack. we sold our phenomenal 1994 nissan sentra last week, and will be parting with fritz on thursday. it was our last real obligation to fulfill and now that it's taken care of, it's time to get serious about our remaining "stuff". right now it's occupying the furnace room in melissa's parents' basement, but by the end of the week we hope to have it sorted and stashed away. each of us will be allowed to bring 80lbs worth of checked luggage, so the rest must go! (thank you to melissa's parents and grandma for offering their storage space. we really appreciate it!!!)