North East Texas to Van Horn, TX: Cabo Trip 2015 Part 2

This morning we loaded the rest of the essentials we had been using into the van. (And then unloaded some and put more in storage and reloaded and saw if the kids would fit and the doors would shut...) We did it. There's always a feeling of finality as you pull out of the driveway: all of your decisions, good or bad, are finished for the most part and you'll have to live with your choices when you get to the new place. (Barring spending money on more things, to which I'm always opposed.)

We drove a good two hours before everyone had to take a potty break. (Can you tell I'm a mom of small children by my language?) For an approximate 45 hour trip, hopefully we will get a better average of stops to progress over the whole trip.) However, there was a nice grassy place the kids could run in, so we raced. Talia won most races.

We saw refreshing rain for the first time in a couple months just west of Fort Worth.

Another highlight was finding an interesting truck stop with interesting canned goods like jalapeño or chipotle ketchup and sweet potato butter... And a fried pie shop! Ben and Talia split a vanilla pie and Elias and I shared an apricot.

When we spotted Odessa, Texas' version of Stonehenge we decided it was a good place to let the kids expel some excess energy.

Then we drove the last 160 or so miles for the day and got a hotel in Van Horn, Texas. 

9 hours, over 600 miles. Done. Zzzzzzz...

Packing: Texas to San José del Cabo 1

When I was young my dad built himself a little shop to work in and to hold his tools. As we grew up he graduated to a bigger one and gave his little portable shop to me. When we began our international travels it became a great storage place. We began international teaching in 2009 in Guatemala when Talia was only 18 months old, and in between times we haven't had enough time to unpack and reorganize everything; until now, so you can imagine the variety of things that have collected just in different gender and sizes and seasons of children's clothes!

The last few weeks we've been busy seeing family for the last time and sorting storage into: take, give away, store and trash. Since we are driving and moving to a house, we can take things that weren't feasible in Abu Dhabi. Like a mixer! However, everything we bring must fit into the minivan we've purchased with no racks or trailers to attract the attention of the possibly search-happy Mexican cops. This is the challenge... And it has been one to make us question the line between having faith that what we need will be provided and being a good steward with what we have and not just getting rid of everything. 

(Pictured above) A neighbors' house burning down cemented the thoughts we already had during this packing process: we will make the best decisions we can, but in the end it's just stuff and if something happens to it there are more important things in life than stuff. We were thankful to hear that our neighbors' family was ok!

Now, I need to go make sure we can close the van doors...

Hauling Books by Plane or by Donkey

Packing everything to move across the ocean can be intimidating with weight and baggage restrictions, but the part I've been trying to figure out the most is the homeschooling supplies. It's hard to know which manipulatives are worth their weight in luggage to take and which ones are better to leave.
And books. Books are particularly heavy and particularly necessary for any type of curriculum. I'm carrying them via plane. This man, Luis Soriano, believes in the necessity of reading enough to create a way to bring books to the isolated communities in Columbia. He has a round trip of eight hours on his "Biblioburro," or donkey library just bringing books so children can do research for homework or have a chance to read. He made my worries about getting enough books where we are going seem very small.



I want my children to love to read, I know how much easier it is to learn if you have good reading skills. I've seen what the lack of those skills can do to students. I also know that even if we can't take much of a physical library, we have many Kindle and online resources and, as Luis showed with educating kids to read- when there's a will, there's a way.


"Luis Soriano who started the Biblioburro initiative, also opened La Gloria's first library thanks in part to donations received from Ayoka's film viewers.
For more information: www.ayokaproductions.org"

How to fit your life in a suitcase

Oh wait, I actually wish I could find a nice, concise list showing how to do this. Especially for moving overseas.

When we moved to Guatemala, Ben drove through Texas and down through Mexico in a Toyota 4Runner- providing quite a bit more packing space! This especially impacted the heavier home/kitchen items I was able to bring. This time that's not an option.

Flying to Abu Dhabi with everything you own in a suitcase presents several challenges. Since Etihad, the Abu Dhabi-owned airlines, weighs even carry on luggage- (15 pounds or less,) we have to be more discriminating about our carry ons. However, Etihad gives you two checked bags of 50 pounds or less (unless you want to pay more for 60 pounds or much more for 70 pounds.) We are using duffel bags to eliminate as much of the luggage weight as possible.

So that's two checked bags and a carry on per person. Or not. Since we have to connect with Etihad via American Airlines we have to pay for the second checked bag with them just to get it to Etihad because American only allows for one checked bag.

Most of the household items can be purchased from teacher's who are completing their contract in Abu Dhabi, and for us, are not worth bringing/shipping. To ship a 50 pound suitcase to Abu Dhabi is almost $300, while it's closer to $150-$200 for an extra suitcase on the plane... so we're just packing necessary clothes, baby stuff and homeschooling items in our luggage.

Then there's the fun of actually packing for an opposite climate in an opposite culture. Since we dress modestly, the culture part isn't as much of a challenge as the 100+ weather. It's nice to be packing for hot weather while it is cooler here, though; we don't have to pack bulky coats or boots.

It's also important to figure in how fast the kids are growing, since anything that's almost too small will just waste precious space. Wearing something a little big is better than 'barely fits.'

I can't say that I don't like this process, because I find minimizing our life to the bare minimum very cathartic. It's way too easy to gather possessions. Life easily gets choked up with stuff. Packing what we really need helps me focus on my family and each person's individual needs. I get to re-evaluate who we are as a family apart from our stuff. And that is freeing.

Moving to Guatemala/Abroad with Children for the First Time: Interview- Things to Bring

Another soon-to-be expat mother moving to Africa posted some questions for advice on what to bring:

 1. What are the top 3 kitchen items you would take to a foreign country?
2. What are the best children's books you would take?
3. What are the best toys/activities that occupy kids on a VERY LONG plane ride?
4. What would you put on your iPod? Favorite Worship Songs? Best all around music?
5. What Podcasts do you listen to?
6. Favorite games?
Thanks for your input!!

When we moved to Guatemala, I had many of the same questions, so I thought I would share what worked for us. It will also help me remember what to bring in our upcoming international experience with 2 children this time.

1.When we moved to Guatemala, the kitchen things I missed the most were GOOD cooking utensils. Everything easily available in Guatemala was plastic that melted when it got hot. Yuck! I am glad I brought my good knives, and the mixer came in handy.

2. Since we moved when our daughter was barely talking, but planned to eventually homeschool- here's what worked for me with books: Between the ages of 2 and 3 there is literally a brain and language explosion! I was grateful that I brought books that could work for several age ranges including some that are good for beginning readers. Our daughter loved the Dr. Seuss, Curious George and things like that. I tried to mainly bring the ones that were big books with many stories inside to cut down on luggage. One thing is certain, no matter what you bring, it seems more books are always going to be in demand.

3. Something my daughter really likes are those magnetic drawing boards with the "pencil" attached and the little lever that "erases" the picture so that you can start over. I like it because it isn't messy and we can practice letters, drawing and storytelling. Besides this, we use books, a variety of snacks and that's about it. Guatemala was only a 3 hour flight for us, thankfully, so we haven't invested in electronic gadgets yet. Something I think she would really enjoy is an MP3 player with headphones since she loves music so much.

4. I wished I had access to more worship music in English in Guatemala, because I realized that my daughter was missing out on it and that she really enjoyed it when we came back to the States to visit. For her, specifically the simple worship songs work well since she's still learning the words. (Which I thought ironic since I hate worship music for the same repetition that makes it easy for her.) For you? I'm not good at suggesting music...

5. N/A

6. Right now we're really into tactile games like Jenga and blocks. But I like that we have Dominoes because it's really great for math/matching concepts(and making trains.) We also like Uno, Phase 10 and "Bancopoly;" the Guatemalan version of Monopoly. I look forward to when we can play games like Apples to Apples as a family. I have to admit, however, that no game beats just regular play outside with grass, dirt, pebbles and sticks and anything found in your new natural environment. Kids love nature (mostly) and can have a ball with the simplest items outside combined with a great imagination!

Hopefully,  that was some help, though we have different kinds of kids and ages. I know that no matter how much you plan, when you get there you'll still realize something you'll have wished you'd brought. But it's OK. We're moms and improvising is one of our superpowers! ;)


Do you have suggestions for things that worked for you when moving abroad, particularly with children?

Things have been crazy AND slow at the same time lately. Since getting back from Spain, I've been working on my college class (last one for my master's!) so that's just been steady. We've already taken care of the vast majority of packing and just a few more paperwork things to do remain. I made a calendar for myself for the two weeks left before my departure, and on paper, it all looks relatively simple. That made me feel quite a bit better! Some recent craziness in Honduras that you may have seen in the news is a little disturbing, but I just tell myself that it shouldn't affect my drive down, since I am not driving through Honduras. We'll see...

Not a lot of news, currently. We'll keep you posted.