The Packing

We sent most of our things on ahead-about 2 weeks before we left-in an ocean container.  A large container sat in front of our house and men packed and loaded for 2 days and used every inch of space to help us take as much stuff as they could possibly fit into the container. 

You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to decide about every single item-does this go with us? or into long term storage to stay somewhere in Greenville that we won't see again for 3 years?  or should this have really been thrown away a long time ago?  We really worked our garbage men hard over those couple of weeks.  One week the ocean container men were at our house for a few days.  Then the next week the storage packers and loaders came and worked.  By this point we were eating off paper plates and mostly sitting on the floor.

We found out that we could each take 3 pieces of checked luggage on the plane with us and bought the largest bags allowed and a luggage scale to weigh them.   So we had been packing clothes, toys, etc in these bags so that we would have things that we needed right away with us and the kids would have some familiar things.  Each of them has a backpack that we let them pack with the understanding that they had to carry it on the plane.  All 3 brought their favorite blankets and stuffed animals and some fun things to play with.  I was trying to think of all the things that we might want/need that we wouldn't be able to get in Manila.  We had talked to one couple who has been here with Fluor for a few months and they gave us some good tips.  I even packed a jar of peanut butter for sandwiches but have since found that in all the grocery stores here.