The Countdown Begins!

Okay, well, the countdown actually started a long time ago, but as of right now we are 24 days away from being in London! 

We thought this blog would be a fun and easy way for everyone to keep track of what we're up to for the next 5 months. We'll try to be dedicated to posting updates and pictures as often as possible (and by "we" I mean "Whitney," although Jordan did promise he'd post some updates too!) So add our blog to your favorites and leave us a comment - we'd love to hear from you while we're away!

To answer a few questions we regularly get asked about our trip... 

• We fly out the morning of January 4th and get back on May 20th. We are going to rent a car and drive over to Seattle on the 2nd to spend a couple days with Joel, Julie, and Beau before we leave.

• One of our best friends, Josh Dietzel, is going to be living in our house while we're gone, which is such a blessing, although we think he might just be using us to get to our hot tub. :)  

• My parents will be taking care of our dog, Maggie, while we're away. She is the first "grandchild" so we know she'll be spoiled rotten and will probably never want to come home to live with us again once we get back. 

• We are hoping to travel as much as possible while we're in Europe! A few places that are on our "for sure" list right now are Ireland, Scotland, Paris, and Italy... notice "for sure" is in quotes. We'll see how our budget holds up! :) We would LOVE to hear of any suggestions or places you've traveled in Europe that you'd recommend!!

• Jordan will be busy with his law classes during the week, but his overall schedule is pretty incredible. He has 3-day weekends every week, a two week spring break, and we have about 2 weeks once his internship program is done before we fly home! Pretty catered schedule for traveling! :) I will be taking at least one online class to finish up my English endorsement (British Literature, ironically) and am hoping to find a part-time job if possible. 
  

We are totally excited, anxious, and definitely unsure of what to expect once we get there. Our top stressor (okay, MY top stressor) is packing. How in the world do you pack for 5 months with 2 fifty pound suitcases per person?! I am a classic over-packer anyway! I just keep telling Jordan that I am going to wear half of my wardrobe on the plane to save room... like the episode of Friends when Joey puts on all of Chandler's clothes. It'll be a little awkward and uncomfortable, but as of right now it's my only idea on how to make it work!

Also, we're definitely going to miss Maggie and it will be hard to be away from her for 5 months! It sounds silly, but I'm worried that she won't remember us by the time we get back or have puppy separation anxiety issues or something. :)

Another minor detail... we haven't quite found a place to live yet in London. You probably think we're nuts, but apparently most of the students don't solidify their housing until they arrive in London. We do have a few contacts and locations in mind (and a bed & breakfast booked for the first couple nights we're there), but it is a little stressful to not have something set in stone yet. Lastly, we are still trying to find a roommate for Josh to live in our house while we're gone. We will be okay if we don't find one, but it would be much more ideal to have the second half of our mortgage covered while we're gone! :) So if you know of anyone who might be interested (even if it's only for a couple months), let us know!

Please pray for us as we tie up all the loose ends before we leave. Merry Christmas!!