Photos for passports...

Today I went online to find out more info about passports. There was an awesome tool that allowed you to take a picture and then it would crop it for you to be the right size for the passport photo! How handy is that, so I lined us all up and took pictures...the results from the photoshoot and online cropping tool are above. I was thinking we needed "straight faces" so that is why we all look so awful...very somber! lol! 

A few of these were the "outtakes", but they were just too cute not to include on here.

When I started looking online at the places to get our passports processed, I decided we would just go to a post office that processes passports. Simple enough. I looked at the prices and couldn't find any pricing for the pictures...does this mean they are included?? I figured they must be included, so I didn't print out any of the photos we took at home.

Bad move. 

They do charge to take pictures...they just don't mention it ANYWHERE on the website! Big bummer...this simple mistake (I should have called in and asked!) cost us $15 per person. PER PERSON!!

That's right, they charge $15 to hold a simple camera up to you and print out a picture. 

Word to the wise...go online, use the passport photo cropping tool, sent the picture to Walgreens.com to have it printed out for a whopping .10 and save yourself $14.90! 

Oh well...at least we found out we could smile and all of our pictures turned out so much better than the somber ones we took at home! =) lol!

And it's nice that passports don't expire for many years to come! 

Pictures of our adventure getting passports to come soon!

Serving Him,

tarena

Meeting at church

Today we had a meeting with nearly everyone who has committed to going on the trip.

It was a wonderful chance to see who will be going and also to get caught up and reminded of all that needs to get done these next couple of months. It is hard to believe how soon we will be leaving...less than 10 weeks from today.

At the meeting we went over some of the info we covered at the last meeting just as a reminder or to inform those who weren't at the last meeting. I loved getting to hear the "inside info" on helpful things to bring, etc...it will really help with my planning and packing. We talked about dress codes, payment schedule, and a few other things. It was only about an hour long meeting, but it was a good chance to get up to date on where we are.

The reality of getting our passports done asap really hit me. They take awhile to process too, so hopefully we can do that within this next week.

I'm getting so excited to go...and a bit overwhelmed at what needs to get done. I know the Lord will provide and work out all the details as He always does.

Night!
Serving Him,
tarena

New note from Brandon:

Found this on Facebook today:

"Hello Everybody. So, we made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and the Rose Bowl. What's next? Planning for the Spring Break Mexico Missions Trip of course. We will be hitting the road to Mexico 11 weeks from this coming Thursday (hard to believe, huh?). I have 2 very important dates I need to share with you.

1) Sunday, January 15 - Mandatory Planning Meeting. We will meet at CCC in the fellowship hall after 2nd service. Please plan on the meeting lasting 1 - 1.5 hours. All adults, high school and older, should be in attendance. Attendance by children is optional.

2) Saturday & Sunday, January 28 & 29 - Taco Feed Fund Raiser. This is our only mandatory fund raiser. Please set aside both days. The funds earned are used to pay for our food while in Mexico. If you choose not to participate, $50 will be added to the cost of your trip.

Please pass this message along to anybody that might need the info, but isn't getting it through Facebook. Also, pass it along to anybody that might be interested in joining the group.

Finally, if you have not yet applied for your passport, you need to do it ASAP. Please contact me if you need help with the process."

Oh, me oh my! Can the trip really be that soon???

Passports-oh yeah. I better get on that!

Serving Him,
tarena