Adventures and packing and toys...oh my!

I don't know if you all have forgotten about Octo-mom, but in case you have, here's a recap:

One mother. Eight babies.

One of the nicer pictures of Octo-mom I could find

That pretty much sums it up, and like other odd ball news stories I'm not sure why the story was so famous except for this single mother was pregnant with 8 babies (she already had twins or triplets that were older I think) and she had and kept all 8, albeit with lots of help from friends and family. And everyone thought she was crazy.

So why am I talking about this?

Because while shopping for a few hours the other day, I think I realized what it would be like to take a walk in her shoes. Or any mother's perhaps.

Dim with her birthday present in Feb.

In preparation for my trip to Cambodia I decided I wanted to get some gifts for my sponsor kids. Dim was my first sponsor child (she just turned 4) and I met her on my first trip to Cambodia. Joseph was sponsored second through money raised from Cupcakes for Cambodia's orders (and his sponsorship is paid up through 2013...yay! Thanks to everyone who ordered and donated!). Then some months ago the company my dad works for who sponsors 5 kids asked if I would be their contact, someone who writes the kids letters and prays for them daily, because they know my heart for Cambodia and the New Hope kids. Of course I gladly accepted, went out that night to get picture frames and proudly displayed them around the house. Bam! Five more kids.

The girls! (but not all of them)

The latest addition to the family came this spring, a girl who is just a few months younger than me, and I think of her as a sister.

Fast forward to this weekend and last night and there I was, wondering around the mall and K-mart with these types of questions flooding my mind:

"What kind of toys does a 10 year old boy play with?"

"What if they don't like this color?"

"Should I get markers or crayons?"

"Would kazoos for all the kids drive the houseparents and care takers crazy?"

"I wonder if this will fit in my suitcase/make it through customs/fit on the van on the ride to the home..."

(everyone can rest easy...no kazoos were purchased)

There I was, 8 kids, different ages, genders, different hobbies and various colors that they had named as their favorite. There I was confused as ever, but determined to force my brain to be logical, think very hard and quit worrying about every single detail and not be like crazy Octo-mom having a breakdown in the middle of the toys isle.

I'm sure I got some interesting looks though when I came to the register with all the hubba bubba bubble gum that was on the candy shelf, jump ropes and 12 bottles of nail polish...

Am I the only one who love this stuff as a kid? 

What I'm really hoping for is to just show these kids how much they are loved, cared for and thought about.

I'm sure I'll be writing a follow up post with lots of pictures of when I get to hand out the presents, and if you find me in the toy isle, an encouraging word is always helpful :)