Need shoes...will travel!

We are getting ready for a special little trip in the not-too-distant future! On our last trip, I handled things in my classic Joy style. Which basically means that I completely procrastinated and packed everything at the last minute with sick kids all around me. Seriously, I was holding a bucket under the chin of one child right up until the day before we left, and I was giving breathing treatments to 3 children every 4 hours until I handed them over to my sister (sorry about that, sis!). In the midst of that chaos, I had clothes, shoes, papers, schoolbooks, etc. all around us. I am hoping to do better this time!

I have been asked several times over the last few weeks if there is anything that we need for our trip, or anything that we could take with us for the children in the orphanage. Honestly, we (Jeremy and I) don't need anything because so many loving, generous people have given so much that we now have all of the funds that we anticipate needing for travel. I have purchased toys for the orphanage and gifts for the caregivers. There is, however, one more thing that I would LOVE to take with me -- Shoes.

I noticed before we traveled on our first trip that the shoes our little man wore in each picture were pretty worn. When we were visiting, he wore sweet little bedroom slippers every day that had a lamb on the toes. He loved looking at his shoes! So, an idea was born. I will be collecting new shoes for the orphanage. I would love for them to be the little leather type that Target sells in the baby department (Ministar is the Target brand, Robeez is the more expensive brand that Stride Rite sells). I chose these particular shoes for a few reasons:

1. They are sized 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months. They fit a wider range foot than shoes that are specifically sized.

2. They are easier to pack than harder-soled shoes, and they weigh less. We are limited in the amount of luggage that we can take, but I think I can fit plenty of this type in our suitcase all around our things.

3. Joel lives in an orphanage for children with special needs. He is one of the older children there, at age 7. Most children there are under 5, and many of them have significant medical needs. These are smaller children, and so many of them are not mobile. These particular shoes have cute pictures on them, so that would give the children something interesting to look at when laying in their cribs or playing on the floor.

4. They are fairly inexpensive. You can buy the ministar brand at Target for $12.99/pair. The ones at Stride Rite are about $40/pair. I have used both brands through the years, and the Target ones are absolutely fine. The only benefit I have noticed with the Robees brand is that they come in larger sizes (probably to fit up to about a 4T). If you particularly want to donate Robeez ones, that will be fine, but the Target ones will definitely be useful.

Here is a link to Target's website: http://www.target.com/s?keywords=miniwear+shoes&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0

If you would like to donate a pair (or a few) to the orphanage, please let me know and we can arrange a way for me to get them from you! I need all shoes by Sunday, May 8.

Thank you so much!