Even though my husband was not totally on board with this yard sale, I think I proved him wrong. The pros definitely outweighed the cons....but this will be the last yard sale I do for at least ten or twenty years! IT IS A LOT OF WORK!! Especially if you take donations, label each item, supply all the tables, pick up several loads of donations... all the while having two kids under four in the car for five days. I felt pretty guilty for driving them around town all week, but...it is worth it and I am so glad we did it! Oh, did I mention that yard sales are hard on your marriage? Well, that's another topic for another time.
The A. Family and the D. Family got a lot closer to one another, for good and for bad! Right? Brad and Brook?? We had a lot of fun actually!! I know you both are having with drawls by me not being over at your house every night. Oh, yeah, Brad didn't you want to do this once a month?? Ha!Ha!
The night before the sale we were up late labeling and then I could not fall asleep until 12:30 a.m., but then woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, I just laid there. I guess I was a little anxious about how everything would go. So I started our big yard sale day off with three hours of sleep. But, I was running on adrenalin the first part of the day, so I was fine until about 1:00 and then I felt like a truck hit me, but luckily we have Chick-fila sweet tea just down the road!!
About 11:00 a.m. the husbands did not think we were getting enough traffic, so they decide to drive to the store to get poster boards to make more signs. I wish I had taken a picture of one...they looked horrible, but they obviously worked. The signs said, "Huge Yard Sale...Everything Must Go...signed: Mo Money". Yes, "Mo Money" was Brad's idea!! Brook would you agree our husbands are too peas in a pod!!
Those of you who know me know that I would loose my head if it was not screw on correctly. Yes, I misplace most things in my life. So you will get a kick out of this story. This cute little Hispanic boy comes up to me and asks me "Is this bag is for sale...there is a phone in it?"...Yes, this bag was my pink backpack purse! I had left my purse in the middle of the clothes while I was trying to organize them...I am not sure if I told Dee about this one yet! Ooops!
Here is what the scene looked like. It took us two and half hours to set it up. Thanks for taking these pictures Brad. I was too nervous to bring my camera..I thought I would leave it out and run the risk of it being stolen. So glad I didn't bring it...considering my normal patterns.
My motto for the day was: "If you want something, you will leave with it! We will come to a price agreement! Everything is negotiable!!" I think it really worked...we did not have much left by Sunday afternoon!
Probably my favorite part of the day was meeting all the people in our community. They were all very encouraging about our adoption and some even felt compelled to give more because they thought it was such a good cause. I made several connections with neighbors I had never met before and they were all very excited about their new soon to be neighbor, Charles Tucker. Some even asked why we wanted to adopt and it was neat to be able to share what God has done in our lives. I handed out a sheet of paper explaining our reason for adoption when people seemed interested. I believe...there was a bigger reason for doing this yard sale other than the money we made. It really seemed to bring the neighborhood together in a neat way. I had no idea they all would be so supportive. I was greatly encouraged and I believe this news was a blessing to others. I feel like it brought orphan awareness and hopefully a fresh perspective on Christianity to those that have a bad taste in their mouth for "Jesus".
I want to give a special thanks to the fifteen families who were able to donate to our adoption yard sale last Saturday. Thank you to Beth, Cameron, Stewart, Frida, Marisa, Shelley, Amy, Amanda, Becky, Jenn, Corrie, Hannah G., Hannah H., and a couple more families in our neighborhood. Their "junk" become many other people's "treasures" this past weekend. Isn't that what they say, "Someones junk is someone else's treasure".
All the "junk" that you all donated made $850.00! We only had a few large pieces of furniture...mostly clothes, shoes, books, frames, toys, and some knickknacks, so $850.00 was a lot more than I thought we would make! We are $850.00 closer to paying for our trip!! God is so providing in many, many ways!
My across the street neighbor, Beth, also made some cookies, muffins, lemon squares, and pound cakes to sale too! Beth, we appreciated your constant support throughout the whole weekend, besides, we needed someone to keep Brad straight. Ha! Ha! Thank you for everything Beth!!
Another way the Lord encouraged me this weekend was by allowing me to meet this lady who offered to do our family portrait for free to get her business going. She needs to take pictures of families in order to advertise. I was like...yum....yes...Of course!! I was thinking does she know that is one of the greatest things she could have said? She obviously reads my mind. Or God really does care about the little things. If you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember the last time we tried to get a family picture. If you don't remember...go here. Once again the Lord is providing!
It was a great weekend Brook! Yes, I said weekend, we continued the sale on Sunday, I am glad we did...it was practically all gone by 3:00 p.m. Like I said the pros out weighed the cons. Thanks for convincing me to do it three weeks ago! (don't say anything Dee)
***The court dates in Uganda went very well! Two families that I know of got visas to go home!! Which is amazing!! The other two families that are associated with our babies home are waiting on another court date to get a verbal and written ruling, so they can have custody of their children. Until then, they have to stay in the babies homes. They can still go visit them everyday, so it is not that bad. Oh, and my friend's daughter was able to wear her pretty smocked dress!! Yeah, its the little things the Lord cares about. Don't you love this? The lawyer felt like their hearings went well. So this is very encouraging! It is very important that things keep moving with the Ugandan Courts. If those before us are doing well...we will be right behind them!! Still anxiously waiting a court date. Our social worker updates us weekly on how things are going, she seems very hopeful we will go in October. So we will see!
***Please pray for our friends over at House of Curls. Doug was at work when a fork lift fell on his leg. He is in surgery now. Please pray that the blood would continue to flow to his foot. Pray also that his wife Jenna has God given strength to handle the situation. I believe the Lord gives special grace in tough situations like this. I can't stop thinking about them....so tough.
The A. Family and the D. Family got a lot closer to one another, for good and for bad! Right? Brad and Brook?? We had a lot of fun actually!! I know you both are having with drawls by me not being over at your house every night. Oh, yeah, Brad didn't you want to do this once a month?? Ha!Ha!
The night before the sale we were up late labeling and then I could not fall asleep until 12:30 a.m., but then woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, I just laid there. I guess I was a little anxious about how everything would go. So I started our big yard sale day off with three hours of sleep. But, I was running on adrenalin the first part of the day, so I was fine until about 1:00 and then I felt like a truck hit me, but luckily we have Chick-fila sweet tea just down the road!!
About 11:00 a.m. the husbands did not think we were getting enough traffic, so they decide to drive to the store to get poster boards to make more signs. I wish I had taken a picture of one...they looked horrible, but they obviously worked. The signs said, "Huge Yard Sale...Everything Must Go...signed: Mo Money". Yes, "Mo Money" was Brad's idea!! Brook would you agree our husbands are too peas in a pod!!
Those of you who know me know that I would loose my head if it was not screw on correctly. Yes, I misplace most things in my life. So you will get a kick out of this story. This cute little Hispanic boy comes up to me and asks me "Is this bag is for sale...there is a phone in it?"...Yes, this bag was my pink backpack purse! I had left my purse in the middle of the clothes while I was trying to organize them...I am not sure if I told Dee about this one yet! Ooops!
Here is what the scene looked like. It took us two and half hours to set it up. Thanks for taking these pictures Brad. I was too nervous to bring my camera..I thought I would leave it out and run the risk of it being stolen. So glad I didn't bring it...considering my normal patterns.
My motto for the day was: "If you want something, you will leave with it! We will come to a price agreement! Everything is negotiable!!" I think it really worked...we did not have much left by Sunday afternoon!
Probably my favorite part of the day was meeting all the people in our community. They were all very encouraging about our adoption and some even felt compelled to give more because they thought it was such a good cause. I made several connections with neighbors I had never met before and they were all very excited about their new soon to be neighbor, Charles Tucker. Some even asked why we wanted to adopt and it was neat to be able to share what God has done in our lives. I handed out a sheet of paper explaining our reason for adoption when people seemed interested. I believe...there was a bigger reason for doing this yard sale other than the money we made. It really seemed to bring the neighborhood together in a neat way. I had no idea they all would be so supportive. I was greatly encouraged and I believe this news was a blessing to others. I feel like it brought orphan awareness and hopefully a fresh perspective on Christianity to those that have a bad taste in their mouth for "Jesus".
I want to give a special thanks to the fifteen families who were able to donate to our adoption yard sale last Saturday. Thank you to Beth, Cameron, Stewart, Frida, Marisa, Shelley, Amy, Amanda, Becky, Jenn, Corrie, Hannah G., Hannah H., and a couple more families in our neighborhood. Their "junk" become many other people's "treasures" this past weekend. Isn't that what they say, "Someones junk is someone else's treasure".
All the "junk" that you all donated made $850.00! We only had a few large pieces of furniture...mostly clothes, shoes, books, frames, toys, and some knickknacks, so $850.00 was a lot more than I thought we would make! We are $850.00 closer to paying for our trip!! God is so providing in many, many ways!
My across the street neighbor, Beth, also made some cookies, muffins, lemon squares, and pound cakes to sale too! Beth, we appreciated your constant support throughout the whole weekend, besides, we needed someone to keep Brad straight. Ha! Ha! Thank you for everything Beth!!
Another way the Lord encouraged me this weekend was by allowing me to meet this lady who offered to do our family portrait for free to get her business going. She needs to take pictures of families in order to advertise. I was like...yum....yes...Of course!! I was thinking does she know that is one of the greatest things she could have said? She obviously reads my mind. Or God really does care about the little things. If you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember the last time we tried to get a family picture. If you don't remember...go here. Once again the Lord is providing!
It was a great weekend Brook! Yes, I said weekend, we continued the sale on Sunday, I am glad we did...it was practically all gone by 3:00 p.m. Like I said the pros out weighed the cons. Thanks for convincing me to do it three weeks ago! (don't say anything Dee)
***The court dates in Uganda went very well! Two families that I know of got visas to go home!! Which is amazing!! The other two families that are associated with our babies home are waiting on another court date to get a verbal and written ruling, so they can have custody of their children. Until then, they have to stay in the babies homes. They can still go visit them everyday, so it is not that bad. Oh, and my friend's daughter was able to wear her pretty smocked dress!! Yeah, its the little things the Lord cares about. Don't you love this? The lawyer felt like their hearings went well. So this is very encouraging! It is very important that things keep moving with the Ugandan Courts. If those before us are doing well...we will be right behind them!! Still anxiously waiting a court date. Our social worker updates us weekly on how things are going, she seems very hopeful we will go in October. So we will see!
***Please pray for our friends over at House of Curls. Doug was at work when a fork lift fell on his leg. He is in surgery now. Please pray that the blood would continue to flow to his foot. Pray also that his wife Jenna has God given strength to handle the situation. I believe the Lord gives special grace in tough situations like this. I can't stop thinking about them....so tough.
