Our sale was BIG. At least that is what we were told repeatedly over the weekend by garage sale shoppers. So many friends and family members donated and donated and donated some more. Our whole entire basement looked like a bad episode of hoarders according to my sister as we collected, sorted, and collected more.
Was it worth it? Totally!!!! We were able to raise over $3,000 towards our adoption between our Yard/Bake/Food sales! That's HUGE.
There were so many God moments this weekend I will share a few:
First off, the weather. Set up day was Thursday and we needed every little bit of it. We started at 7am and I officially quit at 10pm. Rain was a big possibility Thursday evening but once we started bringing stuff out, there was no turning back because there was no where to hide the sheer volume of stuff we had. Many people were praying us through Thursday and not a single drop fell upon our efforts. Not Thursday. Not Friday. Not Saturday. Not Sunday . . . it took us an extra day to get everything tore down. But Monday, rain! Thank you!!!!
Second, volunteers. This was no easy mess to sort and bring out of our basement but we had some incredible people that rearranged their lives to help us put this all together and run it. Couldn't have survived without a single one of them. Teresa Hursey & family, Maureen Freeman & family, Kacey Foote & family, Jenny Heffelfinger & family, Heather Ward & family, Dad & Deb Barr, the Scott Household, Chris Woolfington-Cochern & family, Davis Family, Bianca Boles, Trisha Miller, AND the many that donated baked goods, chips, hot dogs, and buns from our church Merriam Christian Chapel. Thank you!!!!
Third, shoppers. There was a steady flow of shoppers Friday. So steady, my husband cancelled soccer practice to stay at home and watch over the sale as people continued to shop even past 5pm. Saturday was slow to start and we anticipated closing around noon. But as we started packing up a few items here and there, the shoppers kept coming. I had to head to work at 2:30pm and the shoppers were still coming. Thank you!!!!!
It amazed me the items that sold. I would think in my mind, please allow fill in the blank to be sold so we don't have to pack it up or move it. By the end of the weekend, there were very few items from my list of things that I was hoping would sell. How incredibly thankful I was for that. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
There were so many people that donated items. I wish I could name them all personally but truth is, I would forget someone because there were just so many that gave. We are so grateful. Grateful doesn't even seem adequate because the response was overwhelming. We said please donate, and everyone did and in large volume. UH-Maze-ing!!!!!!!!! Without those donations, we wouldn't have, we couldn't have raised such a large amount of money. THANK YOU!!!
And the last blessing was the aftermath. Of course, we had clothing and shoes left over. We knew we would. As a result, the local clothing bank received a very large donation of kids clothing. I haven't sorted the adult stuff yet. AND, the shoes? I'm so excited that these were donated towards another adoption fundraiser for a child from Bulgaria. We literally filled the back end of Jayme Dee's SUV!! Even I was shocked by the volume.
I need to also mention what an incredible amazing excellent fantastic super trooper husband I have. He put up with all the stuff in our house, and garage for two months. He worked his tail off collecting stuff, setting up stuff, carrying stuff, moving stuff, and tearing down everything. He made multiple trips all over and with very very very few complaints. I'm so blessed to have him and I can't wait to travel half way around the world with him!
Now, our summer officially begins. Time to sit back and relax as much as we can before our older girls have surgery on the 21st of June. They are having their adenoids and possibly their tonsils removed to help with sleep apnea. And then before we know it, we'll be on our way to China. Time is flying by at record speed. Whew!
Continued prayers for us are so appreciated as we anticipate the girls' surgery, making travel plans, and funding the remaining balance of the adoption. God is obviously in control!!!
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