Yard Sale: Part Deaux

The pictures I posted last week did not do the amount of items we had for sale justice.  Our living room, dining room, and front porch were stacked to the ceiling.  Not figuratively; literally.  In the week leading up to the sale, between 3 and 4 people showed up each day to drop items off.  Sometimes it was just a bag or two, but most times it was an entire trunk full.  (All the more reason I still long for a minivan, they can haul a lot of stuff!)  Sometimes people priced items, sometimes not.  Last Thursday I went to the grocery store with a 50 cent price tag affixed to my right breast while my left one was labeled “Not for Sale.”  I was pricing items in my dreams.  

And like every party I’ve ever thrown, I began to worry that no one was going to show up and all of this stuff was going to be left at my house.  So I made 10 two sided signs and plastered our neighborhood, and Lucks and Courthouse Roads.  I posted updates to Craigslist and various Yard Sale websites.  

People also loaned me their card tables.  Friday night, before going to bed early, we set out thirteen folding tables of various sizes.  They were joined by the three sets of wire shelving from my attic as well.  There was literally so much stuff that Sloan and I knew that if we did not have a schematic of where all of the stuff would be located, we would be lost.

Having gone to bed at 9, I awoke at 4am.  My goal was to get everything off the porch and house by the time my friends showed up around 6.  I figured we could sort things then.  I had half of the porch cleared before Sloan joined me around 4:30.  He helped me finish the porch and then began emptying the house onto the now clear porch while I began to do an initial sort or the items.  We were still emptying the house by the time our first helper arrived around 6:15.

As we sorted, my friends began snagging items they wanted and making piles for themselves in my now empty living room.  It will shock no one who knows her to learn that Rebecca Perry wins the "most things bought at our yard sale" award.  We began to get worried when by 7 no early birds had shown up.  But by 7:30, things were hopping.

We made over $500 before the yard sale “officially” opened up at 8am.  

From then on it really is all just a haze for me.  I was wearing my yard sale vest (Sloan’s old fishing vest with about a gagillion pockets.)  I had a pocket for ones, a pocket for fives and tens, and a pocket for larger bills.  I was the sole checkout lady.  At times there were lines.   

Because I was so busy I didn’t take any pictures, but here is one Sloan snagged with his phone.  Behind him was all of the furniture, hardware, and lawn equipment.  

It started to thin out around noon.  Which was good.  Because I wasn’t counting calories and I had an entire #12 Beach Club no mayo from Jimmy John’s to eat.  To be honest, Sloan and I were craving lunch around 10.  

By about 1:30, we were telling people they could fill a bag for $5.  By two, more friends showed up to help us bag and box and get things ready for the charity to pick it up.  

All told, we were completely D.O.N.E done with the sale by 4pm.  For those of you counting, that is a full 12 hours on my feet in my driveway.  I will certainly count this as labor pains.  I started popping 800mg of Motrin and could barely walk the next morning.  I’m just now beginning to return to “normal”.  But this labor was a lot more fun because I was surrounded by people who love me and my family so well.  

And it may or may not have ended with me in my kitchen throwing singles in the air while Sloan shouted “Baby, make it rain!”

Yard Sale: Part One

I know you are all on the edge of your seats just wanting to hear how the yard sale went.  You probably had a hard time going to sleep Saturday night just for lack of closure.  (I, having woken up at 4 am, did not.)  So I’ll spare you the suspense of the whole series and say up front that it was a HUGE success.  We made over $2500.  I’d give you a more specific number, but I keep getting emails from friends saying, “Hey, I put a check for $30 in the mail to you today.”

So first and foremost, I will use this first post to thank all of the folks who made the sale a reality.  It’s insane how many peeps helped out. (And forgive me if you contributed and I forgot to list you.  I'm still pretty tired...)

The following folks contributed items for our yard sale:  my parents, Sloan’s parents, my sister, the West End Presbyterian preschool yard sale, St. Mark’s Preschool, Jason and Abbe Voigt, Trish Elsmore, Nancy Dunn, Karen Chippendale, Jenn Warren, Kristen Riley, Sarah and Max Doerfler, Jack and Dolly Carroll, Paige Hannon,  Sara Gretz, Jill and Darin Smith, Brice Bowman, Heather Jarvis, Ann and Davison Long, Ali and Bob Shenk, Ali’s mom, Ali’s friend Jill, Jessie Tucker, Becky Hartman (who I met on FB because she has two adopted girls with the same diagnosis as Charlie and the first time we met was her dropping off oodles of toys for our yard sale!), Mrs. Kain (a teacher at Henry’s preschool), Tracy Scoggins’s parents, Casey Zollinhofer, Amanda Krieger, Kristine and Steve Bakos (Kristine gets extra credit for being 39 weeks pregnant and driving stuff to my house and then being one day shy of her due date and sending her husband to the preview sale), Kate Zachry, and the adorable Henry and Gracie Phillips.

I have to give Henry and Grace props.  I told them we needed to get rid of all of the toys that lit up and made noise because they would be overwhelming to Charlie.  Henry spearheaded the round up effort bringing me noisy trains, oinking hammers, whistling flashlights, blinking car garages, and he even offered up his DS his grandparents gave him for his 5^th birthday!  I hugged my loving boy and told him that he didn’t need to give up his DS for his little brother. 

The following peeps helped me get the word out about the sale on their blogs, facebook walls, MOPS groups, and places of business:  Tracy Scoggins, Ali Shenk, Amanda Krieger, Lisa Nelson, Shannon Reppard, Biff Pusey, Christa Spencer, Abbe Voigt, Katie Greene, Melissa Newsome, Kirsten Corbett, Erin Lucero, Jenny Brock, Sarah Morin, Ali Fogarty, Katharine Schloven, Heather Jarvis, Karen Chippendale, Jessie Tucker, Sarah Doerfler, Josh Rineholtz (whom I don’t even know!), and Merry Harrison.

A shout out to the ENTIRE Fogarty family for coming to our sale and setting up a Lemonade stand which was fantastic as it was pushing 85 by noon.  Those Fogarty boys sold $35 dollars worth of lemonade.  That’s 70 cups of lemonade! 

And I also need to give some shout outs to the peeps who gave me arms on the big day:  my nephew Caleb for spending the night and watching our kids, my handsome husband who woke up at 4 am with me, Jenny Brock for showing up at 6 with coffee and donuts, Melissa Mann for showing up at 6:30 with a cooler full of soda for the volunteers to drink and to sell, Rebecca Perry and Ann Long for literally walking to help at 6am and even bringing  cookies that the lovely Katherine Schloven made for our volunteers (and perhaps Gracie ate one or two or seven), the entire Fogarty clan—Ali, EJ, Owen, Mason, and Ryan, Jenn Warren, Kaylee Ann Schwarz, Tracy Scoggins and Abbe Voigt. 

BIG FAT SHOUT OUT TO MELISSA MANN FOR STAYING THE ENTIRE FREAKING TIME!!!! Seriously, Melissa was haggling and selling like a pro.  And every time the pockets in my Yard Sale vest got fat, Melissa came and snagged it, took the money inside, counted it and made sure it was safe.  If you can snag yourself a friend like Melissa Mann, a woman who gives of herself so completely and will text back and forth with you non-stop, I highly suggest it.      

And I would be remiss if I didn’t also give a holler to Pastor Wade Runge of Mountain Movers Ministries and M3 Thrift for coming to pick up the sales’ leftovers.  The proceeds of this month’s sales at M3 Thrift will go to raise money for JB Watkins Elementary School’s new playground and Pastor Runge also wants to discuss helping us out with our adoption.  So folks, shop at M3 Thrift.  (But please don’t but the bike chariot that I saw posted on their FB page, because I’m hoping to get that to tote around my kiddos when Charlie gets here and I can’t use the gym’s childcare!) 

I’ll go into more details of the sale later this week.   It was crazy.  God is pretty much just showing off. 

On the Next Episode of Hoarders...

The attic has been emptied...but there are still folks dropping off stuff throughout the week. 

Something's Happening here...

We are almost set to send off our i800a.  In the adoption world, this is our preliminary immigration paperwork.  Basically, we are petitioning the US gov't to allow us to adopt a child from China.  Once we get the go ahead from China regarding our dossier and the like, we will then repetition them for adopting our specific Charlie.  (Insert plea to all young peoples to NOT get an alcohol possession ticket because it will become a giant thorn in your side when doing things like this.  It will require calls to clerks of courts, emails to lawyer friends, and letters overnighted to specific court houses because these tickets get wiped out of systems and then you'll also have to explain again and again that you were an idiot college freshman.)

Also, let it be known that God is at work through many many friends of ours.  Our living room is slowly becoming stacked to the ceiling with items for our yard sale.  And we haven't even finished emptying the attic of all the stuff donated by our families.  Henry's preschool even donated all the toys they decided to get rid of to Charlie's yard sale.  Once again, what a joy it will be to tell Charlie of all the folks who loved him here.

In addition to dropping off toys, clothes, furniture, books, and electronics, my friends are also volunteering to help at the yard sale.  A family is going to host a lemonade stand because they want their kids to be a part of making an orphan a son.  My buddy Ann has requested to be in charge of all the weird people that inevitably show up at yard sales.

With each price tag affixed to an item, I am reminded that it is not just our family that God is growing, but His Kingdom.  This is what God does.  He uses people to love one another.  He sets the lonely in families.  He does not leave us as orphans, but adopts us into the largest, loudest, most loving family in the world.

We are grateful.

Clearly, there is room for one more kiddo in this sleepover bed.  And to top it all off, when Grace requested Henry sing to her, he broke out with the following song, "My Charlie lies over the ocean, My Charlie lies over the sea..." and then Gracie joined in to finish it up:
"Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my Charlie to me, to me!"

My Great Big Adoption Yard Sale

SATURDAY, JUNE 9th from 8-12.  

Corner of Smoketree and Poplar Ridge Roads. 

If you come before 8am, expect to pay full price!

100% of proceeds will go to our "Bring Charlie Home Fund!"  

Folks, it's happening.  What might be the biggest yard sale of the season.  We've been collecting stuff from friends and our parents for awhile.  This is super fun when you don't have a garage.  Our attic is now full and the junk fabulous retail items are now spilling over onto the second floor landing, random nooks and crannies in my living room, and (embarrassingly) under a giant blue tarp on our front porch.  (Stop judging me.  The tackiness is for an orphan people!) 

Stuff like this makes me equal parts energized and itchy.  Energized because I love the pricing and collating and haggling.  Itchy because it is like living in the midst of an episode of Samford and Sons.  (Which I suppose is fitting since my name is Elizabeth.)

As soon as I'm done hosting book club on Sunday, I will go into full on "my living room is now a sorting and pricing and storing station" for the yard sale.  Our church had a GIANT yard sale to provide preschool scholarships for refugee children and because the peeps on the preschool board love us and Charlie already, they graciously let us glean from the yard sale leftovers.   Large items have already been placed on Craigslist.  We are selling our extra "shed-fridge" tomorrow.  Apparently, we will have to do with less beer and ice cream to bring Charlie home. 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

• Do you have junk in your trunk?  Or closet?  Or under your bed?  Are your kids' toys multiplying?  We will gladly accept donations to sell as small as an ice cube tray and as large as a king sized bed.  It is important to have lots of $1-$5 items as well as furniture, strollers, etc.  If you need to meet me somewhere for a hand off, we can arrange that.   

• Have some card or folding tables?  If you are willing to loan us tables upon which we can arrange things for sell, please label them and we can arrange a time for me to come and snag them up.

 

• Do you want to really shape up your bum and work those quads?  Help me lug stuff down from the third floor into my living room.  Remember, I have Prosecco and many hands make light work. 

• Do you love waking up early and driving to my house to hang out?  Yeah.  Didn't think so.  But I promise that there is a Dunkin' Donuts less than 5 minutes from my house and if you stop there on your way, there will totally be donuts here on the big day for you to eat while you come and help out at the sale.  We will need peeps to watch for shoplifting, haggle, etc.  And if you've never worked a yard sale, I encourage you to come.  I can guarantee you'll run into at least one person looking for guns, one man looking for LARGE women's shoes, and a woman who claims she is only "browsing" at 6:30 am.  For reals.  It is like all the folks who hang out at clubs with Stefon.

 

• HELP ME MARKET!  Post about it on facebook.  Tweet about it.  Just please don't use our street number.  Simply list the cross streets.  Trust me, I'll have signage everywhere.

Our goal is to raise $2000.  We made $1700 with Gracie's adoption yard sale.  So it is completely doable.  

Stitches and Timelines and Fee Schedules, Oh My!

Yesterday was a pretty big day.  

Gracie got her first set of stitches.  She took a header into a coffee table.  If you know Gracie, this isn't shocking as she doesn't walk anywhere.  She runs and jumps at all times.  All times.

Post stitches we asked her what she wanted for dinner.  She said “Chocolate and Dip”.  So we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger and let her have a milkshake for dinner and didn’t even comment when she didn’t eat the fries but sucked down an entire ramekin full of ketchup.  According to the Government, ketchup is a vegetable, so my awesome Mommy status remains intact.

Additionally, it was our first of five total interviews for our home study.  Once again I was reminded at how much I adore our agency and our case worker.  Truthfully, because I was friends with our case worker prior to our adoption, I’ve been worried that it has hindered our adoption process.  (Read: I feel like I can’t call and yell at her because she’s not at my beck and call nor send angry emails.)  But now I’m seeing this desire to act lovingly towards C as a good thing.  That said, once our homestudy is complete, we will be transferred to a China Special Needs Waiting Child Dossier specialist and C tells me I can haggle that person to my heart’s content.  

We were given a more definitive time line (well, sort of…international adoption is rather unpredictable) and a more detailed fee schedule.  (BONUS!!)

This is basically what it boils down to…our last home study home visit is February 16^th, therefore our homestudy will be completed no later than March 16^th.  (AKA when a little over $7,000 is due.) 

From there we will complete our dossier that goes to China.  This will be completed and logged in no later than May 16^th.  (But possibly could be sometime in April!!)  

Then after this we wait to receive a referral.  There’s really  no way to predict this as the China program siphons all of their children through a single portal that is only updated and open to agencies one day a month.  There are also a handful of children that are Bethany specific because they live in Bethany run orphanages and hospitals.  These children are available for referral anytime.  

Because we are open to many things (don’t worry—I’ve already got a half written post about that.  Spoiler alert!  It includes a scene in which Sloan screams about seeing a dude’s junk.), it stands to reason that our first referral will come quickly.  When we receive a referral, we will get both a photo and our referral’s medical records.  China is relatively safe in terms of medical records.  Some countries pad their kids’ files as orphanages get paid by the kid and the malady.  Not so with China.  China genuinely wants to have their children adopted, but because our medical systems are so different, there is a margin for error.  But anyway, we’ll get our “take with a grain of salt and tequila back” medical records and will meet with our medical team to decide if we desire to move ahead with the referral.  WE HAVE 48 HOURS TO DECIDE.  

Our special needs openness form is being reviewed presently by the national China team and after we have a conference call with them to discuss the reality of what they are seeing in China and the needs that are common amongst little boys, we will have a clearer picture of our wait time.  Also, at this time, they will be aware of our file and begin to throw our hat in the ring for possible referrals.

Anywhoozie, after our dossier is logged in by China, and our referral locked in, we will travel to China to get Charlie in 6-12 weeks. 

Wait, what?

If you are paying attention…that means it is possibly that at the earliest we could be in China in August?

Wait, what?

Ahem.

Honestly, I am praying that we are approved for travel sooner rather than later, because I’m really fearful that we will actually be scheduled to travel over Christmas.  And I reject that possibility.  I’m cool with turning 35 in China around Thanksgiving.  Heck, it’d be most convienient if we went in August so I didn’t have to worry about getting the kids to school.  

Also, let it be noted that when it is all said and done…this adoption will cost…

DRUM ROLL PLEASE….

Between $26,704-$37,424.  The range is because there are variables based on dollar values in China, travel prices, costs of our medical copays and the like, and how much we spend on food and gifts in China (so let’s assume we will be in the high end.)  We will also, as we get closer to travelling, let y’all know our airline and folks who have frequent flyer points on that airline can donate them to our cause, which will hopefully take a big chunk out of that number.  I’m hoping to keep it around 30.  (Which is on par with how much we’ve spent previously to receive our children.  Infertility ain’t cheap, but it does force one to evaluate one’s priorities.)

GASP.  I’m trying to remember that God brought us here and will continue to be faithful in providing for us.  There are several grants and loans we can apply for once our homestudy is complete.  We will be having a yard sale in June and that will bring in probably $2000 or so.  

So while you are praying for God to tell someone to approve our grant applications and possibly just give us large sums of money, please could you also add to that my speaking gig this afternoon?  I will be talking to waiting adoptive families about transracial adoption and grieving an adoption that falls through.  Even though I’m really too busy to do it, I will always agree to these gigs.  Because nothing helps a frazzled heart than retelling once again about the goodness of God to our family.  Of his faithfulness to send Grace to heal our broken hearts and empty arms.  

Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

The One Where I Ask for Your Money (Or not)

Sooooo…in case you haven’t been around in awhile, we are adopting from China.  And in case you’re headless, that is not an inexpensive endeavor.  That said, Sloan and I, along with Bono, believe that the God we serve is not short on cash.  And so while we’re not 100% sure where all the adoption funds are going to come from, we do have some inklings and we are making adjustments.

Some of you may have heard me proclaiming from the rooftops a couple of months ago that we were going to finally put my Suburban to rest and get a minivan. We saved and saved and saved and saved and were ready to put down a wad of cash on a Sienna when my husband heard the call to adopt again and I began dreaming of a little Asian boy in glasses running through my house.  So, despite my longing for a car whose doors open at the press of a remote and 17 cup holders and rows that fold quickly and doesn't constantly have a flashing Check Engine light, we’ve squashed that dream.  Or, at least, we are delaying it.  Because despite the Burbans troubles and dents, she is paid for.  

I gotta tell you, giving up a minivan seems like a much bigger thing to give up than Christmas cards.  I'll try not to exagerrate when I tell you that it was not a decision that came without tears.

So, perhaps in an effort to keep the Sienna dream alive, I came up with the idea to do fundraisers for the adoption: a yard sale, joining the BlogHer Ad network, figuring out some craft I can sell on Etsy, a friend hosting a 31 party for me and donating some of her commission to us, applying for grants, and even just letting folks donate money to a fund for us.  It was this last item that was a bit of a sticky wicket for us.

Here’s the thing: on some level, I do feel that adoption has a missional component.  It is a re-enacting of the Gospel.  We are leaving our comfort zone to go and bear with an orphan and bring back a son.  So in that respect, it feels right to invite others on this journey by soliciting prayer and funds.  However, the gospel also shows us that Jesus’ cost wasn’t only his heavenly throne but his very life.  (Therefore a delayed getting of a minivan seems pretty trite by comparison.)  And it is our cost to bear.  If you want to bear the cost of bringing an orphan home yourself, you should probably adopt as well.  (But if, say, you’re like 70 years old and you have those burlap sacks of cash with the money symbols on the sides just sitting around, we’ll take a couple.)  (I’m totally kidding.) (No, I’m not.)

However, if we invite others to donate money, we invite others to judge how we spend our money.  (Not that some people really need an invitation.)  An acquaintance of mine suggested that if we really wanted to adopt again, we should get rid of cable and internet, cell phones, pull Henry from preschool, never eat out again, never do date nights or birthday parties or presents again.   

Ummm…no.   

I need date nights and the occasional Steak Queso burrito from Qdoba.  And my husband, who works from home when he's not traveling, needs the internet.  And I could do without cable but we just signed a 2 year contract and there are fees if we break it.  And now I feel like I have to rationalize all of the ways I spend money to you.

If I let people donate to us are they going to be ticked when they see me post pics on Facebook of the kids Christmas presents? Or my pins on Pinterest about planning Henry’s Angry Birds themed birthday party?  Really, that judgment is the other person’s sin to carry and not ours, but we still feel its condemnation.  

At the same time, trust me when I say we are being very intentional with how we spend our money as of late.  And you should be intentional with your finances as well.  Maybe you should donate to our adoption fund.  Maybe it would be a way for God to work in your life.  But maybe, if you see my Facebook movie theater check-in when we go to see the Muppets over Sloan’s Christmas vacation and all you can think is, “Gosh, movies are expensive, if I’d known they were going to be so decadent, I wouldn’t have sent them $25” we really would rather you not help us out.  Donate straight to an organization like Bethany Christian Services or World Vision.  It’ll be tax deductible anyways, whereas the Phillips family, as awesome as we are, are not a 501©3 non-profit.  

All that being said, I’ll straight up take a donation of a new Toyota Sienna.  Smoky Topaz.  Leather Interior with the entertainment package.  I am, after all, going to be hauling around three kids soon.  Or a new Honda Odyssey.  I’m not picky.

My Big Fat Yard Sale

For starters, it must be said that I could never be a hair dresser.  I could never have a job where I have to stand all day.  By mid-afternoon yesterday, my calves and ankles were killing me.  You know you are tired when you sit on the potty for the first time all day around 3pm and  you think, Gosh this is a comfy place to sit.  I could fall asleep right.....ZZZZ.

I also want to declare for all of you to know that I have the world's best husband.  I know lots of women who put on yard sales all by themselves.  But my dear man not only trod up and down the attic stairs umpteen times carting boxes, end tables, lamps and an iron bed, woke up with me at o'dark early to help me haul stuff into the driveway, helped me haggle with people, fed the kiddos, went for a Dunkin Donuts run, picked up change at the bank, but he also actually ran into four lanes of traffic to retrieve the yard sale signs at the end of the day.  Best.  Husband.  Ever.  Bestest best friend ever.

We woke up around 4:30 to pull stuff out to the driveway.  We had a LOT of stuff.  Not only did we have 2 years worth of Phillips cast offs, but we also had junk from my mom's house, and an entire truck load of stuff from my sister's house.  We had pool umbrellas, bed frames, chairs, end tables, lamps, picture frames, loads of wine glasses (why did I register for 12 red wine everyday glasses and 12 white wine glasses?  When did I expect to be hosting such fancy parties?  We drink wine out of Solo cups around here most days...), toys, bedding, carpets, a dog crate (poor Lolly), and just a bunch of junk.  What a great country we live in where I can just set my junk out on my lawn and then get money for it.  Booyah!

The yard sale was supposed to be from 8-12.  I'd planned on taking pics of all our stuff after we set it up, but the first customer showed up around 6:30.  A lot of our stuff was still in bins awaiting to be set out.  I asked the woman if there was anything in particular that she was looking for.  "Nope, I'm just driving around."  When she left, Sloan looked at me and said, "Who just drives around at 6:30 in the morning?  Who are these people that are coming to my house?"  "Yard salers," I said. 

And that was just the first of the crazies.  More than once I was asked if we had any guns.  Um, no, I'm not an arms dealer.  And then there was the older gentleman in the Elton John glasses whom I affectionately called "the tooth fairy"--because he paid me in $2 bills and silver 50 cent pieces.  Really.  Who carries around that stuff?  Or perhaps the older gentleman who is a retired police officer that now investigates insurance fraud.  Apparently, he knew my grandfather who was sheriff of Henry County, VA.  And did you know the most recent Henry County sheriff was arrested for drug trafficking?  Um, that wasn't my grandpa crazy old man.  He's been dead since 1977.  And then there was the older guy with shaggy hair and the newsies cap who wanted to buy a laundry basket full of picture frames for $9.  Or the man who wanted to buy six hard back cookbooks for $1. 

Or perhaps it is just that yard sales make you crazy.  I accidentally dropped the box of Dunkin Donut munkchins on the ground and simply wiped the pollen off the donuts and continued to eat them.  Sloan asked, "Um, you know that's gross, right?  Those are covered in pollen."  "Yeah," I said, "that's why I just went and took a Benedryl."

And then there was the creepy family.  For starters, they walked up to our house.  No car in sight.  There was a couple who appeared to be in their 40s, three teens to 20ish kids, and then a preteen girl.  They were kind and nice, but still, kind of gave me the heeby jeebies.  Each person, including the young girl, had those giant calf tatoos.  And they all had scraggly hair down to their heinys.  And the young adults had loads of sores around their mouths and bright red noses...so I'm guessing they have some pretty unhealthy habits.  And none of them seemed to have bathed in awhile.  They bought a few things and then just walked off down the street.  Are these people my neighbors?  They make me very sad.

Apparently lots of people live just "right down the street".  These are the people who wanted to write me checks.  "Well, since you live right down the street, I'm sure you know where all the closest ATMs are so you can go get cash.  I'll hold the item for the next 15 minutes for you." 

And I tried to get kids to whine to their parents to buy things by telling them, "Hey, if you buy something, you can go pick out a stuffed animal!"  So I was able to offload a bunch of my sister's cast off stuffed animals--which are notorious for being poor sellers at yard sales.  The oddest thing I sold was a pair of my sister's in-law's Cross Country skiis.  Apparently, someone who lives near me is moving to Alaska in a couple of weeks.  I also sold a stack of old Bon Appetit magazines.  Three years worth of mags for $3.  The lady who bought them was shocked I'd want to part with them.  "Um, my mom gave me the subscription for a Christmas for awhile after I got married.  It took my husband and me three years to convince her my lukewarm feelings for cooking weren't detrimental to our marriage. So there you go..."

We had Gracie in her exersaucer out with us for a bit, but most of the time the kiddos were inside with their babysitter, my 10 yr old niece, Rebekah.  She spent the night on Friday and had a slumber party with Henry.  She was a huge help.  But she and Henry did come out and ride bikes in the driveway for a bit during the sale.  I think Henry heard a bunch of people asking if they could get things because at one point he approached me, giant rock in hand, and said, "Mommy, can I have this?"  "Yes, Henry.  You may have that rock.  But you may not throw it or bring it inside."  "Thank you, Mommy.  This is a great rock I got at Henwe's Yad Sale." 

We made a killing.  We're planning on using most of fundage to pay off G's adoption loan.  What we didn't sell has either been taken to Goodwill, taken to the church for the preschool's yard sale, or put onto Craigslist.  So while we did make a lot of money, I worked my tail off.  Between the trips up and down stairs, the pricing, the lack of sleep, the embarrasment of tacking up signs during the morning work traffic, to dealing with the yahoos who don't bathe and wanted to buy my sister's used baby toilets, I'm not so sure we'll be doing it again anytime soon.

Show Me the Money

We had a leak in the kitchen a couple of months ago so decided to upgrade the vinyl tile to ceramic tile with the insurance money.  Which made us realize that we'd love a new kitchen island that had electricity.  Which made us realize that if all that other stuff was new, the cheesy eighties faux wood laminate would scream ugly at us everyday.  Which made us notice how yucky the builder grade cabinets were...

So now we're redecorating the kitchen.  Thankfully, Henry is in preschool with the kid of a builder who is loaning us all of his subcontractor info.  He says he doesn't want to work for us as even in a down economy, money is easier to make than good friends.  (What wise friends we have...)  I say redecorating rather than remodeling because the contractor who came today said it is only remodeling if you change the floor plan.  We aren't.  And thankfully, we already bought a new fridge and dishwasher when we moved in and the old oven still works well.  (Like I use it all that often anyhow...)

And so now, we are having a GIANT yard sale.  The yard sale was to finance the adoption lawyer, but we've  found one who will work for a third of what we'd budgeted.  (Shout out to a sorority sister in the Richmond area who adopted last year and has a lawyer husband!!!  Zeta is forever...Ha.)  Now the yard sale is to finance the kitchen.  Which is, admittedly, a huge undertaking.  But...if you've been to our house you'll know that the kitchen is both literally and figuratively the heart of our home.  As in each room in the downstairs is connected to it somehow and you can see the kitchen through the foyer as soon as you open the front door.  And the kitchen island is where we color, eat lunch and breakfast, dump mail, play playdough, and carve pumpkins.


In addition to the yard sale, I've also begun listing pretty much anything that doesn't move on craigslist.  In three hours, I've gotten 2 bites for an Ikea Wardrobe (that is in great shape just is too big for where we have it and we really don't need it in this house) and Henry's old Bugaboo Stroller.  Should these 2 hits pan out...We'll be $300 closer to our dream kitchen. Which should buy us a drawer. Or maybe a lazy susan corner cabinet.  Or 6 square feet of granite countertop...

Pray for me during all of this.  Looking at countertops and tile and all that, while fun, is scary.  Such commitment.  I feel like this is the most adult situation I've ever been placed in.  The most costly decisions I've ever had to make.  Sure, falling in love with Sloan when he lived 2000 miles away, was unemployed, and was living with his grandmother was a risk.  But really, God made that decision for me and I simply followed His lead.  (It also helped that I assumed Sloan's job status and living situation was a sign that he was independently wealthy...HA HA HA!)  And certainly, both IVF and adoption were costly to our both our hearts and bank accounts, but once again, we were in love with our children long before we met them and so the decision was easy.  And it is not to say that I don't believe God cares about our kitchen, it is just that I'm pretty certain he gave me a fully functioning brain for a reason and intends for me to use it.  And I'm never going to be in love with tile.  Which, I suppose, is a pretty good thing.

So if you are in the Midlothian area on April 10th from 8-12, stop on buy La Casa de Phillips.  We've got end tables, a queen size bed, toys, floor heaters, and a bunch of other crap you know you can't live without.  Bring cash.  Lots of it.