We've been collecting donations for over a month so our house has pretty much been a chaotic mess for too long. Our usually neat and clean dining room looked like this until Friday . . .
From the advice of several friends, we decided to have a 2 day sale. Chad wasn't excited about the idea, but boy is he glad he listened! We had SO many people come on Friday, mostly people on their way to work. We even had a lady driving a garbage truck get out and shop until she got in trouble for stopping. We seriously didn't stop from 5 am until noon, but it was so worth it!
As we began the adoption process, we determined to not just think about our story, but to do all we could to raise awareness to others about the plight of orphans. I made signs to display at our sale with statistics about orphans, which ended up raising awareness and also made great conversation starters. We were able share many times that we were adopting because we ourselves had been adopted through Jesus Christ!
Our friend, Chase Rogers, called a few weeks ago and said that he would love to get all the stuff to help Ava have her first lemonade stand at the sale. (Ladies . . . he's a great one!) Ava was so incredibly cute and definitely in her element. A lady came to the sale and Ava walked straight up to her and said, "Do you have any money?" We all cracked up and I told Ava to instead ask if they want any lemonade. Ava tried again and the lady asked her how much it cost. Ava said, "Six hundred dollars!" We all fell out laughing and thankfully the lady was a good sport! She said we'd make good money if Ava was in charge of the sale!
Honestly, I went in to the yard sale with really low expectations. We had a lot of great stuff, but I was really afraid that people wouldn't come. We just prayed that God would send people and that He would be glorified. He did and we pray that He was!
Our grand total was $1700! You read that right and we can't believe it either! We are absolutely blown away at how God has provided! So many friends helped make it all happen (Mandi, Jenny, Chase, Jeremy, Dave, Justin, Ryan, Leigh Ann, Liz, Tim) and we are incredibly thankful for all their hard work! Thanks as well to all our friends who came to shop, gave generously, helped spread the word and prayed for this fundraising event.
On Friday, our friend Anna Palmer came by with her little boy Eli Tariku that was adopted from Ethiopia. This was my first chance to meet Eli since he got home almost 4 months ago. I can't tell you how precious it was to look at that sweet little boy as I was working to bring my own son home. There were tons of people around so I choked back tears and put on a smile, but my heart was so full of love and anticipation of my son being in my arms one day. I can't wait for that day to come!
I'll leave you with a funny picture from today. Chase pointed out that Chad the perfect combo for a man . . . a comfy chair, a TV in front of him, a grill for good cooking and a toilet only a step away!
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