Garage Sale #1....

So we had our first garage sale over the weekend.  Here are the PROS and CONS.

CONS~  Lots of work, hours upon hours of sweaty work, heavy lifting, HOT sun beating down on us, last minute pricing of items, etc...

PROS~Lots of time outside in the fresh air.  Great time hanging out with friends & neighbors, sitting in lawn chairs waiting for customers, drinking lemonade and Diet Pepsi.  Met some nice people and had the chance to educate them on international adoption.  Met some really nice people and got a chance to talk about how GOD planned all of this and we couldn't have picked a different path if we had wanted to.  Had our hearts warmed by friends who had adopted and came to our sale just to support us by over-paying for everything.  :)  Spent some time with my 4 goddaughters helping them pick out just the right African bird for each of them and then got to hug my oldest friend when she over-payed for those too.  Watched as hundreds of items that had been donated to our sale were taken home by people who didn't even know it was a fundraiser, they just wanted a good deal.  All those good deals really added up in our cash box.

By the end of the 2 day sale we had made $1100!  And that amount keeps rising because of things I listed and sold online the day of the sale.  We are beyond excited by this.  We had our doubts when stuff was piling up in our livingroom and we wondered how we would ever sell it all and who would come to our sale.  Our neighborhood is notorious for not having a great garage sale turnout, but the shoppers came, much to our surprise.  And one of the best parts now is we no longer look like hoarders.  :)   Time to schedule that homestudy! 

Adoption is not for wimps.  Our first adoption was hard, exhausting, long, heartbreaking, and the most amazing experience EVER!  This time around is proving to be the same.  It has been hard, exhausting and frustrating,  And on the days when it seems like we've gotten nothing accomplished, it seems so hopeless and overwhelming.  (insert sad violin music here)
Add to that the joys of fundraising and it just seems like an endless tunnel with no light at the end.  I want our homestudy to be done and paid for, but it is taking forever.  There are so many papers to get, signatures to notarize and boxes to check off.  Weekends are definitely the worst.  Nothing gets done. 
Oh, to have a magic wand that does dossiers and homestudy packets. 

The birds are flying outta here and that makes me SO happy!   Keep the orders coming.

Woo Hoo!!!   We sold two birds yesterday.  I was so excited.  Every little bit helps out with our fees and I am so grateful that people want to help us out.  Especially people who have never even met us.  And I can't tell you HOW badly I needed the pick me up.  So thank you Aunt Nancy and Kristen for giving me a little boost of encouragement that I needed.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103066744/little-african-birds

And just like that I have an Etsy shop.  I named it OurLittleCloset.   So far I only have the African birds listed for sale.  I hope to list more items in the future. 

Fundraiser #2...  African Birds

To raise money for our adoption, my mother in law Becky has generously donated a whole nest full of homemade African birds.  She is an amazing seamstress and has 40+ years of experience behind a sewing machine.  Becky spent countless hours cutting, sewing, stitching and adding little details to dozens of birds.  She purchased most of the fabric while on a mission trip to Africa and the fabric is absolutely beautiful.  Some of the birds were donated to the Lights of Hope 2012 auction and brought in quite a bit of money.  The rest she said we could use to raise funds to bring our own little bird home.

We will be selling the birds for $20 each.  If you live out of our area, we politely ask you to include $4 for shipping.  You can purchase the birds by using the Paypal donate button on our blog.  Please  email me or leave a comment letting me know how many you would like and where you would like them to be sent.  If you live in our area and would like to stop by and choose your own bird, that is fine too.  We will continue selling them until they are all gone.  Hopefully the pictures do these sweet African birds justice, it was not easy getting them all to look at the camera at the same time.  :)

                                         

Due to the uniqueness and variety of fabrics, please do not specify which one you would like.  They are all equally adorable and each one was sewn with love.  Thank you so much for supporting our adoption and following us on this journey to our little bird.

Fundraiser #1 has officially begun. Please click on Fundraiser to see what we have going on.  Thanks so much.  Things are starting to get exciting around here. 

Fundraiser #2 should be up and running later today.  Just have to figure out all those last minute details.  Let me show you where we're at.
Who:  Anyone and everyone who wants to support us.
What: That's still a secret.
When: Today or yesterday, whichever comes first.
Where: Pretty much anywhere that delivers mail.
Why: That's easy.  We want to bring our little bird home. ♥
How:  This is the million dollar question.  How do we do this? We better get to figuring it out.