Friday, May 7, 2010

jenn...diet coke and the sign

once again...another amazing day.

jenn drove from maryland with her 2 sweet kids to help out this morning.
she brought me a diet coke!!!

and helped hang BOTH of the signs we painted.






and most of the pictures from today were taken by her.
which is why they are so amazing.
and so is she!
thanks for spending your day with us!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

i cried a lot today

i am just overwhelmed with the amount of support and encouragement that is coming at us from every angle.

i made it until 5:20 am...when i checked my email and someone said to be expecting some boxes full of stuff for our yard sale in the mail today {more on that later!}

the crying might have had a little to do with the fact that my house looks like this:

this is my dining room...boys clothes on one side, girls on another...

the living room/foyer...but, for those of you that know me and know how much of a clean freak i am, would know how much it means for me to say that all this "mess" is really not freaking me out that much.

we made some signs with facts of Rwanda on them.
i had some sweet helpers :-)

and, while bailey was at ballet, i took my boys on a date.
for lunch at chick fil a.
{i had a gift card from my birthday...}
there were a number of reasons for this date:
1. i think this was my first *real* meal all week. and i needed some real food.
2. i couldn't really get anything done at home during the few minutes between dropping bailey off and picking her up and this was a much better way to spend those minutes. looking at my boy's faces.
3. i was pricing stuff up until we left for ballet and didn't make joshua's lunch (that he has to eat during ballet because he gets on the bus the minute we get home) so it was convenient!

time with these 2 is so so sweet.


i cried.

and...we arrived home to a front step full of amazing treasures!

first...these boxes from judy.
THANK YOU, judy!
i cried.

almost every time we drive up to our house, there is stuff waiting for our yard sale.
it's amazing.
for real.

AND...don't forget that we also arrived home to news that someone had found bailey's castle!

there have been amazing emails and phone calls...with offers of help that are just so generous.

and i just received the first donation for our bake sale!
um...you WANT to have some of them!
wow!!!
thanks, leighann!!


wouldn't you have cried all day, too??

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

God is SO good

today was so amazing.
i feel like i'm over-using that word this week...but it's just true.

AMAZING.

this whole thing is AMAZING.

first of all, my previous post??
i think why that whole story is so amazing to me is something robyn said:
right now they feel so far away, but this story makes them feel closer.

that's it.
they feel closer this week.
normally they feel SO FAR AWAY.
and it's really helping get through this whole thing!

so...today...BEAUTIFUL weather.

i got outside at 9 am and started pulling things out.
friends started arriving at 9:30 am.
they were ALL amazing (there i go again!)

friends from church.
friends from our kids' school.
friends that i run with.
my mom!
and Holly even came! :-)

the biggest surprise of the day (besides Holly showing up!) was that people started SHOPPING today!

this lady made our first purchase.
so, of course, i asked to take her picture!
she bought a rabbit skin that her dog "will love to play with!"
not the first thing i thought we'd sell...and just proof that you never know what might sell!

these women were so so helpful.
organized...priced...they worked for hours.
i just want to soak in each precious moment of the day...

and all the kids did great!


later in the afternoon i had ANOTHER surprise!
one of the moms of a child i taught in 2nd grade drove an hour to my house to bring stuff to our yard sale!
i haven't seen her in 10 years!
{my mom still works at the school that i taught at...that's how she knew about it!}

we ended up selling about $300 worth of treasures today.
that was $300 more than i thought we'd make today! unreal!
AMAZING! :-)

my exercise for the day was 9 hours of pricing/organizing.
the only time i stopped was to pack sandwiches for dinner and go to joshua's baseball game this evening.

and we're headed to bed soon...2 more days of this!
keep praying for the weather on saturday...it's working!
the forecast is improving!!!

THANK you to each of you for each part you are playing in this beautiful story.
and EACH OF YOU is playing a part!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

this is turning out to be quite the week!

starting saturday, every couple hours the doorbell would ring and some sweet friend would be there...with their minivan backed into our driveway...ready to unload treasures into our garage for our yard sale!

it was just amazing!

monday was the last "normal" day...and my prayer that morning was that God would help me connect with my kids...because i knew the rest of the week would be crazy.

not only did i connect with each of my kids...but each "connection" was over laughter! even Joshua! God is so good.

{i also exercised and showered and cleaned the bathrooms and swept the kitchen and made dinner and had a meeting that night and had the sweetest conversation with bailey about heaven during her "school" time and didn't lose it ONCE that day!}

that night, pat's football team and another friend came over and organized ALL the stuff into areas: electronics/books/clothes...

it was SO helpful!

not only is our garage full...but 2 rooms in our house are full :-)

i knew this yard sale was going to be good...but it is turning out to be AMAZING!
we have EVERYTHING...guitars, GREAT kids and adult books, toys, clothes for EVERY age...

and i wouldn't make it through this week without my amazing headbands made by jenn.
you need one.
EVERY headband gives me a headache...and i've tried a LOT...but these don't! and they are 2-sided...so it's 2 headbands in one!

and...as all this is going on, there was also another story unfolding...
try and follow me here {i had to tell pat the story 2 times for him to "get" it}

late last week, a friend emailed me a post on another blog and said, "you might find this interesting."
i clicked on it.
it was the blog of the sister of a girl living in rwanda.
at the time {remember how crazy our weekend was going to be last weekend? plus with the yard sale this week?} i didn't have the brain or heart capacity to take it in...so i just glanced at it.
but i did notice that the name of the girl was not super common.
and i had known a girl by that name in high school...

forward to monday {2 days ago}

another friend...that lives across the country and has NO relation to any of the above mentioned people...forwards me the SAME post. and says, "could the orphanage she mentions be the orphanage where your boys are??"

so...i go back and read and cry and sit amazed that i am reading about the place where our boys live. and take in how LOVED they are...even at this moment!

are you still with me?

so then, each of these friends email the sister of the girl...about me...saying that they know someone that is adopting from that orphanage.

so...the sister of the girl realizes that she knows me.
we went to high school together!
and her sister is now living in rwanda and is visiting the orphanage where our little boys live (and many other precious children!) and holding them and loving them just like the wonderful women that run the orphanage do...but it's just great for there to be 2 more arms to hold them!

now. i have to say that pat didn't think this whole story was that amazing.
once i was done explaining it to him, he kinda looked at me like, "is that it?"
i don't know.
maybe it's just amazing to me.
i hope i didn't mislead you with my excitement...
but i just LOVE getting a glimpse into where our boys are.
hearing how they are loved and laughed with.

and it is helping me, this week especially, to not lose my perspective on why we are doing all this.

here is the first post i was sent (twice!)
and here is her most recent post.

they are amazing posts...

Monday, May 3, 2010

this is the week!

it's the week of our big yard sale!!!

we have been preparing.
we painted the banners last week...

ALL weekend long our doorbell rang with amazing people standing there ready to unload their cars with treasures for our yard sale.

people that have come alongside us and are loving us in so many tangible ways.

it would (and will be) easy to get caught up in the "stress" that this week will hold.
i'm trying to keep things in perspective...and remember what this is all about.

it's about 2 little boys that don't have a family.
it's about a family that loves God so much that we are willing to open our arms and hearts to 2 little boys we don't know.
it's about love.
His love...played out in REAL ways.
we are just the instrument...the song He is playing is beautiful.

{i do NOT mean to romanticize this...there is horror in every adoption...painful, awful stuff...BUT God has called us to this and He is working this out and THAT is beautiful.}

this adoption process has been amazing so far.
i have seen God is ways i never have before.
i know Him in a way i never have before.
and we have only just begun!

yet...i have been humbled like never before.
i do NOT like to ask for help.
and i've had to...over and over.
every time the doorbell rang this weekend, there were 2 emotions warring within my heart;
my love for the person that was willing to give to us,
and my pride wanting to scream "we're fine! we don't need help!"

God is working on me...
and it's very tiring :-)

so...here we go!
a BIG week!

THANK YOU to everyone that is helping/praying/supporting.
we could NOT do this without you!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

here we go!!!

it's the week of our big yard sale!!!

we have been preparing.
we painted the banners last week...

ALL weekend long our doorbell rang with amazing people standing there ready to unload their cars with treasures for our yard sale.

people that have come alongside us and are loving us in so many tangible ways.

it would (and will be) easy to get caught up in the "stress" that this week will hold.
i'm trying to keep things in perspective...and remember what this is all about.

it's about 2 little boys that don't have a family.
it's about a family that loves God so much that we are willing to open our arms and hearts to 2 little boys we don't know.
it's about love.
His love...played out in REAL ways.
we are just the instrument...the song He is playing is beautiful.

{i do NOT mean to romanticize this...there is horror in every adoption...painful, awful stuff...BUT God has called us to this and He is working this out and THAT is beautiful.}

this adoption process has been amazing so far.
i have seen God is ways i never have before.
i know Him in a way i never have before.
and we have only just begun!

yet...i have been humbled like never before.
i do NOT like to ask for help.
and i've had to...over and over.
every time the doorbell rang this weekend, there were 2 emotions warring within my heart;
my love for the person that was willing to give to us,
and my pride wanting to scream "we're fine! we don't need help!"

God is working on me...
and it's very tiring :-)

so...here we go!
a BIG week!

THANK YOU to everyone that is helping/praying/supporting.
we could NOT do this without you!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

saturday

ran 12 miles (yay!)

pat and joshua headed to his baseball game.

i headed to rebekah's soccer game with the other 3.



my parents came out this morning to see rebekah and joshua play!
{and they brought ayden...my nephew...who they are watching this weekend!}

there was even some "Go Fish" on the sidelines...


rebekah is LOVING soccer!!



then we headed to joshua's game...made it for the last inning!

{i know, i know, i said i wouldn't document each one...but the GRANDPARENTS came out!}

pat coaching joshua...

"good game, good game...."

my dad wasn't mad...i think he was telling joshua what a good game he had...

AND...my parents had this behind their car as they drove all over Ashburn this morning!
stuff that people have given them for our yard sale!
they brought a load this morning...because they have 2 more loads worth at home!!!
this is getting VERY exciting!!! you should see our basement and garage and living room!!!
stuff EVERYWHERE!

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