Yard Sale!!

Yall. 
I don't even know where to start. Seriously. People have been giving us items since October for our yard sale...that was supposed to happen in October... and then it rained. 
And then it was supposed to happen in November....and then it rained. 
And again in December, and it was strangely cold in Savannah. And again in January and February on the dates we chose. 
So we picked a date in March....and it rained. Seriously. At this point we're wondering what we're going to do with all this stuff that's laying around hidden in every available space possible. So picked a date in April and the location fell through. Then we were questioning if we were supposed to even be having a yard sale to raise funds. I mean really, how hard can a yard sale be. So we contacted one last place and threw out a date and they said Yes! So we planned. We were bound and determined to have the yard sale May 3....rain or shine. If we had to hang tarps or find an indoor location, we would. lol 
But man oh man did God give us a GREAT day! It was beautiful! He even gave us a little rain storm to cool things off before the clouds left the sky and not a single one was to be found! After everything was sold, repacked and put away...we have enough stuff to have another yard sale (which will be happening next week on the east side of town) and another in Bluffton in June. We have a friend from church that is just starting all of their adoption paperwork and she came and was able to look through all of the "left overs" and took a car load home with her for their adoption fundraiser yard sale! 
A friend that helped us pack the stuff away joked that it seemed as though it was like the fishes and loaves...because every time we put a box in the truck...three more came out of nowhere. He supplies our needs. God is GOOD!!

several hours into it...and i said let's take a pic..and the response: "don't put it
on facebook!"...so i didn't..i'm putting it on the internet. lol sorry guys! 

this was about 2 hours after we started..and SO MUCH was already gone. 

again, about 2 hours after we started!

So...for the final total.....$1750!!!!
A HUGE thank you! Thank you to EVERYONE that prayed, donated, lifted boxes, packed boxes, priced stuff, came and helped unload the truck and sell stuff! THANK YOU!!!!
I'm sure this little face (below) will be grateful for your help! Thank you for helping us get a little bit closer!!

a few hours given

A HUGE thank you to the awesome twelve people that came out and helped us with the Savannah Hot Cocoa Half & 10K. These volunteers met us at the church (the registration pick up / starting line / parking area) at 715 am on a VERY chilly Saturday morning. Ok. It was cold. lol  We were assigned the job of "course marshalls" and we stood along the course and cheered on and directed the runners. It was so much fun! We all partnered up and we had someone to be with and hang out with while we cheered. Thank you Donna, Michael, Christina, Brian, Laura, Jenny, Chris, Janette, Stephen, Traci, Taylor & Olivia! We couldn't have raised this money with out you! Thank you for giving a few hours on a cold Saturday morning to help us bring our child home!

A HUGE thank you to Endurance Race Services for giving us the opportunity to be chosen as one of their specific charities for this race. We enjoyed our time and our thankful for your generosity and compassion! (please check them out and follow them here so you can keep up with all the awesome events they have coming up this year!)

And of course, THANK YOU TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL RUNNERS!!! Y'all were amazing to watch and have inspired me to try to start couch to 5k again....third time is the charm right??

our awesome friends!

Bai Jia Bei

100 Good Wishes

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part will go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Some examples:

Great right?!?! So this is our next fundraiser!! We're going to be making a quilt for our son/daughter! We are asking for you to send us THREE items: an 8x8" (or larger) piece of quality cotton fabric, a "wish" (can be scripture, prayer, poem, words of love, etc.) and a donation.

The fabric you choose can be something you find in a fabric store that you simply like, something that you feel represents your family, or something you feel represents our family/child.

If you would like to participate, but are out of the country, or unable to send a piece of fabric, just let me know as I have a few pieces i pulled recently for that very reason and I can add them to the quilt! (donation can be made through our PayPal link on our blog, and the "wish" can be added in the note via PayPal or emailed to me).

So what do you think? I am so excited about this one! It fits our family so well!

I love the way these two quilts look. These are the quilts I will probably be using for inspiration for our 100 Good Wishes Quilt.

Thank you and as always, please continue to be in prayer for us and our child!

boston butts fundraiser

Thank you to EVERYONE that purchased a boston butt ticket from us for our fundraiser!! We sold enough to make $1190 towards our adoption!! yay! Praise God! Please be looking out for the next fundraisers :) we have some really awesome ones coming up !

Mini-session fundraiser

Thank you to the seven families that came out and helped raise money for our adoption through our Mini-session Fundraiser! I had a blast photographing these beautiful families and I met a few new faces too! These seven families helped us raise $770 towards our adoption! Here are a few photos to enjoy from our awesome sessions!