Yard Sale Debrief

About three months ago we sent out letters to our friends asking for their junk so we could sell it at a spring yard sale.  Easy money, right? All going into our adoption fund. I was open to the idea of taking people's junk early and storing it so we could really obtain the maximum amount of stuff. Honestly, I didn't realize the time, energy and patience that was needed to pull off a fundraising yard sale.  We became hoarders and I am sure the neighbors were delighted to see our stuff piling up. Our basement was filled, the kids were banned from it. The screened back porch had stuff piled high and you could hardly walk through the garage. The husband was cranky about it, the kids couldn't find their bikes and the house seemed really really small. I am a borderline minimalist in that if an item doesn't have a function, it isn't in our house. But contrastly, we took in every abandoned item in a 10 mile radius to sell.
The yard sale EVENT took place on May 20th and we were all geared up the night before. We were ready, waking at 4:30am in efforts to get everything out. We had a bake sale that the kids manned, posters explaining our fundraising efforts and smiles on our faces ready to greet our first customer.

The sale was a huge success. I can attest to the fact that people got a DEAL. We didn't charge much on items and that largely attributed to lack of confidence in the selling arena. (by me). We made just over $1,000!
We had loads of stuff left over so we held another sale the week after and sold another $500.
So here we are after the fact, still purging the excess goods hoping for a good home and thankful for all the generous people who donated items.

Troy and I were given the opportunity to talk with a LOT of people the past two Saturday's about adoption, and how we were guided down that path. Obviously, there were people who didn't care a hoot about the fundraising aspect, but there were also a handful of people who really were curious or felt the urge to donate a little bit more. The people who looked me in the eye and gave just a dollar more really hit me. That glimmer of generosity in people is what kept me smiling, kept me going through the day, and gave me the confidence to be an advocate of orphans in my community.
I am so humbled to see how this future child of mine is more of a blessing to me than I can ever be to him.

Rush No More

This is the last year I got to have my side-kick, Clare, home with me for most of the day, every day, to bake and read and dance and pretend and laugh. 

Everyone, and I mean everyone, says children grow up too fast.

“In a blink, they’ll be grown!” says my mom, my mother-in-law and the woman with the silver hair who smiles as my energetic, not-so-tiny bundles bound down the grocery aisle. I’ve even said it myself.

Those words have burned into my soul. They are like nails on a chalkboard to me. I hate those words.

And I’ve realized that it’s because as time passes, as they grow, I’ve missed it with all my blinking.

With all my living my life so full that it feels empty.
No more.
I hold the power to make each moment count.
I can slow time down.

I can stop worrying about every last detail and start paying attention to every important detail.
…crab apple tree dressed with white blooms and my favorite peony plant just starting to open
…empty lines of crisp paper
…just popped popcorn hot and salted just right
…light breaking through fingerprinted windows at the perfect moment
…flip flops smacking with each step
…heads thrown back in fits of giggles
…the smell of warm, vanilla cake magically rising in my oven

Loudly acknowledging in thought, in prayers that this moment is sweet.

Not rushing through my appreciation.
But letting it burn into my soul.

Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:

He bustles about, but only in vain;

he heaps up wealth not knowing who will get it.
Psalm 39:6

You might be a mom...

If you’ve ever caught vomit with your hands.

If you’ve ever considered a trip to Target alone a mini-vacation.

If you’ve ever told a group of adults you need to go potty.

If you’ve ever hidden in the bathroom to talk on the phone.

If you’ve ever had a funeral for a cricket or pulled a soggy lizard from the washing machine.

If you’ve ever used your own spit to clean a face or adjust a wild cowlick.

If you’ve ever thanked God for Magic Erasers.

If you’ve ever hidden chocolate in the house.

If you’ve ever lied to children.

If you’ve ever shaken a pile of crumbs from your purse.

If you wouldn’t trade your unpaid job for all the money in the world.

If you’re not a mom, you certainly had one.

Happy Mother's Day!

Garden Plans

I can actually hear that giant expanse of prepared soil outside begging me to plant, plant, plant. I hear it. It has a kinda whiny voice. That could be my own voice in my brain I imagine.

My mom and I made our annual excursion to Lancaster last week with hopes of buying plants for our garden at a deal.

We took Clare with us, making it a authentic "girls-day". We took off early, but not early enough after dropping off Clark and making sure that the van was oiled up. We made it, but dilly-dailled much too long second guessing our wagons wondering if we got enough.

Clare was excellent, understanding of our wonderings, and happy to make runs to the wagon, arms full of plants. With the weather warm, the excitement was tangible, everyone eager to get home and sink a shovel in the dirt.

I surprised a fellow gardener as I held the Habanero 6-pack in my hands, he warned, "Hottest pepper in the world, dear." I said, "I know, sir, just wondering if I'd like Habanero, red or green for my garden this year...but if I come home without any, my husband will be unhappy!" He looked at me with surprise as I explained to him that we jar our own salsa and it has to be spicy.

Each year is an experiment for me. Anticipating what will grow well, what will the groundhog eat, what will get a plight, etc. I am banking on another good tomato crop. We've never had success with the cucumbers, thanks to the groundhog that lives under the shed. I've already caught a glimpse of him and he is huge and definitely spoiled. This year I am devoting some space to a "cutting garden" so I can decorate our kitchen table with fresh flowers.

I am still working on Troy for chickens. I told the kids that if we do a really good job with the garden this year, maybe we could get chickens next year. I know that chickens are not much like vegetables, but they will both be in the backyard. I just want their eggs. And to give them swanky old fashioned names. The chickens, not the eggs. :)

Wish me luck!

Cartwheels and Juice

If you are a member of our family, there is at least one constant. We go on walks. a lot. Sometimes they fight it but mostly, they have learned that that's just what we do. I've witnessed so many beautiful snapshots of our family during a family walk. One recent one was the brothers having a deep conversation. They really get along, those two, and I thank God every day for giving them each other. I pray that they will always be close. Clare is the one who is usually picked on but sometimes she wins the affection of Cole. The two of them like tag and scooter races. 

"All I want is to do cartwheels and drink juice"

This is what Clare says after our most recent walk. She wasn't joking, she was just stating what makes her happy. This little girl of mine seems to be growing up everyday. She loves running around barefoot, doing flips on the trampoline and doing cartwheels. (I think that girl is on her hands more than her feet.) She is my most active child, physically and mentally. I can talk to her and she understands. She gives it to me straight and she has amazing people skills. But I swear to you, she has a duel personality. :)

She is my child who bends the rules. Makes me uncomfortable. She doesn't like to listen. She often gets me in situations where I have no control.  She is often times only happy if things are done her way and when she senses she has an audience, she goes wild. Ut-ohhh.

This little girl of mine, who is happy on cartwheels and juice, please stick with me. Let us grow together over the mixing bowl chatting about white flour vs. wheat flour and how long you need to knead pizza dough. May we always chat about why God made pesky groundhogs and why squirrels like bird food. Let's make forts under the covers and pretend that day is night while we sip juice out of fancy tea cups. 

Ramblings of a Certified Whiner

So my boys want unlimited video game time and time to sit in front of the TV for hours. They would fall over with happiness if I gave them Doritos and ice cream at every commercial break. Can you imagine every Apple product under the Christmas tree and how many squeals of delight I would hear? The question is, would I be a good parent?

My friend Shannon and I have always been on a quest to stop listening to what the "world" tells us is normal and focus on what we want for our family. Shannon and I have been friends for over 11 years. We met through a friend when our oldest boys were 6 months old. I then went MIA for a few months as I went to work in the real world. We met unexpected at the library one afternoon, both pregnant with our second child.  Then and there, in front of the "BookWorm" statue, we became inseparable. We shared the bond of being pregnant together and what a gift that was! What a source of comfort that was to share that time of nervousness, sickness, tiredness, and excitement. Shannon is the type of person who could make friends with anyone, but I find myself lucky enough for striking a bond with her. She has taught me more things than I could list and has been a loyal friend since day one. Fast forward 6 or 7 months. I had placenta previa with this pregnancy and required a few more doctor's visits plus a scheduled C-section. At the last doctor's appointment, the nurse knocked on the door and explained to me that there was a friend of mine, (Shannon) on the phone who was really wanting to tell me she was to be induced the same day that I would have my C-section. We had the same doc and Shannon had probably pestered the sweet guy enough and yes, our children were to enter the world on the same day (one week later) and in the same hospital. It was the most outrageous thing anyone has ever done for me - to disturb a doctor in an examination room? See, Shannon is like that. She has a personality that LOVES people. She enters their world, like it or not, comes along side people and shows who she is, no editing, she is real, raw and mostly tolerable.:)

Shannon has been my "go-to" person all these years to tell me if I am crazy. Funny how things have changed, though. We used to struggle with teaching our kids to share and eat their veges, how to say no, and complained about the mess of playdoh. But you see, my dear friend Shannon has moved on. She had one more child and then called her family complete. She got a job at a swanky home designer shop and has a life outside the home. There our days I mourn hearing from her, but she is sensitive to the fact that I am still doing the same thing I was doing 12 years ago and calls me regularly and pretends to act interested when I tell her my woes of diapers and snack time.

So anyway, We were just talking the other day about how about how horrid the parents are that allow their children to have iPhones at a young age. We were talking about "entitlement" and all this fancy lingo that equips a parent of a preteen with strategies to put a stop to everything ugly. You know here is a book for everything and Shannon had the one for me. I was going to borrow it and put an end to all this insanity!

Yesterday as I was making dinner and watching the big kids jump on the trampoline out back, it dawned on me that homework better be completed before everyone needed to go to their activity. I am gonna be completely honest here and tell you that I caught myself thinking that it sure would be nice if I could just text my kid from the backyard than to open the back door and scream like a crazy person, "Do you have your homework done?" Then, I won't be able to hear his reply, so he and I will consequently disturb a lot of peace. I caught myself at that moment and said to myself, "hmph, what a phony you are, wanting to live "free" from and not give into today's demanding culture except when it  is convenient for you." I felt very convicted of my own "wants". As I am disgusted by my kids dreams of iPhones, big screen TVs and video games, I catch myself yearning for a double oven, a farm house sink or a van with automatic doors. I am no different! I am very clear with my husband and kids with what I want. Whether it be a new tree for the front yard or the kid's room cleaned up, I think I know best for everyone. But, sadly, I am realizing, I don't.

So as I am facing some issues with my oldest, I realize I need to soften. I need to be more compassionate. Yes, the whining drives me crazy, but I do it too when I complain that I feel so ghetto dropping my kid off at Kindergarten with heavy rusty van doors and squeaky brakes. One thing that stuck with me from the C4C retreat was that we should all be calling out the treasure in our children as God sees them. I thought this to be very profound but I didn't know how to implement it. I need to see my children as God sees them. Not as greedy little slaves, but princes of a kingdom.

So next week, if you see me at Kindergarten drop-off, give me a wink and know that someday I will reminisce on the squeaky brakes and remember how vulnerable my kids were.

What a revelation...I can't wait to tell Shannon.

Joy in Paint

Years and years ago, I would find joy in painting occasionally. I find fresh canvas to be intoxicating. I was literally itching to get started on this little project after a trip to the craft store. I had the opportunity to meet this gal at the C4C retreat. And I tell you, I think she is amazing. I used her tutorial for creating these canvases. Of course, Jenn makes it look super easy while I waivered the entire time throwing them in the trash and pretending the whole day never happened. I am like that with projects. Very impatient to see the end result, I walk a fine line of every project being a disaster. I think I got them to a point of satisfaction and I tell you they look perfect over my bed. However, we are fundraising, so I am open to the idea of selling them. I am taking them with me to a craft fair this weekend.