Saturday, June 28, 2008

Another FUN Party!

A big THANKS goes to Jennifer for hosting this week's fundraiser party. She invited her homeschooling moms to come for an idea swap. Since I homeschool, too, this was a lot of fun. We talked homeschooling; we talked adoption; we talked spiritual walks; we talked and talked and talked. Although Jennifer had invited quite a number of friends, only a few were able to come. But, we still raised $50! Thanks ladies!

An even bigger outcome of the party was their enthusiasm for our adoption. They were so eager to hear our story and ask lots of questions. (If any of Jennifer's friends find my blog and have more questions, bring them on.)

YARD SALE UPDATE: Someone recently reminded me that Friday mornings are quite often busier than Saturday mornings for yard sales. Apparently, the "professional" yard-salers come out on Friday morning to catch the most stuff. So, we are going to have our yard sales on Fridays as well as Saturdays. Mark you calendar for July 11-12 and July 18-19. Again, if you have donations let us know. We will be glad to pick up any items.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Pizza Fundraiser

Yes, we have another fundraiser going. We have pizza cards for Papa John's. Here's how it works. You buy a large pizza at regular price and get a second pizza of equal or lesser value for FREE. One pizza card gives you 20 uses--or 20 FREE PIZZAS-- for only $10. (Okay, "free for $10" doesn't make perfect sense, but that's 50 cents per pizza.) The card does not specify that it is for the M'boro area, so if you live outside our area, I can always mail you one...or two...or ten.

The other night I was sitting at the computer staring at my fundraising spreadsheet. "If we do this and this and this and make that and that and that, we'll be up to this amount. Still short." Colton came in and said, "When are Keely and Maggie going to come?"
"Just as soon as we can raise enough money to go and get them," I said.
"I know!" he said, "We could sell ice cream!" Then he ran out of here calling his daddy and told him how he had figured out how we could raise more money. He was so excited. As I later told Tim, don't think I haven't seriously considered his suggestion. The way I see it, because he is a child, he just might be better able to hear God's voice than I am. I tend to making spiritual listening a complicated process. So, I keep thinking he might be on to something. But I don't think an Ice Cream Stand in our front yard would work very well.

Yard Sale Update...We are still planning the yard sale for July 12, but we are also going to go ahead and plan a second one for the 19th as well. If you have any items you'd like to donate for either date, let us know. We'll be glad to come and pick them up. So far our inventory includes a ton of baby stuff, maternity clothes, Christmas stuff, a couch and love seat, a unicycle, and much more. We also plan to have the pizza cards for sale and maybe even some snacks.

Party Fundraiser...I'll be attending my 2nd party fundraiser this weekend. Jennifer is hosting an idea swap for her homeschooling friends. I'm hoping to get some new ideas myself. Please be praying for me as I will need to share our story so far. Most of these ladies don't have any personal experience with adoption, so maybe someone will leave this party thinking about it herself. That's exciting!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Yard Sale Coming...and other reminders

I finally have my yard sale on the calendar-- JULY 12. I'm also penciling in the 19th as a make-up rain date (just in case) and also as a possible sequel sale (we'll put it all out again). If you have some nice things to donate, please let us know and we can pick them up. Let us know as soon as you can because we would like to have time to organize items. We are also going to have snacks and bottled water available for sale, so if you would like to donate anything like this, that would be great.

Tim is still looking for laminate flooring installation jobs. He has had three people talk to him about it, but then other things come up to prevent the job from going through. I guess times are tough everywhere, but nevertheless we still have a mission to accomplish, and we must continue trying to raise the money. By the way, he just bought a new pneumatic nailer that he is just itching to play with. He likes installing trim, if you know of anyone who might hire him for that as well.

Like Tim, I'm still looking for more business, too. I still need about 5 more bookkeeping clients. My babysitting job could run out around the end of the year, so I need to go ahead and get that income replaced. This could totally affect whether we qualify to adopt both girls or not.

Bracelets are still for sale. Don't forget about them. If you aren't in our immediate area, I will be more than glad to mail you one.

I mentioned previously that we have chosen Bulgaria and All God's Children International. Click here to view their page on Bulgaria. Lots of adorable pictures, too.

On a more personal note, Tim and I just celebrated 13 years of marriage yesterday. It's funny how it seems like forever and yesterday at the same time. I am so blessed that God put Tim in my life (twice actually). He is my very best friend, and we have shared a lot of fun and adventurous times. Yes, there have been valleys as well, but at least we were able to go through them together.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day and GNO

Happy Father's Day to my dear sweet husband! Tim is definitely one-of-a-kind. Not only is he a wonderful compliment to me (literally my other half), but he is a most excellent father. Colton has always had his dad as his favorite toy, and Eli caught on to this fact very quickly. I love to watch all three of my boys play together. They wrestle, jump on the trampoline, go for walks or bike rides, work in the yard or on special projects, and play video games together. At the same time, his primary goal is to be a father to them...not a buddy. We noticed from a very young age, our boys would get extra cuddly and loving after being disciplined, and their dad always has lots of lovin' to give them after they have received their consequences. Now, they have respect for him and just enjoy being with him and doing what he is doing. He is certainly setting an example for them in how to be a godly man.

Last night was my first GNO (Girl's Night Out) fundraiser. Gwen and Yolanda hosted, and we had a really fun time. I didn't know many ladies there (and those I "knew" I met once before), but it is so inspiring to listen to their adoption stories. Almost everyone there has already adopted at least once. They raised $145 for our adoption. [Don't forget the contest ends July 7. Any takers?]

You may have noticed my fundraiser goal pie chart has shrunk. I went ahead and changed the goal from $3000 to $6000. This may be a little short of covering the homestudy, the first agency installment, and lots of associated fees, but I think it is a reasonable goal right now for starting the process. It was hard to change the goal since we just met the old $3000 goal as I changed it. Oh well, we'll get there.

Do you remember a recent post in which I listed several obstacles to our fundraising? Well, it continues. Two people have asked Tim to lay laminate flooring and later had to back out (for their own good reasons). Tim was supposed to go to a another friend's house a couple of weeks ago to help her clean out her garage--paid for his time, and anything she got rid of would come here to await our yard sale. The night before he was supposed to go there, she called. She had taken a fall on her front steps and ended up in the emergency room with a broken nose and a very swollen face. Needless to say, she didn't feel like keeping the scheduled cleaning day. But the funniest one has got to be Corky's. I had an idea for getting this barbecue place to cater a fundraiser dinner for me. Just the other day we drove by the restaurant and noticed the message on the sign. After 12 YEARS, they have closed down the business. 12 YEARS! And they pick now to shut down just as I decide to use them. It's just too much not to laugh out loud.

Prayer Requests
  • Keely and Maggie
  • Our fundraising efforts
  • More bookkeeping clients for me
  • Laminate installation jobs for Tim
  • and as always...constant guidance