Yard Sales and EASTER

Yard Sale Season is officially underway for 2010. We had our first yard sale this past Friday and Saturday. Sometimes when people donate large items, we put those on Craigslist instead of in the sale. So, our total for the sale and the Craigslist stuff that has sold came to $480. Yea!

It was funny how God worked it. We can usually average about $500 for a weekend. Friday we were so excited to raise almost $350. Then Saturday morning we realized why we had a big day on Friday...we were rained out all morning. The rain did finally pass, and we hurried out to set up about 11:30. Not the time of day to start a sale! But it was like a bad spoof on "Field of Dreams" -- "If you raise the garage doors, they will come." We didn't have the first table out before cars were stopping. The abbreviated day didn't yield a lot, but it was about $90 we didn't have before. (If you're doing the math, the rest was from Craigslist.)

We completed our home study a few weeks ago, but are just now poised to get the official, notarized copy in our hands. As soon as we do, we will be ready to send in our I-800A to USCIS. This is our request to immigration for permission to bring the girls into the US. Once we get another fingerprinting appointment from them, we will wait for their approval letter. When that is received, we will be ready to send in our dossier. I can't wait to get those stacks of papers off of the girls bed. They've been sitting there since our home study was finished in mid-February.

On a frustrating note, I received an envelope from the FBI saying that they had rejected my fingerprints. We sent that in 8 weeks ago tomorrow and have been waiting for our FBI clearance letter. Now I have to be re-fingerprinted and send it in again. Does that mean my 10-week wait starts all over? These letters are only good for 6 months. Does that mean that Tim's will expire 2 months before mine. It would have been a lot easier to keep all those expiration dates together. I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and was going to get my med form signed. (It's also only good for 6 months.) That was supposed to coincide with the FBI clearance letter. Now I think my dates are all messed up. Not to mention that the delay really stinks.

Okay, moving on to a family update. Eli turned 5 in February with a big party at Bounce-U. He is starting to seem so big! He is eating MUCH better, but he is still only about 36 pounds. He was sick just after his birthday with a stomach bug, and his appetite took off as he got better. He's gone from the 18-month-old who might eat 1/2 a grape for lunch to the 5-yr-old who had 4 fried eggs and a pop-tart for lunch last week. He is crazy about fruit, raw spinach, and mashed potatoes. Eli is also doing a great job with his reading lessons. He is starting to find words in the "real world" that he knows. Love that stage!

Colton took Eli's stomach bug about a week later. It took his appetite away for a while. He will be turning 8 next week and wants a quiet birthday supper at home with family. He's doing great with his school work. His favorite subject is history, although he really likes science and Spanish also. Colton and Eli have both started taking martial arts. I think they are really enjoying it.

Finally, onto Easter! I wish we celebrated Easter every Sunday. Today's service was awesome. I even dusted off my trumpet to play for the offertory. Nerve-wracking! I haven't really played in at least 20 years. (Oh my! Did I just admit that in writing!) Maybe I'm committed now to keeping it up since folks know I can play. I do want to polish it up a bit -- the playing, not the actual trumpet. On the way home, Eli said, "When are Keely and Mattie going to be here?" ...which brings me full circle back to the adoption. It warms my heart, though, to know that the boys are thinking about them.

Happy Easter, Everyone! Christ the Lord is Risen Today!!!