Wow! That's it, just "wow"..

Well, we survived our first ever yard sale!

It was a very, very, very loooong weekend.

No one ever told us exactly how much work a yard sale is... and a fund-raiser one with donations from lots and lots of people (even up until the night before) is even crazier. Its the labeling and the sorting and the displaying and the pricing... sooo time-consuming and confusing. I mean, how do you decide what something is worth? It always looks better and more valuable than you can charge.. So you don't want to overprice but you also don't want to give it away. You have to leave room for haggling but you don't want to scare people away. Its like a balancing act of simultaneously pleasing and tricking a bunch of cheap-ass yard salers!! ;)

Whew! What a job! We survived it though!

We are so incredibly grateful for all of the donations; the many, many shoppers; and for Stu's dad and my incredible friend, Kim, for helping us on the Big Day! I tried to take pictures of all the hoopla but my camera pooped out just as I attempted to take my first pic of the day! Boo. 

We had made and posted two large posterboard signs announcing our "Adoption Fund-Raiser Yard Sale" and "Thank you for helping us bring our baby home".  People asked about our story and several shoppers gave more than the asking price to help us out even more! It was really sweet to have complete strangers care about our future family. It touched our hearts so deeply.

And it impacted our Adoption Fund because the Yard Sale Grand Total...

Drumroll, please....... 

$1,375.00!!

Is that incredible or what?!?

Wow.

In this process, we occasionally feel like we're on a treadmill.. constantly moving but never actually getting anywhere.

But this experience sent our feet and our hearts and our hopes and our faith into gear!

I mean, its happening, isn't it? It really and truly is...

Yard Sale Mania!!!!

So we're nearing our BIG DAY of Yard Sale/Adoption Fund Raiser.

Its this Saturday... Finally!

Let me tell you, it cannot get here fast enough.

I guess its like anything.. you plan and plan and prepare for days, weeks, months... and by the time it gets here, you're just ready to get it behind you already! 

Hopefully we will have a nice turn-out of customers! Because we have soooo much stuff!

I had NO idea how generous people would be... especially my insanely, amazing coworkers. Its been an incredible experience to see and feel how much people care about our story and our family. Kinda makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :)

In case you or anyone you know might possibly live in the Nashville area, let me know and I'll send you the address! We have TONS of everything! CDs galore, home decor, clothes out the wazoo, toys, furniture, renovation stuff, Christmas decorations.. its crazy the amount and the variety of styles and tastes since so many different people donated. 

Thank God all the junk is at our old place. I don't think I could handle living in the middle of those piles and piles and piles.. Hopefully we can organize it all and make it look somewhat attractive..

Stu's dad is coming to help, too.. We're hoping that he has some sort of previous yard-sale-experience, since we clearly don't know what the crap we're doing!

Our Very First Yard Sale... awwwwwww.

(Note: Stuart has made me vow that this will be our first and LAST Yard Sale.. for the rest of our lives..) 

Learning random Korean.. Lesson 7

Adoption friendly online baby boutique!!!!!

For all of you future-adoptive parents out there, I know that you are online and in baby stores shopping like crazy-people right now...
#1- because its insanely fun and
#2- because it kind of makes this whole process seem more "real".
There actually IS a baby on the way!

And if you're like me, then you're also reading tons of books and magazines about adoption and you're worried about future attachment issues with your new baby.
Most adoption books and articles urge new parents to do a plethora of things in order to achieve bonding and attachment with your new baby.
Thankfully there is an incredible online store that wraps most of those things into one sweet package!
Niiiice, huh?

So check it out!
You'll loooooove it! Beautiful, quality things, lots of organic stuff too, but their main focus is attachment and bonding, which is super-important for us adoptive parents!!!

Oh, and its a really sweet, small company started by an amazingly fabulous coworker of mine... she's trying to spend more time with her new baby by helping us bond with ours. Kinda cool.

I've copied and pasted their philosophy and clicking on the "Nourish" button below will take you directly to their online store....

And since it is an Adoption-Friendly business, if you would post a blog/link to it, that would be awesome!!!... for my friend's business AND for your reader's babies.
Spread the love!! :)

Philosophy:

Nourish came to fruition from a mother's love of parenting, a desire to share healthy natural alternatives with other parents and a calling to give back. We support the Attachment Parenting lifestyle and offer products that encourage mothers to bond with their babies and to give them the most natural choices available, ensuring healthy development physically, mentally and emotionally. We have a wide selection of baby carriers, cloth diapers, organic skin care and lots of other fabulous all natural baby products.

When you shop at Nourish you are also helping to nourish hungry children in Africa. A portion of all sales go to Project Peanut Butter which is an organization that saves the lives of malnourished children in Malawi and Sierra Leone. Nourish isn't just a baby store...it's a way of life.

~I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-15

total tourists....

Waiting for our friends at the airport.....

Could we BE bigger tourists??

Stuart looooved his new hat..
the look was a bit dapper with just a smidge of Castro.
It was awesome.

Apparently he thought we were going to Miami and not Dallas!! ;)

Ah, I love my husband.
:)

30th birthday

Just thought posting a few pics would be fun! (Below)


We had such an amazing time this weekend!!!! It could not have been better.. really!
Although the 4th was pretty freaking hot.. disgusting actually. Ugh, over 100 degree weather should not be allowed!!!
We survived it though! Fans were used to cool many places.. some photos were not appropriate to post.....
Ahem (mainly the ones of me).
I forgot how blazing HOT Texas gets in July!!! Sheesh!



Our incredible friends, Brian and Ivonne, took such good care of us! We stayed with them for 4 days and 3 nights. It zoooooomed by so quickly but every single day was full of fun, great laughs, lots of conversation, late-night chats... it was perfect.
FYI: We fixed ALL of the world's problems in those 4 days ;)

My birthday morning, yesterday, was so awesome. Brian and Ivonne came into our room with hot, fresh, Mexican cocoa, singing "Happy Birthday". We were all still in our pj's and just hung out on the bed talking and being silly for nearly two hours. They took such care in making everything so special for me all weekend. It was unbelievable.
Stuart and I are so blessed to have such friends in our lives... Without a doubt, we will be always be in each other's lives. The word "friend" isn't nearly enough..
In another posting, I'll post pics of the cool gifts they brought me back from Scotland.... a beautiful wool scarf with our family's colors and the prettiest compact I've ever seen!


At Sunday night's dinner, we saw our awesome friends, Geoff and Stacie (who also came to the picnic and fireworks.. they are amazing friends that we were thrilled to see twice! Catching up in such a short time is so hard but somehow, with them, we always seem to pick up right where we left off.. Great friends! The best.. Can't wait for their visit to Nashville... soon???)
We saw Aaron, Debbie, and their 2 wonderful kids, Sam and Jacob (saw them twice, actually. Lunch the next day at Byblo's Lebanese restaurant. Had tons of fun with them, as always! So sweet and thoughtful.. and Crazy! ;)
Also saw Veronica and her fiance, Jeff (was awesome to see her and to finally meet the lucky guy! Wish a lifetime of happiness to them!)
Saw Glynda and Charlie (my previous client/fabulous friend and her sweet hubby.. Time goes by too fast and yet she looks the same as 3 yrs ago!)
And Gary and Jim (miss them so much! The dinner was quick, hugs even quicker... not nearly enough time but we will keep in touch.. Texting is a GREAT invention!)

At dinner, I was surprised me with a princess tiara, balloons, and a wacky-light-up necklace. Oh yes... I was the main attraction at Uncle Julio's that night! ;) And that doesn't even take into account my Godzilla heels that I was encouraged to buy earlier that afternoon... (Ivonne) Apparently heels are for grown-ups and I needed to begin my collection since I've officially entered that group! They are pretty cool shoes.
Although I do need a little practice walking in them to avoid sounding like a herd of cattle... :) Even in Texas, that's kinda frowned upon..


So far so good with 30! It was an absolutely perfect weekend! Thanks to my amazing husband and our friends!
It is a blessing in life to have one or even two great friends but to have so many people that care about us and that wanted to see us.... multiple times!
Wow.
We are so thankful..... Life is good, isn't it?

The Big 3-0

I'm finishing up my 20's this weekend in a blaze of fireworks and Mexican food! Woohoo!! Could there be a better way to ring in a new decade?? No way! :)

We're headed to TX to do some much needed R & R and catching up with friends we haven't seen for over 2 years... Skyping and Facebook are only good for so long! Much delayed hugs are in order from some super-amazing, insanely fabulous people ;) you know who you are..

Although, turning 30 hasn't traumatized me as much as I had expected. I gotta say, 29 was little rough for me.. I guess I could sense the impending doom! Bam! Only one more year, Summer... your 20's are behind you, Granny... Boohoo! (Okay.. maybe it wasn't quite that bad but it still hurt a little)

I quickly got over it.. It really helps to be married to someone 8 years older than you! I'll always be younger and that feels sooo good! ;) Its evil, I know. But I've vowed to be more honest in this fresh, new decade of my life..

sooooo, God help us all! haha

I have heard that the 30's should be my best decade yet!

And I'm actually a little excited. What a cool thing! Those insecure, self-doubting, 'am I pretty enough'.. 'skinny enough'.. 'perfect enough' years behind me.... those stoopid 20's ;)

Yessss! I cannot wait!!! Bring it on!! Pleeeez!

To be comfortable in your own skin...

Now that's a perfect Birthday gift. I hope I can give that to myself on Tuesday....... Well that and a new handbag :)

There's a super-cute one at Anthropologie that would make me very, very comfortable!

Ahem, Stuart.. That's your cue :)

Clearly I got a little carried away with Flickr... too excited about our trip to sleep!

Learning random Korean.. Lesson 6

Thought this was appropriate for us.....

Finally.... ta da!!

Guest/eventually baby's room on far left...
Our bedroom, haven't found a headboard yet..
Living room and dining rooms are finished, except need to get a matching lamp for other side of couch. Kitchen is still ridiculous... no storage means messy counters until we figure out what to do.. Lastly our office which is still BOXES!! It will eventually be the office/guest room...