Well, it sure did take me long enough! My life feels like a whirl-wind. I finished up the garage sale, jumped right back into work, continued sorting out garage sale stuff, was pet-sitting for a friend, then had a volunteer commitment last weekend, and NOW.... I'm finally relaxing. Almost forced to actually. Apparently, at some point while working on the garage sale I re-injured my back. I have been seeing a chiropractor since last Friday and we are still trying to sort things out. I am very sore and after about 30 minutes of any kind of activity, it really starts flaring up.
Anyway, back to business! The garage sale went great! The week before was filled with errands, set up and pricing. Then Thursday morning rolled around (after two hours of sleep!) and we were open for business. We had a great big banner hanging up explaining what the sale was for, we handed out about 300 of our business cards to people, and sold lots of stuff/food too! All in all, people were very receptive to what we were there for. At the checkout we'd hand people our card with their change and explain more about what we were trying to do, and 9 times out a 10 the person would wish us luck or tell us an adoption story that they knew of. It was very cool to see people in our own community wanting to help out and wishing us the best on our journey.
What absolutely amazed me most were the little kids. We had some of the cutest neighborhood kids coming over and getting lunch and shopping our toys area. Each time they'd make a donation on top of what they paid for their new treasure. We even had a couple of young boys, probably around 10, that stopped by to shop the "free box" at the end of the driveway. They found some items and then both walked up to one of the donation jars we had out and shoved a couple of crumpled up ones in there and took one of our cards. Amazing!
I also can't say enough about the help we had. It was definitely a LONG few days and I couldn't have imagined doing it without the support of the family and friends that jumped right in. We had TONS of stuff... and TONS is not an exaggeration. We even had stuff still sitting inside not priced because there was no room to put it out. We eventually were able to price stuff throughout the day and get it out on the tables... but seriously, it was a LOT of stuff. By the time Saturday rolled around we started looking like what a "normal" garage sale would look like.
When it was all said in done, Saturday night we were able to sort through everything that was left, figure out what we wanted to hold onto for our next sale (yes we're doing it all again!), and brought a few truck loads of stuff to a local charity. We already have a small pile of things for the next sale started in our basement. So, if you didn't get a chance to go through your closets or attic, start sorting. I'm hoping that by the end of August, beginning of September we'll be able to do it all again and hopefully raise some more money and awareness to our mission.
Oh and I guess you'd like to know the money stuff too! Well it was a great turn out and when it was all done we had raised a little over $1,700!!!!! While it's a fraction of what we will need, it's definitely not bad for a week of work.
Other than garage sale stuff, there is not much else to report. We are working on trying to get a facebook page up and getting our profile ready for THE BOOK. We're still on the waiting list to get in it, but hope to get a call in the coming months. Better yet, we hope to get a call and a match long before we have to enter into the book!
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. If you are interested, let me know and I'll get you some of our cards. We are very open to many different situations so please keep us in mind if you hear of anything. And of course, thank you all again for reading the blog, for supporting our efforts and for helping us get one step closer to parenthood!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Family and Food!
If you have known me for awhile, and live near by, then you have probably had some of my mom's chocolates that she makes every year around Christmas. And if you haven't had them... you are missing out!!!
Well, she decided that one way she could help raise some money was to sell her chocolates! She made a bunch up and was going to bring them down for our garage sale. Her co-workers caught wind of this and asked if she'd bring some into work for them to buy. She did... and the result was fabulous! She sold nearly all the chocolates and raised $275 towards our adoption fund!!!! And we have some left over to sell at the garage sale as well.
My dad, who still lives out in Maui, also wanted to help out. He has sent me a mini-Maui farmers market. We will have Maui Pineapples, papaya's, Maui onions and some Hawaiian Host chocolates to sell at the sale too! I've already gotten a couple of the pineapples sold and I think there will be a war over who gets the rest.
Also, my Aunt is visiting for the whole week and is helping out with the sale. I'm so thrilled to see her and hang out with her AND it's another helping hand to get things done for the big event this week. We did tons of running around today. We will start hauling stuff over the the sale location tomorrow and then Wednesday is set up and pricing... it's gonna be a long one!
Now all we need is good weather and lots of people... start praying people!
Well, she decided that one way she could help raise some money was to sell her chocolates! She made a bunch up and was going to bring them down for our garage sale. Her co-workers caught wind of this and asked if she'd bring some into work for them to buy. She did... and the result was fabulous! She sold nearly all the chocolates and raised $275 towards our adoption fund!!!! And we have some left over to sell at the garage sale as well.
My dad, who still lives out in Maui, also wanted to help out. He has sent me a mini-Maui farmers market. We will have Maui Pineapples, papaya's, Maui onions and some Hawaiian Host chocolates to sell at the sale too! I've already gotten a couple of the pineapples sold and I think there will be a war over who gets the rest.
Also, my Aunt is visiting for the whole week and is helping out with the sale. I'm so thrilled to see her and hang out with her AND it's another helping hand to get things done for the big event this week. We did tons of running around today. We will start hauling stuff over the the sale location tomorrow and then Wednesday is set up and pricing... it's gonna be a long one!
Now all we need is good weather and lots of people... start praying people!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Contact Information
We set up a couple of new ways for potential birth parents to contact us. We now have an adoption email address (KariBrianAdopt@gmail.com) and a Toll Free number (1-888-770-0083)! We also created our business cards to hand out at the garage sale, and also for our friends and family to have on hand. If you are interested in having a few cards, let me know... the more people handing them out or at least having them on hand in case you hear of a potential situation the better!
Garage sale stuff is coming along, as much as it can I suppose. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. I just can't wait for two weeks from now.... maybe then I'll get some decent sleep! Oh well, good practice for when our baby comes home right!?!
Oh! And I haven't set up a ticker to keep track of the money we have raised so far but I should update you on the Creative Memories Fundraiser. Thank you again to all of you who ordered... you helped raise over $80 for our adoption fund!!! I'm continuallly amazed by the people around me that are so incredibly generous!
I can't say it enough, THANK YOU!
Garage sale stuff is coming along, as much as it can I suppose. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. I just can't wait for two weeks from now.... maybe then I'll get some decent sleep! Oh well, good practice for when our baby comes home right!?!
Oh! And I haven't set up a ticker to keep track of the money we have raised so far but I should update you on the Creative Memories Fundraiser. Thank you again to all of you who ordered... you helped raise over $80 for our adoption fund!!! I'm continuallly amazed by the people around me that are so incredibly generous!
I can't say it enough, THANK YOU!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Not Much to Update
Seems it has been awhile since I have posted anything. But there really isn't much to update at this point. Brian and I are still working on gathering some pictures for our profile. If any of you have any of us together, or with a group of friends, that you can share, it would be greatly appreciated!
Our garage sale pile in the basement is getting HUGE! I can't believe the amount of stuff we have gotten, and it's not even all at our house yet! We have people hanging on to stuff until the sale as well, so the week before is going to be crazy. It's also the end of May so I will find our soon how much support we have gotten through my two great friends that raised funds through their home parties in our honor for the month of May. It's still amazing to me that any of this is happening. I have a very hard time just accepting the help and not feeling guilty or like I owe somebody something back. I'm slowly getting there, but it's very HARD for me to do.
We are on the waiting list for THE BOOK with our agency. We were the 10th couple on it, so they say it could still be a few months before we are asked to join the book. This is the book that every potential birth mom will look through to find the perfect family for her child. I really would love to avoid going in the book all together. It's one of the most expensive parts of this whole process, and if we could save the money for diapers... that would be ideal. However, I know that this journey is going to take whatever course it's suppose to, so if/when we get the call saying they are ready for our profile, then we will jump for joy at the chance to find our match that way.
I guess the last thing to update is that we are going to start working on the future nursery a bit. Nothing too major, but we just want to be more prepared for what might come. As of lately we had NOTHING for a baby... not a single thing. Just this weekend we were given a barely used infant car seat... so the process had begun. We are going to start keeping our eye out for deals on any furniture, maybe do some painting in there and start hunting for the bedding we want. I am torn about the whole process really. I don't want to have a room sitting there empty for too long, but I am such a planner that I hate to not be prepared as well. We could literally get a call tomorrow saying our baby is waiting for us at the hospital... if we were a little be ready I might have a melt down!
I guess I had more to say then I thought. Thanks for your continued support, thoughts and prayers. They mean the world to us! I'll be updating again soon to keep you posted on more fund raising efforts. We have at least one more idea up our sleeves, we just have to work out the kinks of it all. :)
Our garage sale pile in the basement is getting HUGE! I can't believe the amount of stuff we have gotten, and it's not even all at our house yet! We have people hanging on to stuff until the sale as well, so the week before is going to be crazy. It's also the end of May so I will find our soon how much support we have gotten through my two great friends that raised funds through their home parties in our honor for the month of May. It's still amazing to me that any of this is happening. I have a very hard time just accepting the help and not feeling guilty or like I owe somebody something back. I'm slowly getting there, but it's very HARD for me to do.
We are on the waiting list for THE BOOK with our agency. We were the 10th couple on it, so they say it could still be a few months before we are asked to join the book. This is the book that every potential birth mom will look through to find the perfect family for her child. I really would love to avoid going in the book all together. It's one of the most expensive parts of this whole process, and if we could save the money for diapers... that would be ideal. However, I know that this journey is going to take whatever course it's suppose to, so if/when we get the call saying they are ready for our profile, then we will jump for joy at the chance to find our match that way.
I guess the last thing to update is that we are going to start working on the future nursery a bit. Nothing too major, but we just want to be more prepared for what might come. As of lately we had NOTHING for a baby... not a single thing. Just this weekend we were given a barely used infant car seat... so the process had begun. We are going to start keeping our eye out for deals on any furniture, maybe do some painting in there and start hunting for the bedding we want. I am torn about the whole process really. I don't want to have a room sitting there empty for too long, but I am such a planner that I hate to not be prepared as well. We could literally get a call tomorrow saying our baby is waiting for us at the hospital... if we were a little be ready I might have a melt down!
I guess I had more to say then I thought. Thanks for your continued support, thoughts and prayers. They mean the world to us! I'll be updating again soon to keep you posted on more fund raising efforts. We have at least one more idea up our sleeves, we just have to work out the kinks of it all. :)
Friday, May 14, 2010
Approved!!!
We are home study approved!!!! We did it! I'm so excited and thrilled to know that at any moment, our phone could ring! While I feel a huge sense of relief that that part is over, there is still plenty that we need to work on.
We are still collecting things for the garage sale happening next month. I'm excited at the items people have donated... we are well on our way to having a huge sale with lots of different things to choose from. I need to nail down if we are going to BBQ and sell hot dogs and pop, or just pop, maybe some candy. We also need to get some fliers made up to start hanging up to advertise. I need to figure out how the heck we are going to hang up all the clothes (we need lots of hangers and something figure out to hang them on... ideas are welcome!).
We need to start working on our adoption profile. We are going to go on the waiting list to get into "The Book" of waiting families. In the mean time we have to design four pages of pictures and information that will capture the attention of our future birth parents.
Our social worker also talked to us about making up some business cards to hand out as needed. We need to set up a separate email address and phone number so that potential birth moms can contact us directly if they are thinking about setting up an adoption plan for their child.
We also have outreach training in July. This is a one day work-shop to help us brainstorm way so to find a match on our own, not through the book of waiting families. Basically a day on how to market ourselves and find our own match outside of the agency.
So yes, we are approved, but I feel like our work is just getting started! Brian and I are also just starting to talk about getting the room ready. We don't have a single thing and want to be prepared for the best case scenario... which is a match right away! I'll continue to keep you all posted!
We are still collecting things for the garage sale happening next month. I'm excited at the items people have donated... we are well on our way to having a huge sale with lots of different things to choose from. I need to nail down if we are going to BBQ and sell hot dogs and pop, or just pop, maybe some candy. We also need to get some fliers made up to start hanging up to advertise. I need to figure out how the heck we are going to hang up all the clothes (we need lots of hangers and something figure out to hang them on... ideas are welcome!).
We need to start working on our adoption profile. We are going to go on the waiting list to get into "The Book" of waiting families. In the mean time we have to design four pages of pictures and information that will capture the attention of our future birth parents.
Our social worker also talked to us about making up some business cards to hand out as needed. We need to set up a separate email address and phone number so that potential birth moms can contact us directly if they are thinking about setting up an adoption plan for their child.
We also have outreach training in July. This is a one day work-shop to help us brainstorm way so to find a match on our own, not through the book of waiting families. Basically a day on how to market ourselves and find our own match outside of the agency.
So yes, we are approved, but I feel like our work is just getting started! Brian and I are also just starting to talk about getting the room ready. We don't have a single thing and want to be prepared for the best case scenario... which is a match right away! I'll continue to keep you all posted!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Scrapbooking Fun!
Well, we had our first fundraiser for the Adoption Fund! It was so overwhelming to be surrounded by people who want this SO badly for us. No matter what amount of money is raised, I think it was a huge success! Final numbers won't be in until the end of the month because my friend, Marit, is still taking orders through the end of the month for us. I'm thinking I need to get a "ticker" made up to post on my blog that will show the amount of money that people have so generously donated to our cause.
I am truly struggling to find a way to thank everyone that has helped out so far. It's so hard for me to just accept the support for what it is and not feel like I "owe" people. I hope that it will get easier as time goes on.
Here's a picture from the wonderful night! I'm pretty sad though... Marit had to leave for a bit to pick up her girls and I really needed to get home because I had an early morning. So, this is ALMOST everyone that showed, minus Marit who organized the whole thing!
I am truly struggling to find a way to thank everyone that has helped out so far. It's so hard for me to just accept the support for what it is and not feel like I "owe" people. I hope that it will get easier as time goes on.
Here's a picture from the wonderful night! I'm pretty sad though... Marit had to leave for a bit to pick up her girls and I really needed to get home because I had an early morning. So, this is ALMOST everyone that showed, minus Marit who organized the whole thing!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
In just 9 more days...
We will be officially approved and waiting for our match.... I can't even describe how incredible that feels.
Our first meeting with our social worker went great today. We basically just sat around and talked for two ours about our lives and she answered a lot of questions we had. It was awesome. I feel so great about the path we are on and just can't wait for each step to be here.
At the end of it all, I tried to ask a question and it just didn't come out right. She knew exactly what I was getting at though. I wanted to know if she thought people would like us, if we would seemed appealing to a birth mom and how quickly she thought things would happen. She completely reassured me. Granted I know that we might still have a LONG road ahead of us, but I feel much better after her comments. She says we have a lot going for us (our ages, jobs, openness, etc.) and that if she had to guess our wait probably wouldn't be longer than a year, IF THAT! I'll update more after the next visit!
We have our first fundraiser tomorrow night - scrap booking! And then we are going to start focusing on our profile and getting the garage sale organized. Lots to do!
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers... they are working! I hope so badly that with the continued support from our friends and family that we will have a baby in our house by next summer :)
Our first meeting with our social worker went great today. We basically just sat around and talked for two ours about our lives and she answered a lot of questions we had. It was awesome. I feel so great about the path we are on and just can't wait for each step to be here.
At the end of it all, I tried to ask a question and it just didn't come out right. She knew exactly what I was getting at though. I wanted to know if she thought people would like us, if we would seemed appealing to a birth mom and how quickly she thought things would happen. She completely reassured me. Granted I know that we might still have a LONG road ahead of us, but I feel much better after her comments. She says we have a lot going for us (our ages, jobs, openness, etc.) and that if she had to guess our wait probably wouldn't be longer than a year, IF THAT! I'll update more after the next visit!
We have our first fundraiser tomorrow night - scrap booking! And then we are going to start focusing on our profile and getting the garage sale organized. Lots to do!
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers... they are working! I hope so badly that with the continued support from our friends and family that we will have a baby in our house by next summer :)
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