A Birthday Present from the Birthday Girl!

Jessica is a very close friend of mine, a woman I am so thankful to have in my life.  We are going through this adventure of life together, and I am blessed.

Like every parent, she worries that when her kids beg for a new toy for the millionth time or don't want to donate old toys, they aren't "getting" what's really important.  She wants her children to grow up to be compassionate, to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Her daughter, R, just turned five, and Jessica requested $5 from each guest, in lieu of gifts.  Jessica and R agreed that she could keep half of the money and choose a charity to receive the other half.  When we went to their house for lunch this past week, R gave half of her birthday money to me, to go toward our adoption expenses. 

Hey, Jess, I think she "gets" it.  You are a fantastic mother and a dear friend.  Thank you!

Hoarders: Pickett Edition

Anyone who knows me knows that there is only one time during the year when my house looks ready for an episode of Hoarders: the time leading up to Bargain Fair.  It's a HUGE indoor sale of items donated by the active and sustaining members of a local charitable organization, as well as people in the community.  As the Chair of Bargain Fair last year, it meant that for part of last summer and fall, my family room was full of donated items.  We felt like we added 500 sq. ft. to our house after Bargain Fair was over and the family room was ours again!

I don't keep things around that we don't use.  All my kids' clothes are passed along to a friend whose kids are girl-boy-girl, just like mine.  If it doesn't go into my Bargain Fair bin, it goes to a local thrift store.  So when I got an email from the women who organize a large kids' consignment sale twice a year, asking if I'd like to consign, I didn't have much. 

All it took was one facebook post to my friends, asking for gently used toys, clothes, and gear, and I have 3 van loads of things to get priced for the sale!  I no longer have a family room, and my husband is ready to call Hoarders!  I have so much that I've invited people to come shop a pre-sale in my home so that everything will fit in 2 vans. 

See all those clothes?  There are 2 more loads in the laundry room to be washed!

We have more big stuff, too, that we really hope to sell before the sale!

(It's even migrating to the living room!)

We are shown time and time again how blessed we are, and we thank God for giving us such wonderful friends to go through life with.  To Tonya, Jessica, Mindy, Shelby, and Brandi, thank you for going through life with me, and for cleaning out your homes to help us bring our daughter home!

And now I can't wait for March 5, when I'll be done pricing everything, and when all this stuff heads to the consignment sale!