Be ye strong therefore...

...and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

2 Chronicles 15:7

We had our yard sale this past weekend and let me tell you, I think I'm more excited it's over than I was for putting it on.  Yes, it was successful and in the end, looking back, we had so much support and love from our friends and family.  But man, it was difficult putting that all together.  By  Wednesday night I was struggling to get through the day on very little sleep trying to get last minute details together.  Yes, I may have gone over the top with designs and marketing, but we thought that having good looking marketing material would be worthwhile.  I think it was.  Ü

We ran it from 8 am to 4 pm.  Weather Channel forecasted rain pretty much all day over the last few days, so by Friday I was ready to break down if it had rained.  It did rain while Michael and I moved stuff from our garage to his parents'.  We couldn't use the trailer {and get it all in one drive} because of it.  Saturday morning we awoke exhausted and in a literal haze.  At that point, I just completely surrendered it all to Heavenly Father.  I figured, okay, if this is supposed to happen, then He's heard my million prayers this week about holding off on the rain.  We kept going and set up as we had planned.  And wouldn't you know it...prayers are answered.  We didn't get a single drop and by about 2 pm {I think} the sun was out. 

Overall, we had such amazing people come shop in our yard sale.  A lot of people that were adopted or had adoption stories to tell.  Those are the people that I want to remember most.  And I really hope they follow our story on Facebook!  Saturday night, after a much needed shower and dinner, we totaled everything up.  Our goal was to be able to pay off our $1,500 loan that we took out for the home study.  We came to $1,112.  No small feat, that's for sure!  As we were totaling it all up, I about broke into tears!  Still a little shocked I didn't! =P  I can't begin to explain the gratitude I am feeling for everyone that donated either with baked goods, items to sell, or even donated a little bit to our donation jar.  I know Heavenly Father answers our prayers.  And I know that this is a prayer that we've had for such a long time that He is helping us answer.  

I couldn't be more grateful for our friends and family that put in time and effort to get our sale going.  I'm also incredibly grateful for the friends that were able to stop by and spend a little time with us, especially those that were able to keep me laughing!  {Many of you know I don't do well in high-stress situations...I'm not good with negotiating or people lying to my face.}  It was hard work, but we did have a lot of fun and we are so grateful for this opportunity to overcome just another obstacle in our path.  Thank you all.  A million times, thank you!!