Black Friday 2012

Slept til 8:48 a.m.  Read in bed for 45 minutes.  Got up.  Got dressed.  Ate breakfast.  Cleaned my toilet and washed the bathroom floor. Washed all the bathmats.  Helped Nora try on ALL of her clothes to see what is too small and if we need warm clothes for Canada next month.  We don’t,YAY!

That is all.  So far.

Truly I don’t understand the desire to push through crowds at the wee hours of the day to save a couple bucks.  Yes, I do understand that there are some good deals to be had, but truly, do we NEED all this stuff we already have?  I have come to the conclusion …. in my house we don’t. Not everybody in my house agrees, but he is gone at work most days…… heh heh heh.

Recently I was lead blindfolded with hands tied behind my back to a facebook group with 2400 local members where you can buy and sell the junk in your house.  It’s earth friendly.  It’s convenient.  In one hour online and one trip to the Walmart parking lot, I collected $45 and got rid of four items in the garage sale pile.  Another lady came to my house and purchased a boxed set of books for $12… that we had TWO of.  Selling on this site rakes in far more cashola than a garage sale would bring for these same items.  It’s better than eBay because there are no fees and I don’t have to ship the junk.  I love it.  I am addicted… well, when I have a pile of unwanted treasures to sell.

The remainder of Black Friday 2012 will be consumed with having dinner with college friends that we haven’t seen in 25 years, and a homeschool board meeting.  Then I get to sleep in again tomorrow!  I realize those of you who know me well, think I sleep in every day, but that is not true…. very much.  I have even been arising when the number 7 is on the clock!  Astonishing, I know.  And I’m showering before leaving my room….. AND I’m making my bed every morning.  It only took 45 years to get into these amazing habits.  Just goes to show you that the old dog, new trick idea isn’t true.

Enjoy your weekend!

Adoption FUNds….

Many people have asked us how we raised our adoption funds.  We smile a knowing smile… because WE didn’t raise the money, God did.  He funds what He favors!  Adoption is expensive… domestic AND international.  Personally, I don’t think it should be expensive, but that’s another story for another day.  We didn’t have nearly enough cash to adopt from Colombia, but we had some “seed money” that we planted and waited for God to harvest. Our dream of adoption came from the Lord so we relied on Him to show us where the adoption money was hiding.  It was a huge step of faith! Huger than any we’d taken previously!

When our adoption process began, we had faith that we would be one of the QUICK families…. not so.  It took us 10 months to get our dossier together (we had to work with two Canadian provinces and five American states!) and then we waited three months until we were approved.  THEN a 34 month wait for our referral. From the referral to us kissing our girl’s soft cheeks was eight days.  Eight days of FLURRY, scurry and hurry!

The 34 month wait was when we put our noses to the grindstone and searched hard for adoption funds.  I applied for 10-12 grants, and we received only one from Show Hope (MaryBeth and Steven Curtis Chapman) right at the beginning of the journey.  It was the sweet priming for the fundraising pump that we needed!  Thank you, MBC and SCC!

We also sent a letter to friends and family far and near telling them of our expanding family and asking if they felt the Lord nudging them to help bring a child home.  The monies from that one pink letter came in over four years.  It brought me to tears time and time again. Faithful friends, doing their part!  Thank you, if you were one of those loving people.

My sister-in-law, Jennie, came up with this fabulous idea to sew purses and carrier bags from recycled and donated fabric.  She nick-named our daughter Zaza, and Bags for Zaza was birthed!  The sewing escapades went on for over a year with six or seven contributing seamstresses (with three solid contenders).  She auctioned them online and it went over brilliantly…. 10 times more brilliantly than Jennie originally hoped for!  Thank you, Jennie!

While searching other adoption blogs and fundraising sites, I learned about having a Media Drive.  Great idea!  Ask all your family, friends and enemies to donate unused, dust-collecting media….. I gathered books, CDs, DVDs, videos, games, collector cards, plus more.  The valuable ones I was able to sell on eBay and the less valuable ones I sold at a local used book store.  This really encouraged me as friends far and wide donated boxes and boxes of stuff!  It made me feel great that there was a way everyone could contribute to helping an orphan…. it wasn’t just people with extra cash.  Everyone.

I also looked around our house and decided we didn’t need all this stuff that had accumulated over the last 20-something years.  I started selling everything: furniture, clothing, sports equipment, household trinkets, silk trees, books, lamps, you name it.  I sold most of these items on Craigslist.com.  There is one in your area!

Our neighborhood group decided to have a “Large Item” garage sale for us…. held at our house.  More than 20 families donated large items for this day and it was a great success. Thank you, neighborhood groupies!

Right when I needed another idea, a flyer was squeezed into our front door crack telling about a children’s clothing consignment sale.  I sent the word out for friends to donate kid’s clothing.  I gathered, ironed, tagged, hung and delivered over 200 items!

Most unique of all: Matt’s Meals with a Mission.  A high school grad in chef training (friend of daughter’s) set up MMM to raise money for different causes.  So, our adoption was one of the causes he supported by cooking meals for different families for special occassions.  We were so amazed by his giving heart, generosity and cooking! Thank you, Matthew!

The day before we flew to Colombia we received a phone call from a businessman we are acquainted with.  He asked how much we still needed and transfered the funds into our account that day.  It still brings me to tears, knowing that God had people lined up to take care of the needed funds.  We did our part and others did their part, as a body of believers and unbelievers alike, God used MANY people to bring our girl home. The blessing is spread far and wide.  Be encouraged if you are fundraising!  Be creative!  God funds what He favors!  Here’s our breakdown for you:

• Our Savings – 19%
• Show Hope – 7%
• Letter to Family & Friends – 23%
• Bags for Zaza – 16%
• Media Drive, Garage Sale, Craigslist, Consignment, MMM – 8%
• Last minute Donation – 27%

Electronic Garage Sale

Yes, the Crosbys are at it again.  Craigslist and eBay, baby! I’m not sure where all the junk comes from that accumulates in our garage, but I had had it “up to here!” and the electronic garage sale commenced last night. 

I told my dear husband (the one who’s been HAD ~ Hockey Attachment Disorder) “SURELY, we should be able to sell some hockey equipment or sticks!”  Seriously, there are four full bags of equipment and at least 15 ice sticks and a bazillion street sticks.  He agreed and sauntered off to his lair.  He returned shortly with two sticks in hand.  They looked new… well, slightly used.. and I inquired (because inquiring minds want to know!) “How much can we sell them for?”  It was a normal conversation right up until that point.  No eyes bulging.  No rapid breathing.  Then he answered… “I think we could get about $150 for this red one…. it’s not available in stores yet…. and $120 for this silver one.”  Now the eye bulging and rapid breathing began.  When I regained conciousness, many questions were running amuck in my mind. “WHAT?!?”  Did he steal them?  Did we PAY that much???? How much stuff does he have in the garage that is worth over $100 a piece? I started envisioning nice, new patio furniture in brown and lime green stripes…. a day at the spa with the heated stones on my spine….

A story came forth….. Austin had been eyeing this silver Bauer Vapor X60 stick with Stick’um-dimple-grip (whatever!) for months and when he broke one of his previously used sticks he had enough money to buy it used.  So, after a practice Rick and Aus went into the suck zone store and were perusing the sticks.  They found these two aforementioned sticks that were practice-used by Phoenix Coyotes players and were engraved for them…. Lepisto and Lombardi.  (Whoever they are!) Then God stepped into the hockey stick store… and shut off the electricity.  Standing in the dark, Austin asked the salesman, “Can we still buy these?”  Come to find out the register was electronic…. and obviously wouldn’t work.  I’m not sure if the guy needed a sale to stay employed or what, but he offered, “If you have cash, you can have both sticks for $40.”  Total…. $20 each!

At that moment I’m shocked that my husband didn’t go into coronary stress for the pure joy of the moment.  The sticks were purchased and stashed in the hockey cave (where my van should be) until such a time as this.  I do hope some other member of the male species who has HAD will come across the ebay auctions and salivate on his keyboard while typing in his bid so the joy keeps being spread around.

It’s Friday Night and the Feeling’s Right

Relief.  Resting.  Exhaustion.  Tiredness. SO glad it’s Friday night.  This week was packed full of activities, as per usual at our house, but when you throw in a bit of coughing and sickness, it is so tiring.  Again, I’m glad it’s over.  I don’t have a thing to do for two days.

Our homestudy update meeting went well. 

I spoke at a MOPS group on Thursday and that went well.

We started a new unit for the boys on Colombia and that went well.

Many of our media drive items sold on eBay this week and that went REALLY well.

(Is anyone else seeing a trend here?)

But the most exciting trivial news for me personally is that I FINALLY found a second little wooden chair for Zaza’s tea party table.  I’ve been looking for one for months.  I sauntered into a second-hand store on a whim and there it sat, shining its happy yellow self at me.  Yes, it needs to be sanded and primed to get caught up with its sister chair and accompanying table.  I’ve been saving pictures of darling hand-painted furniture for inspiration.  I’ve often thought that I would love to paint children’s furniture as a hobby/money-maker… but alas, I’m too busy momentarily.  Maybe when the kids are gone…. but then I’ll be painting the furniture for the grandkids.  So much for money-making.  Here are a few ditties that I love.  I can’t wait to get started, but it will most likely be after Christmas.

 

 

Post Office Rules…

are not to be taken lightly.  I think it was because of the holiday yesterday, but the line at the post office was out of control this afternoon.  I’m a regular at this little out-of-the-way USPS in Anthem.  The line, at most, has never been more than five people long.  There are usually two if not three tellers.  So it’s never more than a 15 minute visit.  Today’s load of eBay parcels was seven strong, with one being very heavy!  So Larisa came with me and we left the swine twins at home to cough on each other.  (Their fevers did break and they are well enough to fight over who is going first on the wii …. so I felt alright leaving them for a bit.)

Enter the crazy line at the post office.  Seriously, there were at least 15 people in line.  I love watching people and today was no exception.  There was a darling little brown-eyed girl who just couldn’t keep herself from spinning and dancing in her cute little pink shoes.  She showed us her pink underwear too, much to her mother’s horror.  So cute!

There were two different ladies, one a 65 year old woman and the other an 18 year old tall, thin hoop player, who were behind me a few folks back.  Both were visiting the post office to pick up a parcel.  I knew this because they came in carrying the flimsy pale orange cards.  I let them know that they didn’t have to wait in line (being an expert on postal procedures and all.) They could knock on the blue half door and IF someone was back there, they could pick up their parcels quickly.  They knocked and knocked.  No one answered, so they took their respective places back in line. 

About 15 minutes later (I was now #8 in line) a postal working lady did indeed open the blue half door and ask, starting at the front of the line, if anyone was just picking up… NOT sending something out.  So the two ladies and two other gentlemen went and lined up in front of the blue half door…. in the same order they were in line.

The postal working lady was obviously of the rule-following sort because she instructed the three people behind #1 to get back in the big line where they had just come from.  So, with perplexed and “she’s crazy” looks on their faces, they obeyed.  The postal lady closed the blue half door to retrieve the first parcel and the folks in line burst out laughing, including Larisa and I.  The tall girl said something to the effect of “What difference does it make if we line up at the door?”  A guy in the back sarcastically said, “There are rules to follow! And the line is a BIG deal!”  And we all laughed again. 

One by one the postal lady called the people from the line and helped them.  And we all laughed every single time she shut the blue half door to get the packages.  I’m sure she could hear us.  We never did figure out the whole deal.  But rules are made to be followed!  And postal workers are paid to enforce the rules!  So don’t try any funny stuff next time you’re at the post office.  It won’t work.