Now THAT'S what I call a YARD SALE!

In our last post we asked you to bring us stuff...and to say that you came through is an understatement! 

I mean, the pile above is a tiny FRACTION of what you donated to our family!  By the night before the yard sale our dining room, living room, and garage were completely full of allllll your stuff!  I won't lie...I was a little overwhelmed.  I mean, let's all be honest for a minute...Kyle and I aren't the cleanest people in the world, but that much clutter was almost my undoing!  Fortunately, I have many people in my life who were quick to remind me the purpose behind the piles and piles of donations.  A child.

So we set to work.  Many people came by to help sort and price items.  The night before the sale we put clothes on hangers and set up the clothing racks we borrowed from our church.  We hung signs around town and picked up last minute donations.  And we slept...a little.

The day of the sale we started SUPER early.  Kyle and I set our alarm for 4:15am.  Friends joined us as early as 5:15.  We pulled everything out of the house and set up in the darkness.  "Yard Salers"started showing up at 5:45 WITH FLASHLIGHTS to go shopping.  By about 7:30 we had a constant stream of about 30 people in the yard at a time!  9:30 rolled around, and there were still 30 people in the yard at a time!  The sail boat sold.  The rugs sold.  Books.  Clothes.  Kitchen items.  Decor.  Furniture.

There were even baked goods for sale!

And middle schoolers, too!

Just kidding...they were there to help ;)

Matthew's best buddy came over to play while his parents worked alongside us.  Our fantastic babysitter worked for free and kept the boys *mostly* out of trouble!

At the end of the first day, we still had tons of stuff, although our total had already surpassed our dream goal.  The flow on Sunday was significantly slower, but still worth the time.  We did about $400 worth of sales on the second day.   And the grand total??

$4,555.73

I can't even.  I don't know what to say.  Except thank you.

Thank you to the people who donated.  No matter how big or small, it made a huge difference.

Thank you to the people who encouraged me when I was overwhelmed.

Thank you to the people who helped to sort and price.  I never would have finished without you.

Thank you to the people who made signs and posted ads.

Thank you to the people who lifted furniture and let us use their trucks.

Thank you to the people who woke up well before the sun and helped set up before the caffeine had fully entered your blood stream...

Thank you to the people who showed up to barter and bargain on our behalf.

Thank you to the people who cooked goodies for us to sale.

Thank you to the middle schoolers who woke up WAY before you usually do, knowing you wouldn't get anything in return.

Thank you to those who donated way more money than what you purchased.

Thank you to those who stuck it out till the end and helped us clean up after it was all over.

Thank you to those who prayed.  All across the country you prayed for success in our sale.  And God answered.

I want to be clear on this.  Every single one of you has taken a part of giving a child a family.  No matter how big or small you feel your part was, it makes all the difference in the world to us and to a child.  Thank you so very much.