Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Priceless Memory Only Cost $11.56

Not much to blog about so I'll tell ya a cute little story instead. I bought my house 10 years ago this month. When I moved in, I realized how much stuff I had and thought "I really should have a garage sale". Well, fast forward to last May and 9 years worth of procrastination and 9 more years worth of crap. So I decided that as part of my preparation for motherhood it was time to simplify my life, re-organize, and hopefully make some money for the adoption fund at the same time. My sister and brother-in-law live in a town where they have a community wide garage sale which draws many shoppers. They also live on the main street so we figured that was a great place to have it. Which meant not only did I have to sort through things, clean, box it all up but also had to haul it over there. All the work really sucked and was exhausting but it was so worth it. I made $741!! Can you believe that?! My sister sold a lot of her stuff, too. We figured between the two of us our two day total was $1100!! We'd made big signs explaining that the proceeds would be used for my adoption. This helped to keep people from haggling over price too much. Come to think of it, most paid what was on the sticker. Everyone was so nice and encouraging. Many asked about the process and gave me good blessings.

But best of all was my sweet nephew, Tanner. He's the oldest of my sister's four. (I guess you loyal readers are familiar with my niece and nephews since I talk about them so much. But I figured I should repeat it in case there are some rookies here. LOL!) At the time we had just recently explained my adoption plans to her children. That Aunt Krista is now going to have a baby of her own but she will come from China instead of her belly. Tanner is the only one who's starting to get it. The younger ones talk about it but I don't think they really understand the concept.

Anyway, Tanner decides to make some money by having a lemonade stand during the garage sale. I help him make the signs and my sister helps make the lemonade. Later in the day I ask what he's going to spend the money on that he earns. He tells me he's going to donate it to me. I told him he didn't have to do that. That he could keep the money for whatever he wanted. He replied "It's okay. I have plenty of money in my piggybank. I don't need this. I just really want a cousin from China." I was so touched I just started crying. He made $11.56 for the adoption fund that day. At 25 cents a glass .....that's a lot of lemonade. Man I love that kid!!

19 comments:

Joannah said...

Your nephew has a beautiful heart!

Sam said...

Awwwww!!! That is soooo sweet! He and Cullen are so much alike!

Abby's Mom said...

Nieces and Nephews are the BEST! And WOW! Congrats on the garage sale success!

Anonymous said...

I'm crying... and I don't even know Tanner!!! What a sweetie... if only he was a few years older, there's about 4 good Aussie chicks I could hook him up with!!! LOL!!!

Tanner you are definitely the hero of the day - your cousin will thank you for your kind and generous donation!

Polar Bear said...

What a guy! Very thoughtful and kind young man you have there.

Awesome garage sale! I should attempt to do the same thing this year.

M and M said...

That was so great to read!! What a great kid. That will be a great story to share with Mia.

I just have a question - where did the extra .06 cents come from?? LOL

Sugar Cookies And Hope said...

What a beautiful, selfless and sweet act of kindness. I am so excited about this new generation of kids!

wzgirl said...

That is just the happiest little story that I've heard in a long, long time. XO

Catherine said...

What a sweetie with such a giving heart!

Congrats on your great sales. Every bit counts and getting rid of all the extra stuff in our homes is bonus!

How many penguins did you part with? :o)

Stephe said...

I'm crying too! What an awesome little guy! You are right, it is the BEST $11.56 ever! :)

aimeeg said...

Such a sweetheart! He will make a great cousin!

t~ said...

I love little boys with big hearts! It brings out the happy in me.

ferenge mama said...

OMG!! What a lovely child. Your sister is obviously doing something right.

That's a great story.

Donna said...

Man, what an incredible kid...Mia is going to have a great cousin!

Headmeister said...

What a beautiful story!!! Gotta love that kid, he is beautiful inside and out!!!

4D said...

What a sweet and generous young man!

Keep smilin!

Kelli said...

What a great story Krista!!!!

Tamara said...

His Mama must be SO proud of him! That's incredible- you really had a succesful garage sale!

Norma said...

What a great story! You are a super auntie to him, too!