Our garage sale is Friday and Saturday from 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. both days. All money from this goes towards our Ghana adoption. Pray for nice weather!

Here’s the description from our Craigslist ad:

HUGE Garage Sale Fri & Sat- Adoption Fundraiser 8am-3pm (Fishers)

Friday, May 17 & Saturday May 18
8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

10050 Orange Blossom Tr.
Fishers, IN 46038

MORE PHOTOS of our garage sale items at http://www.whenatlast.com.

We will be accepting credit/debit cards!

All sales go towards our adoption from Ghana. Items from several families including:

CLOTHING

Men’s (all sizes)

Women’s (all sizes, including maternity)

Boys (infant-6). TONS of 2T, 3T and 4T.

Girls (4T-8)

Shoes (all sizes, kids and adults)

FURNITURE

2 brown leather arm chairs, couch, side table/coffee table set, telephone table, shelves, Harvard AIR HOCKEY TABLE, very nice custom hutch, bookshelves, side tables, camping chairs, 2 train tables, desk, dresser, DVD storage cabinet

MEDIA

DVDs, books, board games, Wii games

ELECTRONICS

Everything in working condition: 2 tube TVs, DVD/VCR combo, CD boom box, Dell desktop computer (Windows XP, 2 GB RAM, printer, CRT monitor)

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Mini fridge (works), Wine chiller (still in packaging, never used), 2 microwaves (both work), TONS of very nice picture frames, framed art, lamps (some vintage/antique), flower arrangements, tons of other cute indoor & outdoor decor items, mini Christmas trees, large silver mirror, throw pillows

TOYS

Kids’ easel, barely used Hot Wheels set, stuffed animals galore, puzzles, Fisher Price baby play house, tricycle, dolls, cars, rocking elephant (That’s right. A rocking elephant.), doll house

BABY ITEMS

Stroller, breast pumps and accessories (Medela), crib, Graco changing table w/cushion, boppy w/cover, bouncer, bassinet, body support pillow

MISC.

Paintball gear- Spyder TL-X set w/mask (see photo). weight bench, Harvard air hockey table, small foosball table, guitar case/backpack, air compressor (works), Huffy bike (in great shape except for it needs new front innertube), kitchen items (cups, mugs, dishes, silverware, etc.)

Here are some photo highlights of our sale. These are kind of the tip of the iceberg:

Very nice kids’ train table

Vintage telephone table.

Cool vintage peacock lamps

Orange lantern

Spyder TL-X paintball gear

Nice white dresser

Huffy bike. Needs new front innertube, but is a great bike!

This desk would make a great craft project.

Foosball table

Harvard air hockey table. This thing is awesome.

Antique rocking chair

Twin leather chairs…so comfortable

Air compressor

Coffee table and end tables…so nice!

This couch needs a good home.

Silver mirror from Target

These next photos are a little more chaotic. There’s a crib and bassinet…

…a stroller…

…microwave and mini fridge…

…some household items…

…board games…

…books, dvds, Wii games, mini Christmas trees…

…tons of toys.

Our garage sale is this Friday and Saturday! Can we just tell you it’s going to be a monster garage sale? We’ve got stuff from a dozen or so families, including paintball gear, an air compressor, a rocking elephant, custom hutch, leather armchairs, really nice coffee table and end tables set, a foosball table, more 2T, 3T, and 4T boys clothes than we know what to do with, and a really sweet air hockey table…the list of awesome things goes on and on.

Currently Curtis’ favorite donation.

We’ll write a bigger post later this week with many pictures of all the “big things” in addition to a more comprehensive Craigslist post with everything we’re selling.

1) Can you pray for good weather? Right now there’s a 40% chance of rain on Friday and a 30% chance of rain on Saturday. This is another one of those “we don’t have any control over this” situations we keep finding ourselves in. We know that we can trust God in all things.

2) And while you’re at it, can you keep praying that we receive our referral soon? That would be so awesome. We feel incredibly supported by our family and friends. The donations and help we’ve received for our garage sale are a visible, tangible testimony to this support.

3) Finally, can you get yourself (and your friends and neighbors) to our sale on Friday or Saturday? Spread the word! I can’t stress enough how much great stuff we have. And we want it to leave our house! Right now I feel like I live in a hoarder’s house. No reasonable offers will be denied. We’re open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Our address is:

10050 Orange Blossom Tr.
Fishers, IN 46038

We’d love to see you there. Thanks for helping us bring our kid home.

P.S. Oh, and I’ll add a fourth thing: if you still have donations, we’ll take them. Just get ahold of Carrie or me.

As you probably know, our adoption fundraiser garage sale is Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You should see our future kid’s room–it’s packed full of garage sale items! We even have so many garage sale donations so that I (Curtis) have  to park my car in the driveway.

I want Carrie’s car to join mine in the driveway, which means we could use some more donations. If you have big or small items you want to donate, I will come pick them up from your house. Furniture? No problem. Just let me know and I’ll come get it.

Please continue to pray for us. As Carrie wrote last week, we’re boldly praying that God would send us our referral soon. Will you join us in praying? With only a small amount of faith, mountains will move.

Matthew 7:7-8 was the verse for today on the Bible (You Version) App.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

These words hit me like a ton of bricks this morning when I read them, because I have a big ask of God.

I want to get our referral.

I wouldn’t say I’m losing patience in the waiting time. I’m just ready. Ready to know who our child is. Ready to do everything I can to get the house ready. Ready for him or her to be here with us.

So, I’m asking. “God, will you please bring our referral, soon?” I know there are a ton of logistics and tons of paperwork to make sure everything is done ethically and in the best way. It takes forever because the adoption system is not exactly a well-oiled machine. But, God is bigger than governments. He’s bigger than international systems. He’s bigger and more powerful than anything.

He can do anything. And, I believe he will act on our behalf and make this referral come. Because he cares… about me and Curtis … about our child. All we have to do is ask and it will be given to us.

We’re asking boldly and with faith. Will you join us?

*Little did I know Curtis had many of these same thoughts when he read these verses this morning. That must mean tricky Jesus is up to something good!*

I just came across this quote, from explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger’s obituary:

Thesiger [...] recognized that satisfaction in attaining a goal was directly in proportion to the hardship and challenge involved in getting there.

May we all at some point attain goals this satisfying.

Here’s a quick update on our adoption process and a few life tidbits:

• We’re still waiting on our referral. It could be this week…or a few months from now. We’re praying that this will happen soon! Please join with us in praying.
• Our garage sale inventory is growing! The garage sale on May 17-18 is going to be great. We are almost to the point where we have to start parking our cars in the driveway because you all are so generous. With that said, keep it coming!
• We are going to form a garage sale team. We need people to help sort and price as well as people to help us on the Friday and Saturday of the sale. Any takers?
• We saw 42 last night. Can’t recommend it enough. This is one of those important movies chronicling a huge breakthrough in American race relations. Jackie Robinson was so brave and heroic.
• Trying to slowly make the switch to eating foods with fewer ingredients. The first line in the sand is mac & cheese. Those of you who have known me since I (Curtis) was little know that Kraft mac & cheese was about all I ate because I was so picky. Anyway, it’s got some harmful dyes like Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. So last night we tried Earth Fare’s organic macaroni & cheese. Verdict? Not very good. It was quite chalky and the cheese didn’t stick to the mac. Back to the drawing board. We may try the Annie’s brand next.

Thanks for continuing to pray for and support us. We know that God is with us. Pray for our child in Ghana. We’re excited to meet him/her!

-Curtis & Carrie

Many of you have asked, “How can we help you guys?” That’s kind of insane considering how much you’ve helped already. Remember how we punched our fundraising goal in the face? Yeah, me too. Here are the top 3 ways you can help:

1. Donate items and help with our garage sale on May 17-18 (Friday and Saturday). Thanks to those of you who have already helped out!
2. Read this article. Seriously. Read it. It’s not new, but Jen Hatmaker nailed it. How to be the village.
3. Pray. Pray like crazy for our child in Ghana and that our referral will come soon!

Thanks for supporting us…you guys are the best!

Our adoption fundraiser garage sale is happening on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We’re excited to raise some money to help cover travel expenses for our two trips to Ghana.

If you’d like to donate items toward the sale, let us know!

Nothing new to report…we are waiting on our referral, which is when we formally get matched with our child. This could happen any day or in a few months–we could get the call any time!

Here are some odds and ends to update you on what has been going on with us:

• Our adoption fundraiser garage sale will be happening in April or May. Our HOA hasn’t informed us of the neighborhood garage sale date yet, so we’re guessing it might be May? Either way, our garage is open for donations if you have something you’d like to donate to the cause.
• We had a great date night on Friday night. We were surprised when Admission (Tina Fey/Paul Rudd comedy) ended up being really touching and having some major adoption themes. We recommend it! (Obligatory caveat: there is offensive language and some sex in this movie. While we do not approve of this content, we are all about humor and adoption.)

• Speaking of movies, have you seen the trailer for 42? It’s not actually about the meaning of life, but it is about baseball and racial civil rights in America. It tells the story of Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American athlete to play in the major leagues. You’d better believe we’ll be watching it!

• On the morning I’m writing this (March 24), it is snowing. Come on Indiana, we’re ready for spring!

• Our NCAA brackets are fully busted. I (Curtis) picked New Mexico and Georgetown in my final four. They lost in the first round. Carrie picked the ‘Zags from Gonzaga to win it all. They lost in the second round. We probably should have just picked the Hoosiers.
• I (Curtis) am off anti-antiperspirant containing aluminum. Thanks to a crusade by my friend Brian, I decided it’s not a good thing to pump aluminum into my body…it has been linked to cancer and Alzheimer’s. Instead I picked up some of this stuff from Lush.

• Carrie had a vision for a funky TV stand made from an old buffet piece of furniture. She made a barter with her friend Amy. We took out drawers, changed out hardware, and added paint. Our DVDs are now stored in the cabinets on the right and left. Here’s what we ended up with:
• Right now, Carrie is reading Maeve Binchy’s (recently deceased Irish novelist) final book, A Week in Winter, while I am reading a biography called St. Patrick of Ireland, by Philip Freeman. This Ireland bug is really hard to shake.

…just thought we’d update you on what’s been happening with us! Please continue to pray for our adoption, that our referral will happen soon and we will be able to maintain our sanity as we really can’t do anything right now. We trust that God is up to something good in Ghana!

Recently, John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, made the claim that: “Certainly adoption in families headed [...] by a heterosexual couple, is by far the second-best option.” This comment was made in the context of the discussion about same-sex marriage. For the record, we do not endorse same-sex marriage. This post is not about that. Eastman’s comment was, however, directed at John Roberts’ decision to adopt children with his wife.

This brings us to a segment we like to call:

Really, John Eastman? You believe that adoption is certainly and by far a second-best option? Well, the Grinch called. He wants his two-sizes-too-small heart back. You’re a mean one, Mr. Eastman.

And, really: do you realize there are 163 million orphans in the world today? What do you have to say to them? “Oh sorry kids, you’re by far a second best option.” Not even close. Do you believe that every child deserves a family? We do. In fact, we feel so strongly that we’re adopting as a first option. Do you want to tell us that we’re not making a second-best decision? These kids don’t have the “option” of having their biological parents able to care for them, whatever their unfortunate circumstances. Really.

And, really, we’re not going to assume that you claim to follow Christ, but, if you do, you have been adopted by God. In Romans, Paul writes: the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” If we are Christ followers, we have been adopted into the family of God. And apparently God considers adopting us a great option. He’s quite a good Dad. Really.

And really, how dare you? If you were privileged enough to be born in the U.S. to two loving, biological parents, you are blessed, and you have no right to make unfounded claims about adoption. I hope, for your sake, that you’re just dangerously ignorant, but I think that’s giving you too much credit. Once adoptive parents are brought together with their children, they do not see a difference between biological or adopted kids. They’re the same. Blood does not determine a family. Really.

—

All views and opinions on this site are solely Curtis and Carrie’s.