my name is katie and i am a yard sale-holic

i have been in denial about this long enough, and it's time for me to come clean. i am a yard sale-holic.

what is a yard sale-holic, you ask? well, the 2 most common types of yard sale-holics are: type a (shoppers) and type b (sellers). i have been diagnosed as a type b yard sale-holic. i could never, ever, ever be diagnosed as a type a yard sale-holic. ever.

truth be told, i HATE going to yard sales. HATE. i don't even like shopping in stores, where things are clean and unused, much less where things are dingy and worn out. and usually it's hot outside, and i really don't like hot.

HOWEVER, hosting a yard sale is an entirely different story. it's not even the same. when you are the host of the yard sale, you can:
1. plan it for the fall or spring, not the summer (to avoid the much despised hot)
2. rid your own home of dingy and worn out stuff
3. sit in lawn chairs

yes, hosting a yard sale is a great idea. i totally believe that statement. after all, i am a type b yard sale-holic.

i didn't realize about my addiction until just recently. brent and i, along with our families, were in the middle of a yard sale (my nirvana), discussing previous yard sales we had hosted. brent and i have lived in our home 3 years and 4 months, and we just hosted our THIRD YARD SALE since we moved in. the reality hit me like a mack truck. i vowed then and there that i would seek help.

we did have a great excuse for this third yard sale, though. this whole yard sale was in honor of our little miss ethiopia...and every penny from the sale is helping us bring her home. and let me tell you, it was CRAZY! it was not a recipe for a good yard sale, and here's why:
1. it was cold. cold cold cold. and a little misty.
2. not one item had a price tag. (well, my sister had this pewter strawberry that she was very attached to and she did price that one item. but nothing else was priced. nothing.)
3. we didn't put an ad in the paper.
4. we had originally planned on selling friday and saturday, but i think it rained about 20 inches on friday. so, we were off schedule, the ground was mushy, and the world around us was just generally damp.
5. everyone participating in the yard sale was exhausted before the sale even started.

no, a yard sale on april 16, 2011, was not necessarily a good idea.

for our two previous yard sales, we had perfect weather. perfect. we put an ad in the paper. most items were priced. the ground was dry.

and in those two yard sales, we almost made just enough money to make it worth it. almost. but this yard sale was different. yes, it was a recipe for disaster, but it could not have been farther from being a disaster.

i totally, one hundred percent with all my heart believe that God worked a miracle with this yard sale.

we had non-stop customers. we had people that came and stayed for 2 hours. we were all in a good mood (even though we had about 3 hours of sleep). we got rid of so much stuff! and people paid money for all that stuff!

God was so good to us on the day of our yard sale. He helped us get so much closer to our little girl. He helped us see what a wonderful community of family and friends we have. He reminded us of what our friends (and adoption champions) scott and gwen oatsvall say: "God funds what He favors." i can tell you with all my heart that He certainly does.

so many people helped make the yard sale possible. mom, dad, amie, tom, laura, seth, bethany, justin (my wonderful parents and sisters and brothers-in-law), vicki, jimmy (my wonderful in-laws), memom (my precious grandmother), you all were INCREDIBLE! we could not ever have even fathomed doing that without you. you rock.

so many friends donated stuff to be sold, brought food, moved stuff out of my garage, promoted on their blogs (thanks, jennifer!), shopped, prayed, and just encouraged us in what we were trying to do.

it's almost embarrassing for me when i think about everything people have done to help us in this process. we so do not deserve the family and friends by whom we have been blessed. God is so good. so, so good.

i was downtown the other day and drove by the lifeway building. i have never noticed before but they have all these verses chiseled into the stone. i was stopped for about 10 seconds, waiting for a traffic light, and i saw my new favorite verse in the Bible. i have never, ever, seen or heard this verse. but seriously, i need to be saying this all the time:

"thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." - 2 corinthians 9:15

you will see that verse on this blog again.