a photo-shoot, a baby pool, and a power outage {another scorcher!}

It was in the 90s again today and the school in our neighborhood had to call off class possibly for the remainder of the week(they don't have air conditioning).  Today we watched Norah and Emma and decided to head outside after lunch to have another water fight.  Well, we weren't even set up yet when a photographer from The Forum stopped by and asked if he could take some pictures of the kids.  We got all the necessary permission and he snapped away!
This yard sure is popular with the media lately! Ha!!

Later the kids begged me to try and find the pool- we were sure regretting not setting up our big one this year!  I didn't think we still had it but ta-da!  One baby pool coming right up!

can you believe they all smushed in there??

 

there was also some chalk self-portraits done- notice Jeffrey's sloth shirt :)

 

Then... if that wasn't excitement enough for one day, the power went out tonight!  We managed to scrounge up some candles(I thought I sold them all!) and played a game of Pick 2 by mood light.  I won by the way but guess what?  Apparently we weren't keeping score... how convenient! :)

Island Park Show and a Squirt Gun Fight {today was HOT}

We knew today was going to be hotter than blazes(as my grandpa used to say)... but the Island Park Show could not be missed so we tried to go as early as we could.  Mary Beth brought a spray/fan bottle that didn't sell at our sale and we made it without melting.

There was some really great music and we sit and listened to the Irish band until the heat overcame everyone and that was that.  I got to walk around the whole show so that was good- didn't buy anything like usual!  I pretty much never do at these things but I still like to go!

The afternoon was in the upper 90s so we skipped out on Streets Alive(sadly too... we've yet to go to one!) and John had a brilliant idea.  He filled up a bunch of buckets, told the kids to get their suits on and initiated a water fight.  They had the time of their lives out there!

 

Oh yeah, and I thought I'd better show everyone Boo's buzz cut.  Those ears!!  I don't even recognize her now and she's running around like a nut case.
I guess it probably feels good to finally be able to see! Ha!

Our Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale {day 4-last one!} Complete Success!!!

So, I found this picture on my phone of the first day of the sale... seems like so long ago now!

and here's some pictures I snapped today towards the end.

The story behind this:  I wanted to sell the horse but the kids wouldn't let me so they decided we could just charge kids to ride on it!  Win, win, right?  ha!

this penguin, which was part of the display advertising our sale, was probably the biggest hit of the whole week!  He was the most coveted item- we could have sold him at least 100 times, I kid you not!
That and:  the globes, the chalkboard, and of course the teepee! :)

Most of the big items sold- we were down to this assortment this morning.  By the end of the day, many of these were gone too.

I know everyone is curious about what the grand total was so here we go!  You will NOT believe it- we cannot believe it ourselves.  After many donations and hundreds upon hundreds of sales our huge yard sale made:

$7000

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!
This means so much to our family- you have all become part of our daughter's story...
in a big way.
I will be blogging more soon about all of the acts of kindness we have encountered over this past week so stay tuned!  We feel honored to live in a community that is so supportive, so generous, so kind.

Our Adoption Yard Sale {day 3- Friday}

I forgot to take any pictures after set up and during the last 2 days.  This is so unlike me!  That just shows how busy it's been around here- and for that we are thankful.

As luck would have it, my friend Amy stopped by to donate and make a few purchases on Friday morning and took some pictures of the yard.  So because of her I have some to share here.

On a side note- Amy and her family just adopted a baby girl from the China Special Needs Program in May!!  We met through another friend of mine putting me in contact with them.  She came by with her new sweet baby girl Malia and it was so great to be able to see her again!

We have the kids' teepee set up behind the cash table for shade and a hang out for them... however it is probably the number 2 attraction at the sale(the penguin is number 1!)- many people ask about it and children run over and get inside.  I may have to figure out how to start selling them!

Here's a shot of my dear friend Stephanie working hard to price items and get them out.  Kind people kept showing up today to drop off things for us to sell- many complete strangers who had read about us in the paper or had seen us on the news last night!  The jewelry you see above was brought to us by a sweet woman about 80 years old yesterday.  She read about us in the newspaper and decided she wanted to help us raise money so she put together a large group of vintage costume jewelry that she had been collecting all her life.  She reasonably priced each set and also added the name of the company that made them on the back of each tag.  I was speechless when she showed me everything and explained what she was giving us.  An amazing story for sure- and come to find out she and her husband had adopted 3 children from Asia when they were young!  We are so thankful for her generosity and kindness.  The jewelry is beautiful and the story that goes with it is too!

Well, we have decided to try one more day so tomorrow is it!

I will write a recap at the end of all the experiences and wonderful stories of random acts of kindness we have witnessed in this amazing community of ours.

I also found out that local blogger:  Prairie Style File blogged about us today.
Go check it out here.  Thank you Alicia- it was great meeting you!

Our Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale {day 2} We are in the Newspaper today and were on the News this evening!!

Here is the picture that was in The Forum today.

And here is the link to our article:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/409808/publisher_ID/1/

And then two different news stations came by today and did interviews:

http://www.kvrr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21906&Itemid=57

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/85836/publisher_ID/29/

We are so thankful for all the great sales we are having, all the surprise donations we are receiving, all the wonderful people we are meeting, and all the awareness this is creating for international adoption.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Tomorrow is the BIG Day! {Porter Family Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale}

Look who's here!

 

 

 

My sister Amy and our old dog Bella(who now lives with Amy) are visiting and we are having a great time!  Boo is obsessed with Bella- she wants to be BFFs.  Bella is tolerating Boo.  It's hilarious.

Fargo Fiber Arts Festival {Rheault Farm)

Today we went to the Fiber Arts Festival in Fargo and it was so great!!  Why had we never gone to this before??  5 years- gone.  Same story as the Viking Festival... I hate it when I find out we've been missing something awesome.  Oh well, the bright side is at least we know about it now, right?

Mickey isn't big on crafts unless he's in the mood.  And today he was not.  So he mostly just hung out with John while MB, Jeffrey and I crafted away!  They discovered needle felting which has become their new fav.  And, guess what?  I already had everything at home to needle felt with but just never knew how to do it!  So they can needle felt till their heart's content in the coming months.

 

 

 

There was a huge area set up with all these tables- each one featuring a different craft:  weaving, cross-stitching, felting, knitting, sewing, ect.  Kids and adults alike were able to participate.

 

Loved it.  We will definitely be back next year!!