Well, here it is, my “blogoversary” – on July 2, 2007, I started this little thing. It’s actually been a lot longer than that that I’ve been blogging….I had a blog a few years back called “All at Sea” that was far more crafting/scrapbooking related. I closed that one in 2006 after life turned upside down and I felt like I needed to regroup in a more private setting.
I came back to the blog world a while later…and started documenting the journey we’re on now. I don’t always write on a regular basis – just when the mood strikes, mostly. I’m not really writing for anyone but myself, but if others find something good and useful as they read, then that’s just icing on the cake. That’s the thing about this journey – there are always people along the way who can relate to some experience you’ve had. Blogging is a great way to find those people.
Anyway…two years ago we were just getting started here. We were packing to move, trying to sell a house, and learning to adjust to a whole lot of changes. I read back over some of those entries the other day….and I am so glad they’re documented. It’s amazing to me to see how God’s worked in it all. Even when I wasn’t sure where He was.
We also had a yard sale about this time last year….and, true to form, we had one this last weekend. I’ve said before I’ll never have another one – I think I mean it this time. 
As glad as I am to have gotten rid of the things we got rid of, the work to get it all ready is just exhausting. I’d much rather be a shopper than a seller.
We spent the night before finishing up sorting/pricing and such. Brad and the kids made signs – and they got a BIG kick out of the placement of this one:
They thought we’d get a lot more takers if I just put the sign up in my scrap room. Needless to say, this sign didn’t stay here! I did have scrapbook stuff to sell…just not in THIS room!
Here’s some of the things we had ready to sell. Books, games, misc….the big ziplock bags held 12×12 patterned paper. I just bagged up random selections of paper and sold them in bulk with a discount for buying multiples. I think I only ended up with 5 or 6 left.
Here’s some more of the scrapbooking items we had for sale. So much of this stuff was sitting in a storage unit – older items I no longer used, things I’d acquired teaching/demonstrating/etc…just lots of great stuff needing someone to love and use it. Almost everything went to new homes, which made me VERY happy!
The kids and I ended up working late into the night, sorting and pricing everything. By the end of it, we were all getting a little silly. Kristin decided she needed to do some artwork:
Apparently she was busy demonstrating the usefulness of some of the stencils I had for sale. Either that or the poor girl was up WAY too late.
Samantha couldn’t find paper…so she drew on a plate. I don’t remember what she drew, but I do remember at one point it ended up on her face as some sort of mask. Should have gotten a photo of that!
Adam was our lifter, sorter, labeler extraordinaire. By the end of the night, he still had a big grin on his face. Or maybe that was sleep depravation, I’m not sure!
I would have taken a photo of Brad, but by the time I got around to him, he was off to bed. He had to work part of the day, and it wouldn’t have done for the driver to be sleep deprived, so off to bed he went.
We did pretty good both days. Sunday, we closed up and boxed up several items to be donated to charity. It was good to see them all go away, and to reclaim our deck just in time for the 4th of July!
I don’t know what the next year will bring…but I’m pretty sure I’ll be here, occasionally writing about it all. This Sunday brings Brad teaching at Calvary Chapel Treasure Valley – it’s our last Sunday there, and Pastor Daryl asked Brad if he’d like to teach.I know Brad’s excited (and probably a little nervous) about the opportunity!
Next week, we’ll be moving on to what we’ve felt all along we were called to this place to do, and that’s plant a church. Things are different this time – and we are excited to see where God is going to take it. It’s all His anyway. If you’d like to see what we’re up to, you can check out Boise Christian Fellowship. The kids will continue to participate in youth activites with CCTV for the foreseeable future…they love the friends they’ve made there and we are glad to have them continue to be a part of that. We have loved our time at CCTV and plan to fellowship with them as often as we can.
God has been good. In all of it…in the ups, the downs, the twists and turns of our life since we moved here…He has been there. Sometimes we saw His hand, sometimes we didn’t. Often times, other hands were used to do His work. If there’s one thing I can say I’ve learned so far, and will continue to learn, I’m sure, for the rest of my days, is that when God asks if you trust Him, and you say yes, you are going to learn what that means.
He is faithful. Just like that day, over 2 years ago, when I answered that question, I feel the same. I trust Him, and where He’s leading us. I am excited about the journey!
