(UPDATE - THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN MAY OF 2014)
It was a year ago, almost to the day.
Hubby was on what would be his last business trip to Japan (at least for now!) and the girls and I were heading to a local town on the hunt for the perfect cabinet for our craft room. As we drove into a nearby town, I was so excited to realize it was yard sale day.
Can I get a collective woo hoo!
Actually, we only stopped at one, the rest look more like trash day than yard sale day.
But that one, set us on a course that has completely changed our lives as we know it.
What do you think? Was that line dramatic enough for you?
But truthfully, what happened that day started a chain of events
that lead to my husband quitting his job.
I love looking back at a sequence of events and seeing how you got from where you were to where you are. So today, I thought I would share the story of that journey and where we are now. So grab a cup of coffee, this one is longer than usual, and I will share it all in a few parts.
It all started with a dollhouse.
I saw it at the yard sale, but I really just looked past it. I had a dollhouse at home from my childhood that no one was playing with, so I didn’t need another one. It was rundown, the walls were falling down and it was in need of some major TLC.
But next to it were several bags of dollhouse furniture, vintage and separated by rooms. I asked Peanut to look at them and if she would be interested in getting down my old dollhouse and decorating it. She picked out a bag, left the rest behind and we went on our way.
We made a plan that when dad got home he would help me get my dollhouse down from the attic.
We had a full day,
found the perfect cabinet, had lunch with my sister and rushed to Sunshine’s softball practice. We arrived at the field to find it completely empty. Practice had been canceled. Instead of me getting the notification call, it went to Dana in Japan. So, we headed home with an empty schedule.
After a short while, the girls found me and asked if they could go in the attic, “just to look a the dollhouse.”
After another short while, they came down again. They were pretty sure it wasn’t that heavy and that the three of us could get it down. Seconds before, I read a post on Facebook where a single friend had conquered something hard – by herself. So I decided, they were right, we didn’t need Dad’s help.
This is how that ended up.
But then Peanut had the idea to knock the base off with a hammer, which worked, and with some good old fashion brain power and muscle power, the three of us got it out and down.
Well, once it was out, that one bag of furniture didn’t fill up too many rooms. So, back up to the attic we went determined to find the furniture that my mom packed away in a box, covered in brown packing tape with the words “Laura’s dollhouse furniture” written in marker.
I can remember exactly what the box looks like, but after about an hour of digging and searching and removing more and more layers of clothes because it was so hot, we admitted defeat. The girls then decided we should go back the next day to the yard sale to see if they still had any left. We remembered the name of the street it was on, so we looked it up in the paper to find out the hours.
Of course, it was only a one day sale and it was already over.
We had to get cleaned up and to church, but somehow, I found myself saying that after church, we could drive by and see if they were outside and that I would ask them.
I know that sounds kind of crazy and I have no idea why I said it.
So, after church we went off at what was now about 7:00 on Saturday night, hours after the sale was over.
We pulled up to the house and I could not believe my eyes.
They were outside loading stuff that didn’t sell into cars and trucks. Now, I really did have to go ask complete strangers if they still had dollhouse furniture for sale hours after the sale was over. I strolled down the driveway and I was greeted with strange looks. Fortunately, one of the young women did seem to remember me from earlier.
I literally said, “I promise, I am not crazy, I am just trying to win mother of the year.”
I asked about the dollhouse furniture and if they had sold it. They said no, I was the only person who had bought any and they would be happy to sell it to me, but it wasn’t there anymore.
Before I knew it, I was on the young man’s phone, talking to his mother, across town and asking if I could come buy dollhouse furniture from her on a Saturday night.
Her nervous response was, “I will meet you on the street.”
I can’t say I blame her.
So this is where I will leave you until next time. But I will give you a hint without giving away the rest of the story. The next day, I was presented with this crown.
Trust me, it is a windy path, but a dollhouse really does lead to a sugar house.
Thanks so much for reading and wishing you a day filled with grace.
To read
part 2, click here...
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After a short while, the girls found me and asked if they could go in the attic, “just to look a the dollhouse.”
After another short while, they came down again. They were pretty sure it wasn’t that heavy and that the three of us could get it down. Seconds before, I read a post on Facebook where a single friend had conquered something hard – by herself. So I decided, they were right, we didn’t need Dad’s help.
This is how that ended up.
But then Peanut had the idea to knock the base off with a hammer, which worked, and with some good old fashion brain power and muscle power, the three of us got it out and down.
Well, once it was out, that one bag of furniture didn’t fill up too many rooms. So, back up to the attic we went determined to find the furniture that my mom packed away in a box, covered in brown packing tape with the words “Laura’s dollhouse furniture” written in marker.
I can remember exactly what the box looks like, but after about an hour of digging and searching and removing more and more layers of clothes because it was so hot, we admitted defeat. The girls then decided we should go back the next day to the yard sale to see if they still had any left. We remembered the name of the street it was on, so we looked it up in the paper to find out the hours.
Of course, it was only a one day sale and it was already over.
We had to get cleaned up and to church, but somehow, I found myself saying that after church, we could drive by and see if they were outside and that I would ask them.
I know that sounds kind of crazy and I have no idea why I said it.
So, after church we went off at what was now about 7:00 on Saturday night, hours after the sale was over.
We pulled up to the house and I could not believe my eyes.
They were outside loading stuff that didn’t sell into cars and trucks. Now, I really did have to go ask complete strangers if they still had dollhouse furniture for sale hours after the sale was over. I strolled down the driveway and I was greeted with strange looks. Fortunately, one of the young women did seem to remember me from earlier.
I literally said, “I promise, I am not crazy, I am just trying to win mother of the year.”
I asked about the dollhouse furniture and if they had sold it. They said no, I was the only person who had bought any and they would be happy to sell it to me, but it wasn’t there anymore.
Before I knew it, I was on the young man’s phone, talking to his mother, across town and asking if I could come buy dollhouse furniture from her on a Saturday night.
Her nervous response was, “I will meet you on the street.”
I can’t say I blame her.
So this is where I will leave you until next time. But I will give you a hint without giving away the rest of the story. The next day, I was presented with this crown.
Trust me, it is a windy path, but a dollhouse really does lead to a sugar house.
Thanks so much for reading and wishing you a day filled with grace.
To read part 2, click here...
