7/23/2007 - Monday
7/11/2007 - Wednesday
- 7/11/2007 8:50:37 PMBlessed MiscalculationUntil now, I had been counting the amount of donations, the funds raised, and our contributions for the adoption based on the numbers I was personally aware of. As money came in, I added it to the list. According to my earlier estimates, the adoption fund was around $12,800-ish.
We have now reached a point where we must calculate this number a little differently. Funds have come into the bank or church where in some cases, we know who it came from and in other cases we don't (such as a cash donation). Basically we now have to add up what we know has been spent along with what is available at the bank. This being said, we know that since the decision was made to Adopt Yuri on April 13, 2007 at 6:30:00 PM, $15,768 has been raised. WOW! Praise God!
Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed in any way, shape or form to this adoption. Prayers, time, donations... May the Lord bless everyone whose hand is on the plow of His work.
7/9/2007 - Monday
- 7/9/2007 9:59:24 PMOn HoldWe sent in our first large payment to the cover the following costs:
- Russian Agency Fee $2,250
- US Dossier Processing $3,000
- Consular Registration $2,000
To date, we have paid for everything on the adoption cost estimate up to the consular registration and including the application fee and passports.
As of now, Yuri has been placed in "On Hold" status. This means he will not be placed on any more 10 day trips to America and has been reserved for us pending our paperwork and fees.
Hold on Yuri, Hold on!
7/8/2007 - Sunday
- 7/8/2007 6:47:19 PMSpare Cash
I saw this ad in the classified section of the local news paper. This individual is seeking an original copy of an advertisement for The Winter Dance concert that took place in Green Bay on February 1, 1959 featuring:
- Buddy Holly and the Crickets
- The Big Bopper
- Richie Valens
- Dion and the Belmonts
This is one of the last performances for Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and "The Big Bopper" (aka Jiles Perry Richardson) who all died in a plane crash in the morning of February 3.
This has got me thinking... What would I spend twenty thousand dollars on? Hmmmm? I'm not sure I would spend that kind of money recovering a family photo album or an old personal diary. I would definitely not spend $20,000 on a poster. Even if that poster represented the night my life changed.
This isn't to say that I don't set a price on things of the past. History has value and it is worth remembering, but at what cost? Will preserving a concert poster affect the future in the same manner that preserving the American Constitution or Declaration of Independence does?
Perhaps I'm reading more into this ad than there really is, but I see it as symbolic of modern thinking. It reminds me of the television show, Antiques Road Show. If I had one of those rare items in my possession today, Yuri would be here tomorrow.
7/7/2007 - Saturday
- 7/7/2007 12:03:02 PMPassportsOur U.S. Passports arrived in the mail today. I think it has been about 10 weeks since we applied for them so the estimated time of 10 to 12 weeks is accurate. Overall, the passport is a very interesting document. Each page has a different quote from famous people in American History.
The front page has a glossy overlay with my photo and information on it. The funny thing is that the post office was very particular about the photo, it's size and color. When printed on sticky clear plastic and pasted in a book with water-marked pages, the clarity and size of the photo seems less of an issue.
7/5/2007 - Thursday
- 7/5/2007 11:34:39 PMFireworks PhotosHere are some photos of our TNT fireworks tent
- 7/5/2007 11:30:00 PMRaw Sales DataBelow is the rough summary of how we did at the TNT tent. We will be traveling to Stevens Point on Saturday to return the unsold product. This will be subtracted from our original invoice and we will have to write out a preliminary check to TNT for the final portion of their cut. Then all the paperwork will be sent to TNT headquarters in Alabama and our account will be reconciled by their accountants. They will send us a final check within 30 days. Either way, here is our approximation.
7/4/2007 - Wednesday
- 7/4/2007 11:30:00 PMFireworks - Day 13Neil H. stayed over last night. He, James and I work up around 8:00 AM. I went in and got some coffee and we sat around trying to recover from yesterday's feeding frenzy in the rain. Around 9:15 (as usual) a customer drove up and asked if we were open for business. All the sides of the tent were down with only a flap pulled back to let some fresh air in. We were just sitting there in lawn chairs, hair all messy with bed-head, our cots and air mattress still up, no cash in the register, drinking coffee... I said, "sure, come on in". They looked around and left with out buying anything. I think we might have scared them away.
We decided to make the tent look like we were open and raised the sides. My dad called to wish me a happy birthday. He said he was very proud of me and what I was doing. There is a special place in my heart for comments like that. I know he means it and it is worth more than gold to me.
From this point on, customers came in not stop and steady. Peggy and Grandma did their best to make the stock appear full but there came a point where there just was not enough left to do that. We decided to take down some tables and pull the back tables forward. By noon, the traffic had slowed down some. People kept coming in asking for "something for the kids" - sparklers, snakes, popits, smoke bombs. They were all gone. Many customers came in and looked around like someone at a rummage sale that was heavily picked over. All of the good stuff was gone.
I was ready to call it quits, pack up and go home. We had just crossed over the $15,000 mark which was my goal. Peggy was not ready to quit. She kept condensing product and making it look as full as possible. More tables came down, more people came, more product disappeared. By 5:00 PM, we had taken down 2/3 of the tables in the tent and what remained looked bare. People kept coming asking for sparklers.
WalMart closed at 8:00 PM and that was going to be our unofficial close as well. By the time it came, there was almost nothing left. Mike kept selling as hard as he could. I think he has tried and failed in his attempt to sell "The Big One" more than any of us. As we boxed up product, he kept selling. Customers came in and he would say, "this is the last family pack we have". It is not really a family pack, but rather a $200 mega pack. Regardless, it was the only combo item we had. Finally when everything was boxed up, one last customer came in. Mike, not ready to call it quits, brought them over to the Big One and unboxed it. The tent got very quiet as Mike began his sales pitch. We all prayed for it to sell, "Come on. Come ON! Lord please finish in a mighty way what you started."..... It didn't sell. I'm ok with that. The small amount of product that we have to return will easily fit into our mini-van.
This has been a weird and wild two weeks. Stay tuned for the final totals
7/3/2007 - Tuesday
- 7/3/2007 11:30:00 PMFireworks - Day 12Big sales at the cookie table. Mary said the children made over $50 dollars yesterday. That is awesome! Today's sales brought them to around $120.
Kurt B. stayed over last night. He works in Green Bay and will drive to work early. That will be tough - I know. His wife Sue packed some fruit and snacks for us for in the morning. She must have known that my birthday is coming up. She taped a birthday candle to the bag of snacks she packed for me. Her mind is continuously on serving other people. She is a good person to emulate.
We had steady rain and thunder last night and thankfully only some minor leaking in the tent. We lost one Ground-Hog ground spinner to water damage. It fell off of the table and into a puddle on the ground. Carol says there is more rain in the forecast.
One of the volunteers told me of an interesting thought they had. It seemed symbolic that on this holiday where we celebrate our independence the freedom from tyranny, that we are selling fireworks (symbolic of war) so that we can free Yuri from the opression he is in.
Roger said we would be busy today, and we were. At some point in the afternoon, I went into WalMart to use the rest room. As I was returning to the tent, I was overcome with a great and profound sense of peace and joy. It occured to me how tired I was but not to the point of not being able to function. I was tired but very content and very pleased with how things were going at the tent, the volunteers and as a whole - my life. I prayed to the Lord, "Thank you for letting me be a small cog in your giant machine. Thank you for allowing me a place to put my hand on the plow of Your work."
As I approached the tent, my family and friends began to sing "happy birthday" to me. While I was away, the kids from Mary's class had offered up the idea to get a cake and have a small birthday party for me. Someone had given Mary some money to help purchase buns and supplies for the tent. There was enough left over for them to purchase a birthday cake, ice cream and some sparkling grape juice. So there I was... standing in WalMart's parking lot, surrounded by my family and friends, in front of a lot of strangers, listening to people singing and laughing all the while dark black storm clouds were building over head. What an awesome witness we must have been!
We quickly moved inside the tent. When the rain came, it came hard. Buckets of water poured into the tent across the floor. All the children jumpped up and down in the puddles. My son and daughter made a boat from an empty box and floated it from one end of the tent to the other. The power cords from the generator were under water. We scrambled to get plastic over the fireworks. The harder it rained, the more customers came in and bought. The tent was packed and the money kept coming in. It rained all evening. Total sales were well over $3,000.
7/2/2007 - Monday
- 7/2/2007 11:30:00 PMFireworks - Day 11I had the longest period of sleep so far last night. I ran to Festival and got some doughnuts. We had some rain early on and the sky is overcast but it is warm. Mary's Sunday School class came in today. They are going to sell lemonade, home made cookies and Seroogy's candy bars. The best part is that the idea to do this came from the kids themselves. This is how they determined to help. May God bless the work of their hands.
Two boys came in with their mother today. The had $10 to spend on fireworks and selected a combo bag for $9.99. Mom would not give them change for the tax. The left. Perhaps they just didn't have the money. Perhaps.
We had a customer come in today who says he knows the Frank family from their church. He knew they were also adopting a Russian child. What was remarkable about him was that as he spoke he interpreted everything from a "world view" perspective. In everything he said, the conversation always came back to scripture. This reminds me of Deuteronomy 6
..."Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."...
Ultimately everything you encounter will be evaluated by your world view. This is a key principle. Settle in your mind what your world view actually is. Ask yourself, "why do I think that way" and "is that correct". This is a foundational block of who you are.
An interesting customer came in today. He appeared to be an old biker. Short, long hair, long beard. He smelled strongly of alcohol and kept holding the left side of his ribs. He said that he had fallen on a train track. He was obviously in a great deal of pain. His friend dropped him off at the tent while he went into WalMart and shopped. The biker purchased about $35 worth of fireworks. After a while, he became worried that his friend might have left without him. He looked tired and wheezed a little when he breathed.
He asked for a chair to sit down so I offered him one and set it by the opening of the tent so he could see out. He kept calling me "partner". Customers like him and the soldier from yesterday make me wonder about how angles might appear should they come in and visit. Would I recognize them? Would I recognize the Lord in disguise?
7/1/2007 - Sunday
- 7/1/2007 11:30:00 PMFireworks - Day 10Ted purchased some coffee for us last night. I shouldn't have drank that. I was wide awake until 3:00 AM this morning. That's when I heard the sirens from the police and rescue squad. I'm not sure what it was for but something bad happened in the apartments across the street from WalMart.
Grandma came in with more coffee this morning. She got it from the Subway in WalMart. While she was in the store with Ellie, they witnessed a female employee snorting cocaine in the woman's restroom. Apparently the employee came in with a drinking straw in her mouth and walked into one of the stalls. Grandma said she could hear the snorting and gaging and when the woman came out, she went to the mirror and began looking up her own nose. Ellie will not be going into the women's rest room alone.
Peggy called from home this morning. While she was preparing breakfast and about to jump in the shower, the power went out. There are two words for that, "Bad Timing". Then again, is there ever a good time for the power to go out?
Cousin Melissa came and helped out today. She works at one of the local banks and is very familiar with handling money. She picked up the register quickly and is very easy going, easy to work with and a joy to have on the team.
SIDENOTE: Customers who say, "I'll be back" seldom do.
We are beginning to run out of stock. There are no more snakes or large sparklers. Most of the large fountains are also gone. Grandma called Roger the are manager to place a additional order. Roger said that by the time he could make the order (Monday), the soonest the product would arrive would be Tuesday - probably in the afternoon. We close on Wednesday. Needless to say, we're not going to order anything more. Grandma is not happy about that. My goal is not to have to bring anything back to the return center in Stevens Point. This issue (along with how to make change at the register) is a point of conflict between Grandma and I. Neither issue is a big deal but we are both getting very tired and a little crabby. I'm going to watch my tongue so that I don't do or say anything stupid and loose the best sales person we have.
