Report from Art & Chocolate

Well, the big fundraiser weekend is over and I’m sitting at my desk feeling rather amazed about the whole thing! 

I got off work Friday and went straight over to the church to get started wrapping up details.  I decorated sugar cookies and worked on displays in the fellowship hall.  There were a number of friends there working on pulling together the donations for a huge yard sale.  They worked until late and it was fun to have their company in the fellowship hall as we worked.  My in-laws arrived from Indiana and even though they looked quite tired, Hubby’s mom helped set out jewelry boxes and a variety of other things.  Hubby and his dad went off to bring us some ice cream and we sat for a while with the marvelous flavors they brought from a new ice cream shop in town.  Yummm...  I worked for a bit longer and then we sent the in-laws to my parent’s home for the night. 

Saturday morning I took my time getting going because I was tired from a long week of preparation.  Hubby’s mom arrived and started to help me finish up some chocolate and put together the last of the displays in the fellowship hall.  Hubby’s dad and hubby spent most of the day working on a few things around the house, including a new faucet in the bathroom and a new valve on the water heater and the window air conditioner installed.  Hubby and father-in-law went for Sub sandwiches for dinner and as we were finishing up my parents arrived with the fruit and vegetables.  The Mothers put out the chocolate as I showed them where it went and we put out all the other munchies as well.  As we were finishing up the food displays and lighting candles, the first guests started to arrive.  And at 7:00 when the fund raiser was officially starting, there were maybe 4 or 5 guests.  After a while though, the numbers started to swell and we had a crowd. 

A friend of mine is a professional violinist and she brought along a friend who plays harp and they played music for the event and really did a lovely job!  What a blessing they are and a beautiful addition to the evening!

At about 8:00 we showed the video that I made a while back giving some of our history in this journey toward parenthood.  I watched people watching the video and was blessed by how people allowed themselves to connect emotionally with it.  I think it is a lot to swallow in the five minutes of the video since it represents an often painful journey, but at least it is mercifully short.  I found myself comforting my friends who were moved by my story.  How’s that for a strange twist?!

The Art

I had small tables with a jewelry and artwork of a variety of media.  I also had a table where I had old jewelry that was significantly reduced in price.  The SALE table.  That may well have been the hit of the evening.  Most of the time there were ladies huddled around that table trying things on and giving each other feedback.  It was fun to interact with the people the same way I did when I had the gallery.  I could help them choose things that looked good on them, and make suggestions on things they should try on.  It was a very interesting evening and I really enjoyed interacting with “clientele” again.  And I saw quite a bit of that jewelry Sunday morning in church – which was a delightful surprise in some cases because I did not take care of the money so I had no idea who had purchased what.  I really enjoyed that.

The Chocolate

We had a whole table of just chocolate.  I had made twelve kinds of truffles and caramels and my Mom brought another three kinds in addition to the cookies that both of us made.  And because there were so many choices, people may have been a little overwhelmed.  So I found them gathered around the table making recommendations to each other on which ones “you just have to try!”  I heard special compliments on the lemon truffle and the marzipan which was a favorite of quite a few folks.  Surprisingly, the dark chocolate truffle with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper was a favorite for quite a few people.  I was very surprised by that but it is a completely unique flavor to an American palette.  And of course the South American dulce de leche cashew was widely favored.  Yummmmm!   My very favorite truffle of them all (a Hazelnut crème) never actually made it to the table though we did use it in the assortments that we made.  And a friend of mine later remarked that the chocolate wasn’t like home-made chocolate, it was like a cute boutique chocolate – “you know, the good stuff.”  That was a really sweet compliment and it felt really good to hear that. 

Before the event we made plates that had one of each kind of chocolate.  We carefully wrapped them up and set them aside for people who had ordered via email.  I’ll be mailing these out this week to friends, plus we sent some via family members.  It will be fun to hear how these go over with those who receive them over the next few days or so.

At the end of “Art & Chocolate” I went to my dad who had been manning the check out station.  I asked him about the total and he had me guess.  My guess was low.  Hubby had a number in his mind that he was hoping for.  And when my Dad showed him the figure, it was double what hubby had hoped for!  Yeah, talk about dropping my chin to the floor.  My response was “holy cow!” but we quickly changed it to “hallelujah!”  It had been a small and very casual crowd, they were comfortable and enjoyed each other’s company.  And they blessed us WAY beyond our expectations!  I have not seen the checks, and I don’t know who gave what.  My dad took care of all of that.  But it really packs a bunch when you see a big figure and know it translates into being that much closer to bringing our children home.  What an amazing thing is unfolding in my life!

The crowd thinned out and I started packing up the artwork and jewelry.  And the Mothers worked on the leftover chocolates, putting them out on plates in nice assortments and my Father-in-law carefully wrapped each one in plastic wrap.  We had 25 or so of these assortments prepared after the event.  So we gained permission and made a quick announcement in church Sunday morning that they would be available in the fellowship hall.  Well after the service let out, Hubby’s Mom and I quickly sold those plates to the crowd of people that were sucked in like magnets.  As people shoved cash my direction and wrote checks, it was another overwhelming moment for the weekend.  Some dear folks were just too late and it was gone.  People wrote checks for more than the chocolate, and some wrote checks without even taking any chocolate.  A friend looked me in the eye and asked me how I was doing.  I told her I was going to go home and bawl because I was overwhelmed.  She hugged me tight as I tried to pull myself together. 

After church, and after the chocolate blitz we went to my favorite place for lunch.  And then home where I folded my tired bod into my bed and vanished from consciousness until someone gently shook me and said it was time.  The in-laws, hubby and I drove up to my parents home, planted ourselves around the kitchen table and enjoyed leftovers from the event.  Fresh fruit (including kumquats – which I really like) and fresh vegetables.  We popped some of the lady finger popcorn that my in-laws buy and yes… we shared a plate of chocolates.  Yummm!  Still good!  We talked and played Rook (an ethnic Mennonite card game) into the night.

I’m humbled and amazed.  Really!  I’m trying to take lots of photographs and write it all down.  I can’t trust my memory to keep it.  Our children need to know how much anticipation and generosity went into bringing them home.  If they can understand the miracle that brings them to us at some point in their lives... well, that will indeed be a beautiful thing!  For now I’m struggling to get my own mind around it.  Humbled.  And Amazed.