Oh! The stuff you'll sale today!

First to get this ball rolling, to catch everybody up of the events of last week, Justin's middle son Jaiden ended up in Ogden Regional Hospital on Monday with an appendices that perforated! Poor little sick guy. Monday night at like 9 or 10pm they took him into surgery and got rid of that appendix and cleaned up the infection that the perforation had caused. During this time Tucker also had a chemo appointment... so it was interesting going from one hospital to the other... and poor Justin pretty much lived up at Ogden Regional- but i think what worked in his benefit is he knows how to "live the hospital life" thanks to all the hospitals trips we have been through (hum, something to be grateful for?) and are going through with Tucker. So he took up his bag, computer, book & just crashed with Jaiden. He didn't spend every night up there, he traded off with Jaiden's mom- but it was kind of a crazy week for SURE. Finally Jaiden got released on this last Saturday (day of the yard sale) to come home & he came to our house. Jaiden is such a good kid and he was a great trooper for never really having anything medically wrong with him before. Tucker has "learned" to be in the hospital and go without eating and getting poked & stuck with needles and such, so its not SO bad for Tucker- but with this being Jaiden's first time... it was a little rocky at first but he did great & we are so proud of him. I'm sure it helped that he got an overabundance of Lego's to pass the time (his favorite thing).... he actually said that it was better than Christmas! LOL We said.... DON'T DO THIS AGAIN... AND DON'T GET USED TO THIS... THIS IS NOT HOW YOU GET LEGOS... LOL


On to the "little" (using that word VERY loosely) YARD SALE. I got a call around..... about 2pm Saturday (right Mary?) and it was Mary, Braxton's mom, who said... the "little" yard sale was not so much a "little" event.... but they all wanted to come over and have Braxton tell us himself all about the yard sale. At that time Tucker was doing great, Jaiden was crashed on our big chair just home from the hospital & doing great- so i said, sure come on over. About a half hour later Mary & Tom and the whole family plus Jaron came over. The look on Braxton's face was adorable.... he was already trying to talk to me as he walked up our stairs he could hardly contain himself. In fact we didn't even get sat down before Braxton started talking about the day- it was SO cute. So as we were all standing in the kitchen, I looked at Braxton and said "Ok dude, tell me how it went." and he started talking so fast... He said it was crazy and so many people showed up and then he held out this HUGE wad of cash and said "We raised $1750 for Tucker."
my jaw dropped.... Justin looked stunned.... I said.... What did you say? You said, what?
Braxton said.... again.... Here! $1750 for you. and he thrust this huge wad of cash at me......
* stunned.... completely stunned... *
I'm sorry, Mary? Did your son just say $1750?
Justin and I look over at 2 proud parents just beaming... just GLOWING..... and they both started talking....Mary said.... yes, actually it was over $1750 but we let Braxton and Jaron stop at Wal-Mart and get Tucker some Lego sets that he wanted....
Tom & Mary started to tell us about there day, and honestly I can't remember all that was said because I was just stunned... Justin was stunned.... we just stood there like two stunned idiots..... I had Mary write a statement about her version of the yard sale (see below) because i knew there was no way I would remember what she said! But from what i gather they had hundreds of people show up... a steady flow of people... People who wanted only a $5 item, but paid $20 for it.... people who didn't get anything, they just wanted to donate money... it was just absolutely AMAZING...I asked Mary if she took pictures and she said she was just too overwhelmed by people and money and just running around crazy that she totally forgot.. I don't blame her! Roxanne showed up around noon and she took some pictures while she was there. Keep in mind when you see these pictures this was at the end of the sale so the bulk of the stuff was gone.
oh the STUFF that Mary had! People gave her SO MUCH stuff., not only did people donate money, but they donated STUFF to be sold..
I feel like Dr. Seuss version of "Oh! The places you'll go"...It just keeps coming to my head as i think about Braxton & Jaron... So Braxton, Jaron, I made a special thank you version just for you...
*warning* for those of you who have a weak stomach for bad poetry, please look away...


Oh! The stuff you'll sale today!

Congratulations!
Saturday was your day.
You're off to sell stuff!
You're off and away!

You have selling in your head
and socks on your feet.
You can sell anything!
Even the lines on the street
(no, I’m not good at rhyming.. but I’m trying to follow Dr. Seuss, just bear with me.)

Look up and down & look over stuff
And you may even say "what is this fluff?"
You'll find toys and things that jump or ring
Maybe you'll see a door knob or even a swing.
In that pile over there, you may even find
A book with a better rhyme than mine....(LOL!)

Braxton & Jaron your special, & super, your tops!
And you have fantastic & amazing, mom & pop's...
(You had to have seen that one coming..)
You sold & you sold until there were no people in sight,
I was told you were out there at first light.

Braxton & Jaron, how best to describe-
What super heroes you are in Tucker’s life
You 2 are treasures, your gold, your charms!
Boys, you have some great parents on your arms… (does that go? LOL)

Thank you so much for your salesman skill
You guys are too much, you fit the bill.
One day it was pizza the next it was stuff,
You boys are truly diamonds in the rough…

We are so grateful, thankful & amazed
at what special kids you are, & how you were raised
Our hearts are full, they are happy, they sing!
We are so lucky you’re on Tuckers Team
(LOL, not sure how to actually END a poem.. but that was THE END, I know… your relieved…)


Anyways... jeez... what a silly little poem... and I'm all teary eyed because of it...
OK, well I'll wrap this up & stop crying, and leave you with Mary's statement of the "little" not-so-little Yard Sale.
*** love to all, Amber & Justin & Tucker ****

-
From: mary trujillo
Braxton came home from school a month or so ago, and asked if we could
do a fundraiser for Tucker. Tom and I talked it over, and decided a
yard sale would be a good idea. We do a couple a year to de-junk
anyway, and figured we could make a few hundred dollars. I helped
Braxton type up a flier asking for donations of items to sell and he
took it around to all of our neighbors. He also called everyone we
know, asking for donations. Those people talked to other people, who
talked to other people, and next thing we knew our garage was piled
floor to ceiling with stuff! Apparently, we were having the biggest
yard sale ever! Out of the blue, we got a call from a wonderful lady
at Smith's Bakery. She had received his flier from our neighbor and
wondered if we could use some baked goods. Tom told her sure, and when
he went to pick them up, they came out with a pallet of cupcakes.
(Seriously, a whole pallet - that is like hundreds of cupcakes!) And
Mrs. Shipman (Brax and Tucker's teacher) talked to the principal and
she sent out a notice to all of the parents letting them know what we
were doing. We had so many of the teachers and parents come out to
support Tucker and his family. It was awesome! As Amber has said
before, Mrs. Shipman really is the best teacher on the planet and
Quest is a fantastic school!
By mid-week, the forecast was calling for snow and 30 degrees on
Saturday. Yikes! With all of the advertising that had been done, we
had to go ahead anyway, so we started praying for a change in the
weather. Saturday morning we woke up to clear blue skies and a high of
50. We thought the storm had just broken apart, until we found out
later that parts of Salt Lake received close to 10 inches of snow.
Talk about answered prayer!
The response to this yard sale was amazing. From the time we set up
(at 7:00 in the morning!), there was a constant flood of people here.
Brax, his sister, and his friend Jaron set up the bake table, and we
put out a donation can. They spent the whole day working the crowd,
making sure everyone knew they could get a cupcake, cookie, or soda
with any donation. They were determined that no one was getting out of
there without dropping something in that can. I still can't believe
how many cupcakes they "sold" for $40 or $50 dollars! By 3:00 in the
afternoon, almost everything was gone, the kids were on a sugar high,
and we had raised $1770.00 for Tucker, Justin, and Amber.
I am so proud of Braxton for getting the ball rolling on this, and how
hard he worked to make it happen. We want to thank all of you who
supported his efforts and made this a success. We are so grateful for
the opportunity to have seen first hand the incredible generosity of
the community around us. It was amazing!

The next 3 pictures are of the yard sale Roxanne took

Braxton and Jaron giving Tucker the money on Saturday

Mary, Tom Trujillo and Family