Operation: Bring Home Baby Greavu

So this little blog is HOPPING... four posts in five days, I amaze even myself some times. In case you've missed the news, let me catch you up really quickly: We're ADOPTING and we need help. I promise not to let the blog become a continuous onslaught of fundraising, but as many of our friends and family keep up with us here, I wanted to provide the details of our fundraising on the blog.

So lets start with the numbers... gosh I wish I had those for you. It's a little bit unique, but the route that we've chosen to go for our adoption doesn't have fixed numbers. I can tell you that it will most likely be between $30,000 and $35,000. Believe me, I know that that is a lot of money. It's more than I make in a year. But we're trusting that with the help of our friends and family, we can make this adoption a reality.

We've got plans to do traditional things like yard sales and a jewelry trunk shoes. I've got a whole room in my house currently devoted to stuff we want to sell on craigslist. We've also got a couple of grants that we are preparing to apply for. And hopefully there will be some other fun, creative opportunities to raise some money, but the bulk of our fundraising is going to be through donations. Cue the puzzle fundraiser.

What is a puzzle fundraiser? Well, it's about the cutest idea ever. We've designed a puzzle specifically for our adoption. Each piece signifies a donation of $25. The cool thing about the puzzle isn't that the donator gets a puzzle piece, but rather that the name of the person (or persons) donating goes on the back of the puzzle piece (or pieces). When the puzzle is completed, the front will be a beautiful reminder of our love for our child, and the back will be an incredible testament to the love and support of our friends and family. We intend to frame the completed puzzle in between two pieces of glass and hang it in the nursery (OMG, I can't believe I'm even writing about a nursery!). When our child is older, we'll be able to show him/her just how much he/she was loved and prayed for before we'd ever even met.

How does it work? It's pretty simple. You send us a check which we will deposit directly into our adoption savings account. Or, if checks are too old school for you (because who has time to write checks these days?) you can donate via this link. A quick, secure digital swipe of your card or payment from your paypal account will send a payment directly into our adoption savings account. From there, we count out your pieces ($25 = 1 piece, $50 = 2 pieces, and so on) write your name(s) on the back. It's that easy.

Who can donate? ANYONE. I wish I could tell you that the first puzzle piece is up for grabs, but that honor has actually gone to my great-grandfather: Lloyd T. Mundy. My mom found a bond that my grandfather had purchased for me shortly before he died. The time is not up on the bond, but after looking up the giant return on his investment (a whopping $7), we've decided to forgo the interest and take the money. I'm not exactly sure why my grandfather went the bond route, but I'm pretty sure he'd be pleased to know where we put the money. The first eight puzzle pieces will have his name on the back. But you can have puzzle piece number NINE... woo hoo!

So that's about it. But please stay tuned for further information on other opportunities to help bring home Baby Greavu.