And Now, We Wait... (But First: Nachos!)

We've got a great update to share, but first we wanted to tell you about our first fundraising event: The Nacho Average Nacho Bar Adoption Fundraiser!

On Sunday, May 3, we'll be hosting a nacho bar lunch to raise funds for our adoption. You and your wonderful friends are invited to join us at Common Ground Midtown. No tickets to buy or fancy-pants dress code to follow, just come out and enjoy some great company.

You can view and share the official invitation here, or email teamvanandel@gmail.com if you have questions. RSVP appreciated but not required!

Now back to our regularly schedule blogging. :)


Whirlwind. I'm really not sure how else I can describe the last seven or so months of our lives. We moved into a new house in a new neighborhood, had a lot of doctor visits, spent WAY too much time scouring the internet for ideas and answers, and, somehow, it feels as if all this just started yesterday. And now, the first truly big milestone on our adoption journey:

A FedEx man dropped by this week with our printed profile books and, just last week, our signed/stamped/sealed home study reports arrived - we're officially official!

Profile books and home study reports artfully arranged!

Tomorrow, the profile books and copies of our home study report will be sent out to the three agencies but as of now we are live! We are now just waiting for a phone call about a potential Baby V.

Well, I say just waiting. Really, some of the hardest work is only beginning for us:

As soon as we finish packing things up (and hitting "Go" on this blog post), we hit the books looking for grants to help fund the adoption. We'd done some research before, of course, but nearly every grant program requires you to have your home study complete and be "adoption ready" before you can apply, so our hands were tied until the paperwork arrived.

Speaking of packing things up, we're just a matter of weeks away from garage sale season and the first of our garage sale fundraisers. Every scrap, stitch, or bit of fuzz from that stuff you never use but want to serve a good cause can find a new home AND help us in our adoption! We'll take the stuff off your hands and sell it at one of the garage sales, and all the proceeds will be put toward the Team VanAndel Adoption Fund.

You can email us if you have stuff you'd like to clear out, or just drop it off at Casa del VanAndel (preferably with some advance notice).

Last but not least, don't forget you can help bring home Baby V by shopping on Amazon using the link here or over in the sidebar of the blog -->

So there you have it: Books, reports, mailing, grants, NACHOS NACHOS NACHOS, and garage sales. Thanks SO much for your prayers and to everyone who has contributed to our adoption so far! You are all so appreciated!