Wednesday, March 21, 2012

This is the day!

Tomorrow morning at 11:00 am (early Thursday-2:00am for most of you) we go before a judge asking for the privilege of being Levi's parents. We believe this was God's plan before we even knew that sweet boy was on this planet. We trust we will have a favorable outcome and get to officially call him our son!

Please pray specifically that we will have a favorable decree allowing us to be his parents after our hearing. Pray for wisdom, strength and courage for Dustin as he will be the main spokesman for our family. Pray above all God will be glorified through this process and through the "joining together" our family with this precious little one. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! 

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Momma's gettin' crafty!

Well, they say in times of desperation you find a way to do what ever it takes to take care of your family. I think this may be proof that this statement is true :) As I mentioned in the previous post we are in need of more funds to be able to complete our adoption. For years I've had friends and family tell me I should sell some of my "creations" so I got the little wheels in my head turning and worked my tail off (along with my amazing mother and husband) for a week to produce enough items to sell for the benefit of our adoption. We have opened a booth at Encore Resales in Pelham, AL to sell some of my "crafts" to raise extra money to help bring Levi home. This is something I never thought I'd have the guts to do...and I certainly never thought I'd be getting it going the week before we leave for court in Russia! But everything sort of fell into place and I had to see that as God making a way for us to raise the money we needed! Please support us in this effort to open up our home and hearts to "one of the fatherless." 

If you are interested in some cute stuff for a great cause please go by and visit our booth, Polka-tots.  It's in the very back, down the middle isle, of Encore Resales. If you see an item listed but would like a different color or size (or do not live around the Birmingham area) I can custom make any of the items you'd like and ship it. 
Here are some of the fun things you'll find at Polka-tots:

Here is our booth!

Tiffany blue chalkboard

Distressed white frame

Frames and shadowbox shelf

White candlesticks

Tiffany blue candlesticks and white table

Weathered wood frames, beaded wineglasses, pottery

We are also selling burlap door hangers (pictured below) which can be made to order with your choice of colors. They are $20 (add $5 for shipping if not local). I have several more furniture pieces I will be working on when we come home from Russia. If you are looking for something specific let me know and I'll refinish whatever you are wanting in the colors you'd like.  We are very thankful for everyone that has already purchased a cross or visited our booth. We are so blessed by you! 

Crosses for Levi :)

To place an order or for more information please email me at polkadoption@gmail.com. 
Thank you!!!





Wednesday, March 07, 2012

ASAP :)

Do you remember what I asked everyone to pray...very specifically...after our last court date was canceled??? I'll give you a hint: it was a list of 4 things and I wrote it in the post "I need a favor" on February 6th. Remember? Let me "jog" your memory:

1) For our family (Dustin, Amber, Carsyn, Sara Kate & Levi) for comfort, protection & peace.
2) For a court date as soon as possible in March.
3) To have Levi HOME in Alabama not later than May 2012.
4) For the people in Russia-leadership (our judge specifically), citizens, orphans.

I have prayed this everyday since then and I know many of you have also! Well, God heard our cry and the prayers of so many on our behalf! We have a new court date on March 22nd. This is great news...but here is why it is miraculous news...

Our first court was canceled due to the upcoming Russian elections. We were told everything was on hold until after the election.The election was on Sunday, March 4th. We were told we would not hear anything until next week (March 12th) because the courts would take time to reconvene. I was still hopeful they would somehow "squeeze" us in for March so we could bring Levi home in early May. I begged God to make this happen. I asked Him repeatedly for a court date AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in March. They called us on Monday morning, the DAY AFTER the election to let us know our new court date of March 22nd! It doesn't get any sooner than that! Praise God!

Please keep praying for us! Items 1, 3 and 4 are still very important :) ...and we haven't actually gone to court yet so pray for that part of the process too! We leave March 17th and we have a lot to do in a short time. Please also pray for provision. We are hitting a crunch with our finances for this adoption. We had raised/saved/borrowed right at the amount we needed to complete everything but now with the delays there have been some additional expenses and we need to raise about $5000 before the end of April. Please pray...but I know God will provide!

We are so thankful for this great news but even more so for all of our prayer partners that have lifted us up to get to this point. We are so very blessed...