Throwing the flower girl's head piece...

Do you remember what you were doing ten years ago today??? I do! I was throwing my flower girl's head piece our florist had just delivered across Mrs. Shirley's dining room table. Not my proudest moment :) Normal wedding stress and a bit too much 'baby's breath' sent me over the edge into a "bridezilla" moment. Can you say spoiled brat? Absolutely! I'm so thankful that even then I had godly women in my life to keep my materialistic and sometimes shallow soul grounded :) After I finished pitching my little fit about the 'oh-so-important' ring of mostly baby's breath to adorn the flower girls head; my mom, Mrs. Shirley and my bridesmaids were there to join hands and pray me back to reality.

Looking back I see how silly I acted about something that really didn't matter at all. I'd like to think I've grown and matured over the past ten years but if I'm honest I really haven't. True, I probably wouldn't throw a head piece across the table today...that's just because God has improved my self-control and given me greater conviction. But in my heart I still pitch fits about life's little disappointments. Just yesterday I had to "check myself" over the Southern Belle shirts. When they arrived, the shade of yellow I was expecting wasn't quite the shade that was printed. But is that really important? Well, I actually let it upset me for a little while. Luckily, I have grown to a place where God can quickly get my attention and remind me above all HE is my priority. Yes, the yellow was a little off...and yes, Southern Belle even offered to re-print all of the shirts, but what is the eternal aspect of this situation? While I was very "nice" when talking with the SWEET lady about my concern over the t-shirts...what message does it send about my ministry if I ask her to reprint 250 shirts just because I wanted a lighter shade of yellow??? As soon as I got off the phone with her I regretted even bringing it up...still a brat at heart:) Maybe a more "mature brat" but a brat all the same.

See I've come to realize, while I really do detest baby's breath and I'm not a fan of the 'golden yellow,' that's not really what caused me to act like a two year old. The root cause was it didn't meet MY expectation...MY plan. I know there are circumstances in life where quality, details and personal taste are important, but never at the expense of how we represent Christ to the world...and more importantly how we represent ourselves to Christ. And I think you'll find, like me, most of our "fits" happen when OUR plans get disrupted. Total surrender is such an easy concept but so impossible to do. But how much sweeter would our lives be if we would just embrace the grace and love of Christ and give HIM control over every aspect of our life. Life's disappointments may not seem quite so bad if we keep our focus on Him who gave us this life. 

So yes, this does mean that ten years ago today we were preparing for the day that I would marry the man that my mother prayed God would bring into my life. For the man God specifically made for me. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not an easy gal to live with :) My emotions are crazy and my needs and wants change daily...but God created a man to ride the emotion roller-coaster with me and adapt to my ever changing wants and needs in Dustin. He is my perfect partner. He makes me a better wife, mother, friend and Christ-follower. Dustin, August 25th of 2001 was the best day of my life and I pray we will read this 50 years from now and laugh hysterically at the crazy times we've had, crazy children we have raised and the crazy life we have lived all for the glory of God! I love you :) Happy (early) Anniversary!

Look how young we look...and skinny!
We are definitely happier now :)

As I mentioned, the Southern Belle shirts have come in. If you have ordered one, I'll be getting with you soon about how to get them delivered. If you didn't pre-order but would like one let me know. We do have some extra's in each size! They are $20. Here are some pics of the final product (and despite my little freak out over the yellow...they turned out precious!)

Southern Belle's know no matter how motherhood
comes to you it is a gift from God!



My cutie pies modeling the "shirts to help us get our brothers"



baseball paci's and school supplies

So it's that time of year...the first day of school! Well, in our little family, it will be the "first" first day of school. Carsyn starts kindergarten next week. How is that possible? I've read many tearful Facebook posts from my Mississippi friends sharing in my "letting go" anxieties since their "babies" already started school this week. You know, when you were a kid you heard grown-ups say, "they just grow up too fast" and you thought they were crazy. Elementary school seemed like an eternity. But now on the other side, as a "grown up" I totally understand what the adults were talking about. Life really is short and we don't have enough time with our babies...

With this big event looming in our near future, I've found myself ultra nostalgic and "clingy" with my girls. I had a few hours alone today and thought I'd take advantage of the free time to get Carsyn's school supply list knocked out. Today may have not been the best timing to surround myself with the reminder that my "baby" is now a big girl that needs school supplies:) I was already a little emotional because earlier I had received an email I'd been looking forward to for several months now. After countless hours and month's of paperwork, several trips to local government entities, multiple attempts to obtain proper clearances and documents, hundreds of photocopies, a couple meetings with my favorite notary and social worker:) and a morning in Montgomery at the Secretary of  State's office, our file for the adoption is finally complete and on it's way to Russia! This is BIG news. We are one step closer to bringing our boys home. As I walked into Walmart, this good news was on my mind. After finding all of the normal school supplies, I went on to find the items listed that were not in the "school supply" section. One was baby wipes.

I walked through the baby section toward the wipes and noticed the pacifiers...referred to as "paci" by my girls. I stopped. I'm at crossroad right now with Sara Kate. She turned two this summer. We've had a lot going on the past few months. We've made multiple long road trips, we are getting ready to transition her to a "big girl" bed and we are getting ready to add two more children to our family. I haven't felt like now is the best time to take her paci away. However, she is getting older and she is very attached to it. We have lost all of her paci's but one! So, I've decided we aren't buying anymore. Once this one is gone, it's gone. BUT she has chewed a hole in it and I'm afraid she'll chew it off and be very upset during our five hour ride back to Birmingham. So I stared at the cute pink paci's hanging on the shelf debating whether to buy a pack "just in case." Then I caught myself looking at the super cute "boy" paci's that were designed like various balls. There was a baseball and a football paci. My mind wandered to thinking "Oh so cute...I should get these for the boys." AND THEN IT HIT ME...by the time we get them home they will probably be too old to take a paci. We are already missing so much of their little lives. The tears started to flow. And with the reality of how fast Carsyn has grown up so fresh on my heart, another minute away from my babies is just too long. I pray the rest of this adoption will go by quickly so we can love on our baby boys and not waste another minute without them. So if you were at the Ocean Springs Walmart today, that was me...I was the crazy chick bawling on the paci aisle:) 

The moral of this story...enjoy and make good use of the time we have with our babies. Even grown babies. I'm sure my mom and dad agree as they prepare to send my "little" sister Courtney off to the mission field, it doesn't matter how old your child is, it's never easy to let go of your "baby." Whether it's to kindergarten, college, their spouse or to the world to spread the love of Christ. With such a short window of time, we must daily impact our children for His Kingdom...we must daily impact the world. God uses our children to remind us so many things. It's no doubt He uses our babies to show us Psalm 39:4-5  "Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered- how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Make the most of every breath...

Here's the evidence of us making the most of our last days of summer:)



Carsyn with our new friend, Irina.





How can something so cute have such an attitude??? :)

For Sara Kate, it's been the "summer of the tutu."

Carsyn is in "bubble heaven"

Just nothing more precious...

"IT IS FINISHED..." :)







You can never have too many...

CUTE T-SHIRTS!!! :)

Please support our adoption fundraising by ordering a super cute Southern Belle T-shirt. They are on a teal blue shirt, with bright yellow and hotpink accents and black writing. They are "just fabulous" and I can't thank my sweet friend, Heather Allen, enough for organizing this fundraiser for us! The shirts are $20 for adult sizes and $15 for children's sizes. The design is below...



If you'd like to order, you can leave comments below with the size you'd like and I'll email you payment options. You can also send an email to polkadoption@gmail.com to place an order or on my Facebook page.

I've also been asked a few times if we are still doing the Iron Bowl Adoption fundraiser. We definitely are! It'll run until the week of the Iron Bowl! We are hoping to have an exciting announcement very soon regarding this fundraiser...(hint: "stay tuned" for exciting developments.) If you'd like to vote for Alabama or Auburn to win our allegiance, go to www.ironbowladoption.com and donate :)

Adoption is a rollercoaster...we have great days, we have not-so-great days. We experience victory, we experience defeat. But the one constant in this process has been the support of our amazing family, friends, church and community! We couldn't do this without you...thank you from the bottom of my heart~

Be joyful with little and plenty...of vacuum cleaners :)

How on Earth have I managed to blow up two vacuum cleaners in less than 12 months??? OK the first one was kind of my fault. I didn't clean it out enough but I didn't realize the machine was so "high maintenance" until it was too late. However, I still haven't figured out what happened to the second one. I was just vacuuming and as I was about finished with the entire house the piece where the filter fits in on the side literally fell off onto my breakfast room rug...leaving behind remnants of melted plastic on the rug! I have NO IDEA why it melted off but I was SO irritated to have to buy another vacuum.

The first vacuum cleaner I LOVED! It was compact and light weight and had amazing suction! I was really sad when it bit the dust :) Not only was I upset because this vacuum made my cleaning endeavors easier but also because the timing was terrible. It quit working the week before the adoption fundraiser/yard sale we had back in April. A time when we became totally focused on saving and raising money for our adoption. A vacuum cleaner wasn't in the budget...and still isn't. So imagine how excited I was when the day before the yard sale my sweet neighbor shows up with a bunch of items to donate and one of them was a perfectly working vacuum.

At the time I was grateful but didn't see the significance of "a need" being met at just the right time. The most recent vacuum cleaner fatality that occurred at the Polk house was last week, the day before we were set to leave for "home" on the coast. We had a precious missionary coming to stay in our home and I wanted to make sure everything was spotless for her. This was the day my "new to me" hand me down vacuum cleaner melted to pieces. But I didn't let it get me down. :) We have tried to remain focused on glorifying God throughout this process and trust that because we've remained faithful in giving to others, He will continue to provide for us. If I let myself dwell on the money it would take to buy a new vacuum, I'd have gotten really mad! You see, buying cleaning equipment irritates me as much as buying tires! If I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on something, it should at the very least help somebody OR be pretty or shiny or fun or have a high heel :) A machine that sucks up dirt doesn't fit any part of that description!

We had a great visit at "home" with family and friends. We capped off the week by saying good bye (for now) to some very dear friends that are moving across the country...three time zones away...to California. Luckily, they will be "behind" us so Amy and I can still have our 9 am chats only it'll be 6 am her time:) You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you know you are about to have to do something you really don't want to but you have to...well when I walked up to their "seminary sale" Saturday morning to say "goodbye" that's the sensation I had in my gut. So how awesome is it that to ease the sadness of the situation, there was a vacuum cleaner sitting there waiting for a new home? :) After a tearful goodbye, I drove off in my "mommyvan" with my "new to me" vacuum cleaner sitting in the back. And then it dawned on me...God did it again! I have now needed a vacuum cleaner TWO times since this adoption started and without asking around or putting any effort at all into finding a cheap enough machine to get by until we are operating on a "normal budget" again, God has met that need. Significant? Not really...unless you consider $500 will pay for a home study review fee, or Registration fee, or Post-Placement fee, or two Visa's, or a Russian Medical Exam, or both boy's passport's, or 50 documents to be apostilled, or half our USCIS fee, or half of a round trip flight to Russia, or half of our "gift" to the orphanage...OR a vacuum cleaner.

God reminds me daily every $500 or $50 or $5 we save or raise is significant in this process. And if we are faithful to continue supporting other ministry, even when it's very tempting to focus all of our resources on the work we've been called to right now, He will be faithful in providing for us. NOW do you see why I'm so excited about a used vacuum cleaner? :)   Phil. 4:12

Happy Monday!

I've never thought of myself as an atheist...

Everyone inherits traits from their family members...good and bad. I'm always cold! :) You don't have to look far in my family tree to see where I get this from. My grandmother, Edna Brady, is known in our family for wearing a jacket even in 90 degree weather. Well, one trait I got from her late husband, my "grandpa Brady" is to worry...about everything. :) My whole life I've been called a "worry wart." I can even remember as a young child my dad telling me "you are just like your grandfather. You worry about things that haven't even happened yet." I guess that is why I've been desensitized to how harmful (and sinful) "worry" can actually be in your life. It's been a part of "who I am" for so long the effects of it are also just part of the "life I live."

Obviously walking this adoption journey has provided plenty of opportunity to worry. From little issues like Dustin's FBI clearance taking forever to come in to BIG things like how to come up with THOUSANDS of dollars to be able to bring our children home. Uncharacteristically of me, for a big portion of this adoption, I was not stressed, worried or anxious about any of it. Don't misunderstand me, I had moments of doubt or anxiety but because we were focused on Christ through this process the worry would quickly diminish. Keeping our focus on His glory and plan kept me from carrying around the constant weight of this HUGE step of faith we call adoption. Until a few weeks ago...

As I shared in the last post, we received a gift from some dear, Christ-like friends that enabled us to move forward to the next step in adopting twin boys...a direct answer to prayer.  I didn't know why but after the elation of our most recent "win" in the adoption process wore off I felt a bigger burden on me than ever before. There were a few things that weren't going quite the way "we" wanted and then ,of course, this constant reminder about the money we have left to raise. However, our situation was no different than it had been in the beginning. If anything it was better...we are closer to our goal and we've had several BIG indicators that we are totally within God's will for this situation. So why am I letting this bother me now... four months into the process when I haven't really worried about it before. A few weeks passed and the consuming stress was beginning to take it's toll.

One Sunday night I was listening to a "guest pastor" share a message on Phillipians 4. I've heard most of it before. Typical, "don't worry or be anxious for anything" scripture I've read hundreds of times. I've been told my whole life as a "worrier" :) to give it God, we aren't suppose to worry. But something I've never heard was this quote...

"The extent to which we worry is the extent to which we are an atheist at that moment. An atheist is a "no god person" and when we worry God is not a percieved reality in our lives."

I've never thought of myself as an atheist. In fact, the accusation would be hurtful. My faith is very important to me. IT'S "WHO I AM." This quote spoke loudly to me...you can't be a "worry wart" and a beleiver in Christ at the same time. To worry is to NOT TRUST God...the core foundation of what makes my relationship with Christ real. So to transparently look into my life the past few weeks and see the faith of an "atheist" was disappointing. Especially when God is so faithful and loving to me. All He asks for is my trust in Him. I fail so miserably...but He knew I would which is why He gives us undeserved grace.

The difference in that "down" time and the months prior that were "worry free" was my focus. I got distracted by the "task at hand" and accomplishing it myself instead of trusting Him with every step and rejoicing in the Lord. Phillipians 4 was a great encouragment to me that if Christ is REALLY at the center of everything in my life 'His peace will guard my heart and mind." And a great reminder that even though I think I'M walking this path in faith...really He is carrying me the entire journey. :) 

playing phone tag...

If you are a close friend of mine you know "phone tag" is a game I play everyday. I rarely keep my phone with it's bulky (but necessary with kids) Otterbox cover in my pocket. Honestly, there are many times I have no idea where my phone is just as a result of the glorious chaos and "busyness" a day chasing two children, running the roads, cleaning, cooking, errands, and other chores seems to bring. I totally relate to the song, "This is the stuff" by Francesca Battistelli..."I lost my keys in the great unknown. And call me please, cause I can't find my phone." Yep that's me! :) If you've never heard this song you really need to. Its the perfect "put a smile on your face" tune for a Monday morning.

Anyway, I have played "phone tag" with a dear friend of mine that lives in another state for a few weeks. Well, really months. The last I talked to her was the day this journey to twin boys really got kicked off. She was an immediate encouragement and prayer partner. We've text and left messages but no actual conversation for a while. I got a text from her two nights ago to call her when I got the kids to bed. Well, I responded that I would but my phone had other plans. It went dead shortly after the girl's bed time. By dead I mean not low battery dead, like dead dead:) It's a game my phone has been playing for a few weeks now. It just decides it wants to rest and doesn't wake up until it wants to. It's really annoying but after this expereince I am again reminded to appreciate the mundane things God uses to work in us...as Francesca Battistelli sings, "This is the stuff You use." Needless to say, we didn't talk that night.

When the Iron Bowl Adoption Fundraiser was launched we didn't have many expectations for it. We've prayed consistently from the beginning that God would use our adoption journey as way to reach people for His glory and to encourage others to adopt. Our prayer has been for exposure...to our adoption, our story, our God. Of course, we do need to raise money, but that is secondary to making His story known. With that said we have now come to a point where we are totally leaning on God for provision. We have used all of our savings to get us to this phase of the adoption process and when our next round of fees are due we will be short about $5000. I had a moment of weakness last week when the enormity of the cost started to weigh on me.  I began to question whether we are suppose to adopt two. I discussed it with my mom and sister and they were nothing but encouraging...pointing to all God has done so far to indicate we are doing what He has planned for us. As my mom was getting ready to leave Birmingham she offered to give us the money we needed to make it to the next step of this process. Humbly, I refused it because I knew we hadn't given God a chance to provide.

Fast forward a week to the same day I got a text from my "phone tag" friend...I had a meeting with our agency discussing the next steps for our adoption. She mentioned when we submit everything in the next two weeks we will have to be more specific about which child/children we are desiring to adopt. Namely, are we going to adopt twin boys or are we going to try for just one? After our discussion I began to have doubt again. See, we have enough money in savings to pay this round of fees for one. The additional money we need is because we are hoping to adopt two brothers.  Dustin and I both started having the same doubts that night. While the Iron Bowl Adoption website has exceeded our expectations in how many people have seen it, we never really thought it would raise thousands of dollars. (Although we believe God will continue to use it as a tool to provide and who knows what the total amount will end up being come SEC kickoff weekend :) God can really surprise us especially when we don't expect it. )We have a few more fundraisers planned for late summer/early fall but nothing in the near future. So where would we get the additional $5,000 we needed to move forward? The actual prayer was "If Your plan is for us to adopt two, please show us by providing the money for this next step. God, we told You we'd walk until we couldn't walk any further. Is this the end of the journey for us?"

Early the next morning I was cleaning up breakfast dishes and my phone rings. It was my sweet "phone tag" friend. Finally, we've connected:) We talked for a while and then she asks, "What are your needs for the adoption right now?" I casually answered, "Well we will really need between $4000 to $5000 for the next round of fees." And that's when I got to experience the presence of God AGAIN! She and her husband had decided a while back that God wanted them to provide $5000 of our adoption expenses. Overwhelmed with emotion, we finished our conversation. I spent much of the day on my knees in thanks! Do you realize the significance of not only God's gift through these precious friends but the timing of it? If we didn't play constant phone tag and talked earlier in the process or had we accepted the funds from my mother the week prior, we wouldn't have the answer to our prayer we prayed wanting guidance about how many children to adopt. If my phone had not died the night before, we would have never prayed this prayer. It was a faith building exercise totally orchestrated by an amazing God! :) And He showed us once again, continue walking to your TWO boys!

In classic girl fashion, I called my mother immediately to tell her the wonderful news. She was somewhat amazed. I know the gift we were given was HUGE but I was a little surprised by how shocked she was, but it was because there was even more to this story I didn't know. After the conversation I had last week with my mom and sister, Courtney, expressing my concern and doubt about adopting two, my sister spent time in prayer asking God to provide us with a $5000 gift to alleviate our doubts and fears. She told only my mom about her prayer the next day on their long drive back to the coast. God  had not only answered our prayer for guidance in our aodption, he answered Courtney's specific prayer for $5000. WOW! I still tear up as I write this. We discount so many acts of God as everyday happenings. I felt compelled to share this very long :) story with you because we so often forget it's the little everyday things that God can be most glorified in IF we let Him. I pray this story is also a reminder for you to see God where we sometimes forget to seek Him...everyday life. "This is the stuff You use."

To contribute through our Iron Bowl Adoption Fundraiser, go to http://www.ironbowladoption.com/ and vote for your favorite team. This is a fun way to make smaller donations to help us out...we need the $5 donation as much as we needed the $5000:) No amount is too small to accomplish the end goal of bringing our two babies home.We thank you for your support and for sharing our blog and/or website with anyone you think may be interested in helping or will join in praying for us through out this process:) We are so blessed by you!

Have you ever had a haircut that made you cry?



The Polk Family* June 2011* GO STATE!

If you are a girl, you know at some point you've gotten a hair cut or color that you totally hated and there was that awkward moment of tears in front of the person that gave you "bad hair" :) Well, I was definitely crying as I walked out of The Hair and Nail Group in Hoover last week...but not because of "bad hair." My hairdresser, and friend, Miranda has never put me in tears because of an awful cut or color. Actually, she does a fabulous job and I'm so lucky to have her talent working on my head of hair:) This appointment was no different. We talked for the hour and half that it took to work her magic, mostly about our adoption and related issues, and then voila perfect color and trim complete. This wasn't the point of tears...it was a little later. Something Miranda doesn't know is I actually dreaded this appointment.  And for no reason other than finances. I had somewhat forgot about the appointment until my alarm clock went off that morning and my calendar on my phone reminded me of it. To my credit this forgetfulness is probably due to the wonderful medication I had been taking days prior because of my surgery...which went very well by the way:) At the Polk house we have started living off of what I would call "survival budget." Don't get me wrong, if we NEED something we'll splurge to get it but otherwise we've been putting every extra penny into savings for our adoption. I felt really guilty about going to get my hair highlighted and dreaded paying for it because of that guilt. But I definitely didn't want to cancel on Miranda at the last minute and if you had seen my roots you might argue this appointment was, in fact, a "need.” :) However, when we reached the register, Miranda said "Don't worry about it. It's my contribution to your adoption." WOW! Thank you God for your provision. And that's when the tears came ....

 God seems to be providing for us in some of the most unexpected ways. If you're reading this and thinking, "Really? This chick is praising God for a highlight?" Well, yes. Yes, I am. You see God reminded that day that if He cares enough to provide for a haircut (and ease my guilt :)), then surely He cares enough to provide a way to pay for our adoption. AND there's more to this story. While Miranda was working on my hair, the girl working next to her joined in our conversation; revealing she would also like to adopt. Her first question was, "I don't want to be nosey, but how are ya'll going to pay for it?" She had done some research and immediately was overwhelmed by the costs. As is the case for most people, including us! I tried to explain how God provides but I never can seem to do justice to His wonderment in words.  I give examples of what we've experienced but people still don't understand. SO...that day, He decided to “show” her co-worker what His provision looks like through Miranda's gift. Totally normal, though unexpected, everyday acts of kindness of behalf of our adoption. When it happens, I can totally feel His presence...that's why I cry. He completely humbles me once again and I am reminded how good the God I serve truly is!

Going through the adoption process is a very humbling experience. From day one you are an open book to your home study agency, your adoption agency, your government, the country your adopting from's government, and if you’re like us, to everyone that has decided to support you in the journey. I try to be as transparent as I can be with you...nothing sugar coated or fake. Here is where we are...home study is complete (minus Dustin's FBI clearance) however our wonderful social worker proactively sent on the study to our agency for review. It's been reviewed and all we are waiting on is the clearance. Please pray it come very soon. Then our completed dossier will be sent to the agency for final review and then sent on to Russia. We are still hoping to adopt twin brothers but have no official word yet. Our strategy is to be ready to go bring these little guys home whenever we can. So we are being diligent in our paperwork BUT we've been slow to ask for help....

Why is it so hard to ask for help? Especially in an area of life God has commanded us to serve. He's pretty clear ALL Christians should care for orphans, so why does it feel so awkward to ask for support in our adoption of two orphans? Obviously if you've followed our blog you know we do not have the $80,000 it is going to take to bring our children home. We began this “walk” in complete faith that God will provide. We have devoted all of our savings and any extra money in the mean time to this ministry but we will never come up with that much money on our own in such a short period of time. But we are realizing that was exactly God's plan in this journey. Fundraising is going to be a big part of this story and through it, His glory will be known to many more people than just a small circle of family and friends. If we have to depend on Him to provide then we aren't in control and we are vulnerable. But why is that scary in an adoption? Isn't this true of every aspect of our lives? He loves us more than we can ever understand...isn't that who we want in total control of our lives? So then there is this idea...if we have to ask for help, isn't that a sign of weakness?

II Corinthians 12:7-10 says, "So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

'Orphans and widows and the weakest among us,' they are mentioned in scripture frequently with favor and instruction to care for them. I find myself now thanking Him for my brokenness and for bringing us to total dependency in this adoption process. If I appear to be in control, have it all together, then I'm not a major player in His story. If the world can look at me and explain away the miracle of impossible situations becoming possible because of my own glory, then God can't use me. At the time I am writing this, the largest contribution that has been made to our adoption was by a young missionary that is completely supported through individuals donating to her ministry. We have received several donations and we appreciate them all very much. But there was something so special about a donation that came from someone “financially weak” by worldly standards and forgetting her own needs trusted God enough to give sacrificially to our adoption. This missionary's generous gift keeps reminding me that “in my weaknesses, I am strengthened...”

So now, very humbled and in awe of how God is using us, we are asking for your help to finish His work in our adoption. We have kicked off our first fundraiser today. Dustin has developed a website for a little healthy “in state rivalry”. As you already know we are Mississippi State fans. We have been told many times we were suppose to chose an “Iron Bowl” team when we crossed the state lines but we never have...until now. Please go to http://ironbowladoption.com/ and donate to this fundraiser. We aren't asking for big donations, although they'd be grealty appreciated. :) But we're hoping for small gifts from A LOT of people. The more people that hear our story, the more Christ will be glorified through our adoption!  We are hoping this will be a fun way to raise some money and further spread the story of the “impossible” adoption journey we are “walking” with a God that makes ALL things possible. Please also pass it on to anyone you think would want to help. We are also working on a way for you to make donations on our behalf to an organization that will be tax-deductible. If you'd like more information email us at polkadoption@gmail.com and we can get it to you.  We can't thank you enough for your prayers and support. We are completely blessed by you!



The Polk girls are all smiles! We can't wait to meet
our "baby brothers."