So, just in case you didn't know......

Brad and I are taking classes to become foster parents. We actually have just 2 more classes left before we are "certified." I realized after I posted to Facebook yesterday, that there were alot of people who didn't know this about us! There's actually a good reason for it! So, here's the whole story:

A few years ago, Brad mentioned something about becoming foster parents and I basically shot him down completely. I told him that it would be entirely too hard and that I just didn't think I could do it! So, he dropped it! Then, last year, before Andrew, he suggested fostering again! (Apparently, God had lit the fire in Brad!) Well, last year, I still wasn't wild about the idea, but I thought that we could at least get some information on it! So, we gathered the information for it, but then we got Andrew! So, all the plans went to the back burner! Apprently, God wasn't going to let it go with Brad, because around Andrew's 1st birthday, Brad mentioned it, yet again! So, I started really praying about it and we asked for information again! We started our classes in September and we will finish in November.

Here's why nobody REALLY knew about this: I've been so scared! This is soooo out of my comfort zone! I have to confess that I've been fighting God about this! I've really NOT wanted to do it and I can tell you a million reasons why I think that I'm not suited to be a foster parent! BUT, I know He has called us to do this, to work with children and orphans, for His glory! He has confirmed it over and over to us! So, I had to quit trying to talk Him out of it and I had to submit to His calling! We really don't know for sure if we are meant to be foster parents, in our own home, or if we are meant to be house parents, like at the Big Oak Ranch, or if He wants us to be missionaries in orphanages, or if we are suppose to start our own childrens' home or even something bigger. We haven't gotten completely clarity, just yet! Just prayerfully seeking His will!

So, that's what we feel like is in store for the Polk's in the very near future! I'm sorry to have kept this from some. Honestly, I thought for sure that I would wind up telling everyone, and then chicken out, and look like an ididot! But, God is so good and He has been very patient with me!

So, all that, just to keep you up to date! :)

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27

1 Year Ago Today......

One year ago today, my life was about to change in ways that I had only dreamed of!! The one prayer that I had prayed everyday for 4 1/2 years was finally being answered with a resounding "Yes, now's the time!"

Andrew was born on Sunday May 17, 2009.

He was a whopping 5#10 ounces! Huge, right??

Okay, so I wasn't in the Labor room the night he was born. And I didn't get to hear him cry for the first time!! I didn't get to see him weighed or measured!! I didn't get to be the first one to see his little fingers and toes and I didn't get to feed him his first bottle! But, God had a plan, and I actually WAS in the hospital, only steps away from him, when he was born. Normally, (at that particular time) I wouldn't have been at work. I was working dayshift then, and I had just signed up to work an extra shift that night!! So, although I wasn't in the actual room, I do believe God allowed me to be close when he was born!! I know my heart was there for sure!!!

Brad and I actually didn't get to meet him until he was about a week old. But, I remember, driving to his Nanny's house. So, so nervous!! Excited, but nervous! But, when we got there, we were welcomed like family, and then, AND THEN, we saw Andrew!! And I remember thinking that he was the most beautiful baby!! So small, so precious, scrawny little legs, head full of hair, I can soooooo love this baby!!!

A week later, he was home with us!!! Now, if you know our story at all, you know there were some setbacks, but I'm not going to focus on those details! God has a way of helping us to forget those small details! He helps us to remember the lessons that we learned, but He has protected us from remembering the hurt!!

And the rest is history!! He has been the greatest joy in our lives!!! He is a true gift from God and I know that He has an incredible plan for Andrew's life!!

We are truly blessed beyond measure!

Thank you Father for this baby!!

Thank you April for giving me a gift that I can never repay you for!

(From a card that I was given, right after we got him)

You may not have my eyes,

but I gave you that little sparkle.

And while you don't have your daddy's smile,

that laugh is unmistakably his.

You see, it's true you weren't born from my belly.

But, that doesn't make your birth any less of a miracle,

just like it doesn't make us any less of a famiily.

Happy 1st Birthday Andrew!!

I love you!!

Momma

So thankful God chose me to be his mom....

Seriously....I think I hit the big jackpot! This baby brings me soooo much joy!! I am so overwhelmed when I think about how much God must love me, to give me Andrew!! I know that if I could go back, I would not change ONE thing about my life!! I would cry every tear, I would feel every hurt, I would endure every negative pregnancy test, I would fake a smile everytime someone asked me if we were going to have kids, I would rejoice again about my twins, and then mourn my miscarriage just weeks later...I would do every single second the same, just to get to be his mom!! He is a perfect fit for Brad and I, and I am so thankful God chose us to be his parents.

He has been sooo cute the last couple of weeks! He's such a big man now that he's a whopping 10 months old!! I know I am partial, but I do believe that I have THE smartest 10 month old ever!!! He's so sweet...You can ask him, "Andrew, how old are you going to be on your birthday?" And he'll hold up one little finger and then grins from ear to ear!! OWNS ME!!!! Seriously, I love this kid!! Another precious thing that he does, he tries to sing when you sing to him!! He especially likes Old MacDonald and Itsy, Bitsy spider! He claps his hands, and tries to do the animal sounds and is grinning the entire time!! I could eat him up, he's so cute!! I mean, you guys may be thinking, "Not sure he's the smartest kid, he should've been doing those things months ago!!!" Keep it to yourself, please, because right now, I am believing he's the smartest child alive!!! Seriously!!! He's finally using a sippy cup! Now, don't get too excited, he still wants us to hold it, but he's finally drinking from one!!! He loves riding in his little red wagon...Dad pulls him A LITTLE fast, but HE LOVES IT!!! I need to post the video if I can figure out how to do it!!! He's walking everywhere, as long as you're holding his hands!! The other night, Brad was walking him around and they stopped and Brad let go, and Andrew just stood there for probably 20 seconds!! But, he had no idea what he was doing, because he was pitching a fit because his dad let go!! We started brushing his 3 little teeth!! He loves that!! He tries to brush his own hair and then he'll try to brush Brad's beard!! Very cute!!! Today, he copied everything we said! He tried to say it all!! It won't be long before he's chatting away!!! I know these are random thoughts! I'm trying to remember all of the sooo cute things that he's been doing and they are popping up in my mind slowly!!

When I took him to his bed for the night, I laid him down on his belly, and he pulled his little legs up underneath him and poked his little booty out, and went right to sleep!! Seeing that is what got me to write the blog tonight!! I love him!! I could not imagine my life without him!! I am so blessed!!!

Okay, final thought.....I DO know what it's like to long for a child!! I do know how it feels to weep over the negative pregnancy tests, the miscarriages, the failed adoptions, a good friends' exciting news, "I'm pregnant!!" I DO know what it's like to ask God if He knows how bad I hurt and if He really loves me!!! But now, I look at Andrew (hand-picked by GOD ALMIGHTY, for ME!!!) and I can see exactly what God was doing in my life!! I can see that He was growing me into the woman that He wanted me to be, He was making me into the wife that He knew Brad deserved, and He was putting some extra touches on me so that I could be a wonderful mother to a fantastic little boy!!! If there is someone reading this that is experiencing fertility problems, I hope to give you a LITTLE bit of encouragement!! I know it's easy for me to say, because I do have a child, but God is in the details...He has not forgotten about you....He knows your desires to be a mother, but He sees the big picture and He has the PERFECT plan picked out for you!!! You have to trust His heart!!! Try to look at it like this, The same God that created the universe, loves you so much that He is using this trial to move you closer to Him!! He's allowing you to be a small piece to His huge master puzzle!! I promise you, if you choose to become the person that He wants you to be, one day you will look back and be so grateful for this trial!! I am!!