Officially the Cheatham 6!!!

The Cheathams passed court today!!! Praise the Lord! They were bumped from a 9am court time to a 1:30 so we were all anxious the whole morning! Derek and Heather left the hotel around 12:40 and Aimee and I stayed with the kids at the hotel- (we are excellent babysitters, didn't let them have junk food or stunt in the pool or anything like that at all;))This hotel is honestly a little embarassing how nice it is, I mean like even REALLY nice. But since we had points and you have to stay in a guest house on the second trip we just enjoyed it!   So, while they were off doing court....

We were doing some of this....

and a little of this....

And a LOT of Stunting Ellison in the pool:) had some awesome video footage of that but it won't upload:( I know you are all very sad

It was a tough gig but Aimee and I were up to the challenge!
Then, tonight we went to an authentic Ethiopian restuarant- it was quite the experience!

Then it came time to eat:/   Yall know I have the taste buds of a 4 year old, so yeah, I was a little nervous! At the beginning of the buffet line we washed our hands, then sweet Abey went down the line with us and told us what everything was!:)

Here is my plate- adventurous, I know.... I was hoping I wouldn't have an "Along Came Polly" episode:) But all was well and we all managed to find something on our plate that we liked (or at least could eat!)  Jeff would have loved this place:)

Then the REAL entertainment started- I have wished for my family to be here with me many times this week- this was NOT one of those times:) they would have been so HUMILIATED!!! Abey said the dancers wanted a tip- so I went up and put a tip in the jar...BUT the dancers pulled me up on stage to dance with them!!!! So, naturally, I went!:)

haha- I know yall are dying of embarrasment right now!!!  Then Aimee got picked to come up!! If Heather had any doubts of us coming along with them, this TOTALLY made up for it because she didn't have to do it!

We were quite entertaining!

We did a little more shopping today- we may or may not have gone a tad overboard with the beads but I'm not sure...

So obviously this day was a STARK contrast to yesterday but any one of us would tell you we would have MUCH rather been back seeing Little Man again!! But only one day was allowed so we made the most of getting as much Ethiopian culture cramed into our minds as possible! We are all so sad to be leaving tomorrow but so excited to be seeing our family and friends! This place is just wonderful and I hope this is not my last time here!!!

We Are Blessed!

What a wonderful day we had here at the Polk house! We are delighted to announce that Chandler made the most important decision of her life today and gave her life to Christ! Jeff had the honor of baptizing her today and it was so special for all of us!

She and her BFF HalleCaroline have been talking about it for a while now, and last night they just decided to quit talking about it and just do it!

So, of course, they decide to do this at 8:00pm last night,  so we called all the family to tell them- not expecting them to show up at the last minute!! But so many came! So so sweet and just humbling and awesome to know just how many people are supporting her and this decision she has made!

There were SO many people there- didn't get half the pictures I wanted to:(   Jeff and Derek did an amazing job of first of all, leading these precious girls to this decision and 2nd, just being able to speak and do a great job in front of all those people:)

 This next picture just proves that we absolutely CANNOT have a set of pics without some cheer facials:)

We are so thankful that these girls are friends and that they both have felt convicted to give their life over to God and to surrender everything to Him. This is the most important decision in their lives and they get that even at 13! SO excited to see what He does in their lives! God is so good!
I am overwhelmed tonight by his goodness- this day started out with my daughter getting baptized and is ending with me packing for ETHIOPIA!!! I am leaving tomorrow afternoon and absolutely cannot wait!! Sweet little man is going to get to meet his whole family THIS WEEK!!! I will hopefully be updating the blog often from there!!!

We're going back!!!

Ok so I have been meaning to post this for about a month now and haven't gotten around to it- so now there are a FEW changes--all good though!:)
We are all SO excited! We are going back to............................

SOOOO excited!!! Cannot even tell you how excited!! I totally want to start packing RIGHT NOW!! (but we have like 4 months:()!! A while back I hinted at a little presentation the kids had done for us- we have all wanted to go back since the moment we landed here (well maybe it was right after we had Mi Cocina and a hot shower) BUT anyway SOON after we were home we wanted to go back but we just needed to pray about when/where/why/how etc!

 The kids wouldn't let up begging asking to go! So one day they put together a little "persuasion presentation"! Jeff and I were not "allowed" to go into the living room for quite a while one afternoon. Then, when we were called in there, we enter to the sound of Toto singing Africa. EVERY SINGLE African artifact we have was placed all around the room. They had their savings, pictures, props, and speeches all lined up for us:)

 This was Parker's sign- he made an excellent speech- ending with "please let us go to Africa and give the gift that doesn't cost a thing- love"   Um how do you say no to that???

 All 3 gave eloquent speeches, persuading us with every tactic possible. Here is Patton, after his prayer, reminding us of each and every Peace House boy by name. And then the "safari" they put on the table. They had a wonderful idea that we could take all the boys with us on a safari field trip!

An African cross and the kids Jesus Calling book?  These kids are smart:)

They brought down a tub of things they were willing to sell to raise $$! Chandler had typed up EVERYTHING you can imagine from costs to flights to "details" page. They had thought of everything!

We thought maybe over Christmas but it just wasn't the right time, then we thought about going for like 8 weeks this summer but half of our missionaries will be HERE this summer SO that would not be the best time to get to work with them:( But I just kept feeling like the Lord had something planned for us to do there this summer. But after the missionaries told us of their furloughs I just kinda put it out of mind and thought, well, maybe next year. 
About a month later we got to spend a little time with one of the missionary families while they were here finalizing the adoption of their daughter from China!! Then he mentioned that we may be the ones who could put a group together to come THIS SUMMER  and put together a VBS and worship times for missionaries from all over Africa!! They meet in Kumbya (west Rwanda) on Lake Kivu each summer for fellowship, renewal, and a refreshing time with the Lord! SOOO we said yes!!! There will be about 14 adults and about 14 kids traveling to Rwanda in July and we couldn't be more excited!! We are so thankful to the Lord for providing another opportunity to go back! We can't wait to see and love on those boys!!! We are praying about our work there, the people who come to the retreat and for our hearts to be prepared! We've had several meetings with a team we think is going to be AMAZING! And we've been brainstorming ways to fund raise. We struggled with asking for money the first time but did it after several wise people told us it would be a blessing. They were SO  right! We were blown away and constantly reminded of God's provision when you are in His will! My kids got to see first hand just how generous our friends, family, and even total strangers are! And it was so inspiring for us! So, we will humbly ask again. We will most likely be selling tshirts (super cute ones!!) and doing other things like garage sales etc. I'll let you know!!
 And here is the CRAZY part.... the ONLY thing bad about the trip to Rwanda was that it is 4 months away. BUT I get to go to Ethiopia in 28 days!!! I am SOOO excited to be traveling with Aimee and the Cheatham family to FINALLY go see little man Cheatham!! I CANNOT wait! And I am SO thankful to them that they are sweet enough to let Aimee and I tag along! We've been praying this sweet one home for over 2 years now and I can't wait to see him in his family's arms!  Thank you Lord! So now I feel like I really CAN start packing!!! Yay!!

DON'T JUST GO...GO XTREME!!

We had an exciting weekend around here! Chandler competed in the NCA National Championship in Dallas!! She did GREAT!!! We had so much fun and we were exhausted but it was all worth it!:)

 Her and her teammates have worked so hard all year, been to several competitions, and have given it their all each and every practice! And it all came down to 2 minutes and 30 seconds on that blue mat. They rocked it!

 She is the last one on the right:)

 After the first day they were in 1st place....now we just had to go back out on the second day and do it again- and they did! It got down to the first and second place teams on the mat waiting for the final awards.....

 1ST PLACE- SPIRIT XTREME COURAGE!!!!!

So much fun! They presented us with the trophy and banner and then....it was off to the "jacket room"

 I love this picture of her! She was so excited!

 And of course we can't stop stunting:))

We spent about 7 hours there the first day and 12 hours the second so Grami needs a shout out for all her support!!

Chandler and I love when Grami comes!! KayKay also came as well as 2 uncles, an aunt, and 2 cousins! She is well loved:)
When we came home the boys had a surprise for her....they had decorated the house, made signs and bought her roses:) SO SWEET!

 (they were already "technically" in bed but got to come down when we got home- hence the blankets:))

 A competition we will never forget!!