And we're off!!!

Well we are spending our last night in Florida and have already packed up the RV and headed to the top of the state! Unfortunately the last 24 hours went nothing as planned (Micah was up until 3 a.m., Zoe woke up at 5 a.m., Nathan peed the bed at 5:30 a.m., it started raining at 9 a.m. and ruined our outdoor day plans...such is life with three littles!), but we are nevertheless on the road and so excited to be on our way HOME!

If you've been confused on why we're still in Florida if Micah was discharged on Thanksgiving, there is a small "detail" after you adopt a child out of state called Interstate Compact agreement that basically means the state you're adopting from and the state you reside in agree that you can legally transport your child home. As we mentioned on Facebook, Florida cleared our paperwork this week after just four days, which is incredible these days as they generally take 10-14 working days. Our agency expects us to clear Indiana early this week; in the meantime we are free to travel anywhere in the U.S. (even Alaska, haha!), as long as we don't go back to Indiana :-). So we are getting ready to meet our newest nephew, 1-week-old Samuel, tomorrow!! We will spend a few days there, and hopefully head back home at the end of the week, as long as all lights are green with paperwork! If not we'll be poling you for the best places to visit in the country with 3 children 3 and under--HAHA!

We can't wait for all of you to meet sweet Micah! We know so many of you have prayed with us for his adoption over the past couple years, and we were so blessed this morning to be sent of in a circle of prayer from our host family just before hitting the road. We are so excited for all the Lord has done in Micah's adoption--we have seen the Lord working in every area, and we are so thankful!

As you continue to pray us home, please pray this week for Nathan and Zoe's endurance with being away from home. They are struggling a lot with being out of routine, not in their own beds, and not in familiar environments. They have enjoyed some fun moments, but they are really ready to be home. We are ready also, as the travel has taken a toll on all of us with the kids' sleeping habits falling apart away from home. We trust the Lord will strengthen us for one last leg of this journey to get all FIVE of us home for Christmas :-)

Oh yes, and and for the record, I have no idea how to format pics on our blog--but I will do my best here for those of you who aren't Facebook users and have seen no pictures yet :-). Meet Mr. Micah James--our newest sweetie!