We got THE CALL!!!

Finally!! After 14 months of "home study" work and 7 months of waiting since being officially "selected", we finally got "the call" that we can bring Marcus home to Kansas! YEAH!!! Yes, that loud scream you heard around 3:00 pm eastern time was me getting the call!

Needless to say this afternoon has been quite busy as we made phone calls, sent emails, and tried to spread the word. Plus I was busy packing up to get ready to make the long drive to Kansas. Thank goodness my Dad is the world's best car packer because he was able to get everything in my trunk and leave the backseat open for things we will need to travel and things we pick up with Marcus. Most of his toys and clothes we had already packed up. His foster mom Peggy had done that for us and it was a huge help!

On Friday, my Mom, Marcus and I will being the 974 mile trip from South Carolina to Kansas. We hope we can make it there by Saturday night-- our goal for the first day is to make it at least to Clarksville, TN. We have lots of new movies and music CDs as well as some new books and toys to entertain Marcus. Thank goodness he is a good rider and he sleeps well in his new car seat!

We will keep you all posted as we begin this next amazing chapter in our lives. After 4 years, we can hardly believe we are finally growing from 2 to 3! We are so blessed and so excited!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! Keep them coming as the next few months will be filled with new opportunities and growth as we bond as a family!

Making progress!

We finally feel like we are making progress in our efforts to bring Marcus home to Kansas! We found out last week that our Kansas case worker Ruth submitted her report to the Interstate Compact Office in Topeka (ICPC). We were thrilled because some earlier conversations had us worrying that she may wait until closer to her "deadline" of July 24. Thank goodness she recognized our sense of urgency and pushed forward. The even better news is that the ICPC office processed Ruth's report within 24 hours and had the documentation off in the mail to the ICPC office in Columbia, SC. This really is one of the last big hurdles to overcome.

Once the Columbia ICPC office receives the paperwork (which we hope happened on Friday or will happen on Monday), they can contact the Adoptions Office in Greenville. Then they will contact us and we can start making plans. In my "perfect dream world" that would mean my Mom, Marcus and I could leave SC later this week (maybe by Thursday?).

While we are still waiting, we are thrilled to be SO CLOSE to an official placement! Then we can start the process of bonding and attaching as a family as we wait for the finalization hearing.

Bryant has been super busy back in Kansas! He has hosted our friends Jon and Brooke Burgess and their kids Alex and Maddie over night as they make a cross-country trip to their new home in Yuma, AZ. Also, his Uncle Claude and Aunt Lois and their friend Shirley arrive today for a visit as they do some sightseeing across the US. I wish I could have been home with Marcus to see our friends and family as they visit, but we know Bryant has been a wonderful host! (Plus Brooke said the house is super clean!)

I have been busy spending time with Marcus. He stayed for 6 days with me while his foster parents were out of town. We had a lot of fun and are definitely making progress in bonding.

I'll update as soon as we have more news to share!