More Setbacks

Unfortunately we were not able to obtain Joshua's passport today as we had hoped, so we are still in Samarkand. While I am disappointed, I keep reminding myself that, less than a week ago, we did not think we would have the passport until late this week, so we are still ahead of the game. While this will set us back another day, there is still a very good chance that we will be able to process through the Embassy this week and go home on Sunday as scheduled. According to the passport officials we should receive the passport between 9-11 am tomorrow morning. Once we have the passport we will drive back to Tashkent. Our coordinator is planning to take all of the documents (which were translated over the weekend to save time) to the Embassy as soon as we arrive to hopefully expedite the process a bit. We will likely arrive too late for Joshua's medical evaluation, so we will have to do that later in the week along with the rest of the Embassy requirements. I am still a bit nervous about the Embassy process (although I am hoping that it will be the smoothest part of this journey) and hope that they will be able to get us through everything we need to do in the short time that we have.

It has been a long day of waiting and wondering. I feel like I was handed a blind fold once we arrived in Uzbekistan, to wear during the roller coaster ride in country. So many ups and downs, but I cannot see when they are coming! Our coordinator has done a wonderful job at keeping us informed of everything that is happening, but I think that she too, is hanging on for dear life as she waits for the next drop or climb to come!

On top of the anxiety that comes with waiting and wondering, my sweet baby has been very sick. He was sick when we picked him up from the Baby House on Friday. He seemed to be feeling a bit better yesterday, but today he woke up absolutely miserable with terrible congestion and a nasty cough. He is also cutting 4 teeth and is obviously in pain. Despite all of this he remains a very happy baby for the most part! It amazes me how, though the misery he must be feeling, he is still able to laugh and smile! Have I mentioned how much I love this baby! He makes every minutes we have spent on this roller coaster of adoption worth it! Nothing makes me happier and nothing makes my worries and stress disappear quite like Joshua's beautiful smile!

So, it has been a bumpy ride today, but I am hopeful that we will have the passport tomorrow and be on our way back to Tashkent to wrap things up! What a crazy adventure this has been!!