THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY

Mommy and Daddy headed for the airport early this morning. They should arrive here around 1:30PM Est. After they get settled into the hotel, they will call our agency and tell them to bring me over. From that point on, we will be a family forever.

Please pray for our safe travels, and I'll see ya very soon.

Joseph Patrick Rogowski

YES, THIS IS THE POST YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR:

I AM COMING HOME!!!

Mommy and Daddy will be flying down to meet me on Monday, October 8th. We will go to the Embassy to finalize everything on Tuesday, pick up the final paperwork on Wednesday and on Thursday, October 11th I will be home forever. And on Friday the 12th, I'll be 6 months old.

I'm too excited to write anymore right now, so I'm handing the keyboard over to Mommy:

My dear family and friends, I am so thankful to each and every one of you for your continued prayers. They were answered more quickly than we expected. We couldn't have asked for a better timeline to bring Joseph home. We are so excited and little overwelmed that the end of this journey to bring our son home is so near.

A new journey will begin for us on October 8th, and although this brings me great joy, my heart breaks for those that are still in this process and not getting the news and answers they want and need. Please turn your prayers for our family into prayers for these families. Especially the children that can bring such joy to families like ours.

Thank you again. I will never be able to put into words how much your prayers have meant.

Mommy (Andrea)

And the test has been graded . . .

I SCORED A PERFECT 100%!!!

(am I smart or what?)

The test result should go in the mail Friday and arrive at the US Embassy on Monday or Tuesday. (Thank you to whomever called in the favor with Labcorp - this did not take nearly as long as we all thought it would - even the agency was surprised) Hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday Mommy and Daddy will get the long anticipated date for pick up. Mommy still thinks it will be on or about October 10th. The wait is so close to being over and I know Mommy and Daddy are super excited, just like me. Grandma K has all my new stuff packed and ready to make the trip down from West Virginia with Grandpap. Aunt Jenn is trying to figure out how she is going to hold off all 3 of my grandmas so she can hold me first. But first she has to figure out how to pry me away from Mommy. I'm so excited to meet all the people that have been praying for me, see my room, and meet my kitties. We are so very close to becoming a Forever Family it is hard to sit still. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please keep Mommy in mind this week. She thinks her head is going to spin off. I hope not!

Love to all,
Joseph

My Test is Being Graded. . .

Mommy received word today that my sample for the 2nd DNA test has arrived at the testing center.

So, when will I be home? If I play around with the average timelines, it looks like it will be the week of October 7th. That still a little long for me to hold my breath, so I'm just going to pray real hard.

Mommy is real busy getting stuff ready for me. She goes to meet my new doctor on Monday, all the insurance paper work is done, and I should be diapered and dressed in the latest styles. Daddy decided to have a last minute garage sale on Saturday. He said to Mommy, "Throw out our old junk to make room for the new baby junk." He got the evil eye from her, but then he grinned the grin that always gets him out of trouble. That's one of the first things on my list to learn from Daddy.

That's all for now. Hopefully next week I'll be able to tell you how well I did on the test and give a more accurate timeline.

Be seeing ya soon,
Joseph

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GRANDMA & GRANDPA K

Wasn't in cool of me to get my mug shot taken and have it sent to Mommy and Daddy to forward to Grandma and Grandpa K for their 45th wedding annivesary? Mommy said it made Grandma's day. This is probably the last set of pictures that won't have Mommy behind the camera. I've been practicing my poses so when she gets here she can snap away. And look, I'm really awake in these. They were taken just a few days before my 5 month birthday. Boy, I'm getting excited to come home. I had my DNA test, so now we are just waiting on the results to be completed and sent back to the US Embassy. Anyone own stock in LabCorps that could pull some weight and get my results sooner?

Take care, and I'll see you real soon.

Joseph

New Video and Some Good Process News

Mommy added my 3 1/2 month old video to the links list on the right. There is no sound and its pretty boring, but you can see that I am looking well fed, clean and healthy.

The good news of the day is that I now have permission from the US Embassy to go take my 2nd DNA test. It should be done later this week. The sample will then be flown into the United States for testing and results, then the results will be sent back to the US Embassy here in the city. It has been taking other cases about 1.5-2 weeks for the results to go on record at the Embassy. Just a few days after that, we should be getting the long awaited Pink Slip. This Pink Slip is what the Embassy gives to our Guatemalan attorney to set up our final Embassy appointment. Mommy says this is the best Pink Slip she could ever hope for. Personally, I think they should be blue, but I'll take what I can get. Anyway, whatever color it is, it will finally tell Mommy and Daddy (and you) when they can come get me. Mommy has a feeling it will be the later part of the first week or October or early into the second week. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers going. We are inches from the goal line with seconds left in the game. (And yes, I am Steelers fan)

See ya (practicing my TX draw) real soon,
Joseph P. Rogowski