Antigua Scenery!

Yesterday, Blake, Grandma and I went walking and shopping together near the famous "arco" arch in Antigua. We had a great time and Blake did so good being lugged around all over town. With my shopping habit, he's going to have to get used to this! While Grandma went into the bank I had a nice conversation with a darling little girl (her picture is here) and her mom selling their jewelry on the street. Turns out that this sweetheart was 6 years old and getting ready to go kindergarten next year (we're still not sure why she's not in school now, but most likely because she's earning money for the family on the streets). So sad, but this is fairly normal here. Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a picture of her. How beautiful is she?! Today has been a tough day as I'm still debating what to do with work and our adoption. Basically, I have two options. One, I can begin my 40 day leave on August 28th when my contract begins and then stay here until the adoption is final. Problem is, this could go over my 40 days and then I'd have to apply for family medical leave with no pay. With PGN being so unpredictable, it could be possible I'd still be down here in November/December at the latest. The other deal with this option is that I'd have to come home and immediately start work again with no transition for Blake to be at home with us to adjust. However, if PGN did go into November or December, I would have some time to be with him as we'd be heading into Thanksgiving/Christmas vacation. Option 2 would be to come home around August 20th or so, set up my classroom and teach until Blake was ready to come home. Then, once he was home, my 40 days would begin and we would be guaranteed time together at home those days. So, this is the dilema I'm facing right now. Hopefully as time passes, the decision will become clearer. It just drives me crazy thinking about what would be best for me, Blake and Chris. Thank you for your positive thoughts on this subject! Hopefully it will just come to me. Right now, the thought of leaving Blake a week before August 28th makes me teary. We'll see what happens. I hope you all enjoy these new pictures! I'm off to bed so I don't ponder this anymore today!! Love you all.