He finally said it!

This picture is actually from yesterday. I was surprised when he took his hat off to see that he had gotten a haircut! The mom in me was like "wait, nobody asked me if I wanted his haircut!" But he didn't seem to mind even though he had been telling us that he wanted to have a mohawk like Jackson did last summer and now that's not really possible. Maybe by summer it will be long enough that he can do a short mohawk. I would prefer him not to go to school with one but he can wear his hair however he wants in the summer. And he looks so cute with a little buzz cut. Plus his head is so soft and he lets me rub it when he is playing video games on the laptop :)

More fun times with the iPod.

This is from today. I had bought a puzzle ball from the toy store and we put it together today. But more exciting than the puzzle ball is that today FOR THE FIRST TIME VLADIK TOLD ME HE LOVED ME! Well, actually a couple weeks ago Keith tickled him and told him to say I love you mom for him to stop, which he did, but I didn't count that. Today was of his own free will. We were watching Scooby Doo, that I had downloaded for him, on the laptop when it started to beep because the battery was low. I had brought the charger because I knew I was going to be at the orphanage a long time today. So we went and plugged the laptop in and the couch nearest where the plug was was occupied by some other kids so he stood up with the laptop sitting on the windowsill for a while. Then the kids left so I pulled the couch a little closer to the plug and put the laptop on it for him to watch there and he said "Mom sit". So I obliged and he snuggled up to me and said "I like Mom" and I put my arm around him and squeezed. Then he said "I love Mom". SO HAPPY!!! I couldn't count the number of times I have told Vladik I love him and I was starting to get a bit sad that he hadn't said it back but I reminded myself that it would happen and it did! If you think about, how many times in the last 5 years that Vladik has been in the orphanage would Vladik have had someone tell him they love him or him tell them he loves them too? Probably never. Living life without being told you are loved everyday must be tough. But Keith and I plan for Vladik to never go another day in his life without knowing and hearing that he is loved.

A picture looking out the balcony of my new apartment. The store with the yellow front is called Two Geese (in Russian) and there are pictures of two geese everywhere. It is a cafeteria style restaurant. They don't have a ton of selection but the food is decent, the beer is CHEAP, and one of the girls who works there actually speaks a little English so she can tell what each of the food items are.

Another picture off the balcony of my new apartment.

This little hut is actually a food stand. This is the place where we ordered the pancake/burrito things using the digital camera. I went this morning to get some for Vladik and the girl working there was new so it took her a minute to figure out why I was showing her a picture on a camera and then took her another minute to find the right entry on the computer/cash register. I had to show her the pictures a couple times but I ended up with a correct order!

Just me, myself , and I...

I am all by my lonesome now. Keith left Tuesday night, the other two American moms and their newly adopted kids went home Thursday morning, and Sergei the translator/facilitator went home Thursday afternoon. So today is my first full day by myself. Sergei, the driver, picked me up this morning and I went and visited Vladik from 10am - 1pm. Then Sergei brought me back to my apartment (my new 3rd, and final, apartment). This apartment is right on a main street so I am really close to shops, the grocery store, and some cafes. The one I was at before was too far from everything for me to stay there alone without being able to drive. Now I can easily walk to everything I might need. This apartment has WiFi as well. It is coming in very handy to download movies and TV shows to keep me entertained. I also downloaded an Scooby Doo movie to watch with Vladik at the orphanage today. He loves Scooby Doo and it seems like any kid who stopped by and saw what we were watching loved Scooby Doo too! I guess its just universal - Scooby Doo rocks! Thank goodness for my iPod and the laptop computer. As much as I love seeing Vladik every day, those 3 or 4 hours can get really LONG. If we didn't have the iPod or the computer to play games and watch movies it would be difficult. There is just one place we were are allowed to hang out. It is a big common area that has quite a few classrooms off of it and there are 3 couches. So every day we sit on one of those 3 couches and pass the time. Thankfully the weather is improving (whoever thought that I would say the weather is improving because it is finally getting to be 20+ degrees!) so we can go outside some to break up the monotony. I just really wish I could take him and do things with him, like go to the store, or take him out to lunch. But until we get the court decree, which we only get after our mandatory 10 day waiting period, I am not allowed to take him anywhere. But I am doing my best to enjoy this precious time I have with him (and with myself and my own thoughts) because once life gets back to "normal" I will never have time like this to spend with him. I only wish I could be spending this much quality time with both my boys, I really do miss Jackson. I am really blessed to have one amazing hubby and TWO wonderful sons.

Hanging with Joseph...

 

Video of Vladik being goofy today (as he is most days). Many thanks to my mother for buying me this fabulous green jacket. Not only has it protected me from the atrocious cold here in Ukraine but it has provided Vladik with lots of enjoyment!

These pictures are actually from yesterday. This is the dog we affectionately named Bob (before we realized she was a girl) who hangs out at the orphanage.

She-Bob is begging for something from Keith. This was after she ate at least 3 cookies out of Vladik's hand.

From left to right, Doilik, Vladik, and Mitchem, three of the most charming boys at this school. I'm a bit partial to the one in the middle but the other two tug at my heartstrings too.

She-Bob trying to lick the remaining cookie crumbs from Vladik's face.

A picture with Dad before he left.

Its official!

We are now OFFICIALLY the proud new parents of Vladislav Joseph Walls. This is a picture of us with the judge after he rendered his positive judgement.When Vladik was asked about why he wants to be adopted by us his response was that "he has no parents and he wants us to be his parents". During court they discussed that both Vladik's parents were deceased, which he seemed to already know, and that he had no relationships with any other relatives if there were any. Before court, the attorney for the orphanage asked Vladik if he had spoken to his brother, meaning his 18 year old biological brother Roma, and Vladik said he spoke with him on the phone yesterday. Keith and I were surprised to hear this. But after a little more discussion we quickly realized that he was talking about getting to talk on the phone yesterday with Jackson, his OTHER brother! He is so sweet and has already felt like a part of our family for a long time now but it is good that it is official. The importance of today was not lost on Vladik either. Yesterday, when we were talking about going to court today and the questions the judge would ask him, he said "today, you Julie and you Keith" pointing to Keith and I and then he said "tomorrow you mom and you pop"! After court today we told him that he was now our son and we were so happy. We are so blessed. Now we have a mandatory 10 day waiting period before we can pick up the court decree, however, our 10 days ends on Friday 3/11 so we can't pick up the court decree until Monday 3/14! Once we pick up the court decree we go to Vladik's place of birth and we get an amended birth certificate with his new name and Keith and I listed as parents. But there is a possibility the office that would do this in his hometown is not open on Mondays so that would have to wait until Tuesday. Once we have both of those in hand we will be able to get Vladik (Joseph) from the orphanage. Then we will travel to Kiev where we have 2-3 days of things to do (go to the embassy, get his passport, see a doctor, etc...). My goal is for us to fly home the weekend of 3/19 (so I can return to work on 3/21!). Please pray for a speedy process that week so we can get home quickly. Also, please pray for Keith's traveling. He left tonight on an overnight train to Kiev and will fly back home on Thursday.

 

Video from atop the "Monument"

Our Sunday Tour with Peter...

So we were driven to Lutugino this morning (with Susan who is adopting 15 year old Olga/Alex) to see Vladik. We weren't exactly sure we would be able to see him because it is Sunday and the orphanage is pretty much shut down on Sundays. They don't go to class, they stay in their rooms and watch movies (Vladik told us) and they eat and they nap and they go outside to play for a bit. When we first got there no kids were playing outside so we walked down to Cafe 999 to get a coffee. About 20 minutes later we walked back to the orphanage (mind you, with the wind, it is like -10 degrees Farenheit outside!) and see the kids out playing. But feeling like we weren't exactly welcome in the gates today we stood outside the fence and watched the kids play about 40 yards away. We kept looking for Vladik and didn't see him but we did get quite a few stares from some of the older kids and the couple caretakers that were out there. So after standing there for at least 15 minutes, while wondering if feeling would ever return to my toes, we saw Vladik as he was going back into his building . He smiled and we waved and then he went in. About 2 minutes later (yes, we were still waiting hoping that maybe he would get to come back out and actually talk to us) he popped his head out his 2nd story bedroom window and waved at us again. But only for a few seconds, we assume he probably got scolded. So after Susan was done visiting with Alex (the older kids have quite a bit more freedom on Sundays) we drove back to Luhansk and dropped Susan off. We asked Peter, our driver who speaks VERY little English and often forgets that we don't speak Russian, to take us around Luhansk to take some pictures. We asked him to take us to some churches and monuments. It was bitter cold but an amazing day nonetheless! This first video is just driving through Luhansk. The second video is us pulling up to our first tourist destination, a breathtakingly beautiful church!

Actually this is from last night, us goofing around trying to fill our time!

Beautiful church!

But there are tons of beautiful churches around here (although this is the biggest one we have seen I think).

I was trying to pretend that is was 70 degrees and I was lounging in the sun...

This was the second stop on our Fabulous Tour with Peter. After he took us to the church we said "monument?" which we knew happened to be a word Peter knew. It was then that Peter said no monument and then a bunch of stuff in Russian. Apparently it was something like "no monument now, I have something better. I am the tour guide let me do my job." And this is where we showed up. We called our translator on the phone and he helped interpret what Peter was trying to tell us. He said this is a holy place and many years ago a priest turn this big piece of wood (tree trunk) into stone, it was a miracle, and now you come and place your hand on the tree/stone and your wishes/prayers will be granted.

This is the wood he turned into stone apparently. It had an ornate iron fence around it and even a roof over it. So it must be very important.

This is the small old church near the wood/stone.

So this is our third stop on our tour! And this was actually a monument, not that we know what it was a monument too. It was atop a big hill and you could see very far and most of Luhansk from it. But being on top of a big hill it was VERY windy.

It was so cool, and also so COLD.

We went back to the car and told Peter that we were cold and we wanted him to take us to City Cafe to go eat. We told him no more pictures please, we were very cold. But Peter had other plans...

This was our 4th and unexpected stop on the tour. It was clear that Peter was not only literally in the drivers seat but figuratively as well. This was some sort of plane/helicopter museum. It was closed today (probably because it was too freaking cold to be outside wandering through an open field of aircraft) but that didn't stop Peter from driving us around all sides of it to stop, get out, and take more pictures.

Peter said this plane was a MIG. I wouldn't know a MIG is it introduced itself so we took his word for it...

Finally Peter let us know that our tour was over. He took us to the mall (not like Town Center though...) where we went in and warmed up and walked down the street for lunch and then back to our apartment. I am so happy we did some sightseeing today and I do still have all my fingers and toes...

Introducing Vladislav Joseph!!!

Over a week ago, we (well really Vladik) decided on his new name. We gave him a couple of options and he chose Vladislav Joseph. We kept Vladislav his first name so if he would like to continue to go by Vladik (and that is what we call him because that is all we have known him by!) he can but if he would like to use an "American" name back home he can use Joseph. He seems really excited about his new name and a few days ago actually insisted Keith use Joseph as his name when playing a game on the iPod. It is so cute to hear him say Joseph. But he doesn't seem interested in a nickname like Joey or Joe, which is good because I like Joseph. We also discovered another nickname of his while we have been here. Sometimes he is called Vladik, or Vlad, or Vladika (by the assistant director), or even Zinny. He explained to me that Zinchenko (his last name) is too big so they just call him Zinny sometimes :)