Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

He is not an orphan anymore!



The official court decree

 As unimpressive as it is, this document carries all the authority it needs to declare that Sasha is now Jason and a member of the Ritzman family forever. (It's written in Ukrainian so there's a lot of trust in our attorney going on here! At least until we can Google Translate....)



If we ever wondered what one might do on their Emancipation Day it took shape as he entered the apartment. (The noun 'apartment' became his keyword for the concept of being released to our custody as in "When me go to your apartment?" and "We go to you apartment today - pleeeease!")




First up: Skyping with Dad and Lucas

What a thrill that moments after entering the apartment Dave and Lucas call us to skype. Jason kept saying "Wow!" Both Lucas and Jason were fascinated watching themselves live. Plus Lucas wanted to show him everything from Sadie to how his front teeth are coming in. Dave wanted details on the day but the boys were having too much fun and suddenly it was time for breakfast in Minnesota and for Lucas to head to school.



Next up: calling the orphanage and talking to the gang

This was a hoot to listen to. He talked to each one and told them the same story - how cool apartment life was, about his new clothes, that we were going to McDonald's for dinner (his choice - big surprise!). He told some of them how he went with Igor and I to meet Viktor (who had retrieved the decree earlier). He didn't communicate this (I don't think he did anyway) that the purpose of the meeting was to get an adminstrator in the region of the orphanage to sign a document. The one is necessary to obtain the updated birth certificate. 





Next up: trying out the new clothes and Mom's hair goo

There was  a little apprehension on the parental end when we approached the apartment.  One of the things he really wanted to do was see his 'cool' new clothes. There was no promise on the parental end about 'cool' clothes (that's not our mode). Still curious where that came from. Evidently the clothes rated pretty well because he let out a "Yyyyes!" when he opened the closet. While it was only half a suitcase full he kept saying "Thank you, Mom, thank you!"

How about, instead, Thank you, Lord, thank you!!!!