A Walk with our Son

Max has been asking about walking into town that his orphanage is near.  The last two Saturdays we have seen him, he has been out gallivanting and we've had to wait 30 minutes for him.  So today, with Anya's help, we asked if we could walk to town with him.  Anya signed a paper saying she would be responsible for him and away we went.
There was some stern talking to from an official before we left the grounds.  Seems our boy had "a sick belly" this morning and didn't go to class.  Later in our visit we saw a lady that works in the infirmary and our son gladly told us 'that is the lady I ran away from today'. (insert a Mama's grumble and eye roll!)
We had a nice walk to a little kiosk at the end of the road where we stopped for ice cream cones.  The lady working noticed we were Americans and asked if we were taking Max home.  She told us that he was a good boy and to bring him up right. We walked on into the center of town and to a magazine (store) and got Coca-Cola.  Max was looking for Ramen Noodles, but we were not successful finding any at the store, so he picked a pack of crackers instead. (The pack of Ramen Noodles we brought him today he smashed up, out the seasoning packet on, and ate out of the bag like chips.)

On the walk back to the orphanage, it was fun to walk behind the boys, watching Max study his Papa and imitate him.  Once Doug noticed him doing it, he started to walk funny and do all sorts of crazy things for Max to imitate.  It was a good walk, one that it was just us and Max and the kid I know and love came back--the kid who knows how to make good choices and one that is kind.
When we got back to the orphanage we went in to the director's office to see about possibly having Max for the day on Saturday.  The director was very kind and told us that as long as Anya was with us, he could spend the day with us.  She then told Max that she would allow this if for the rest of the week he followed the rules and attended class.  I was so glad to see the director be attentive, not letting him get away with anything.  I then wanted to remind him in the director's presence that his Papa and I agreed that school was important both in Ukraine and in Ohio.  For now he is still in Ukraine and he needed to do the best he can do while he is here.
We spent some extra time visiting today until all the children went into the building to work on homework.  Anya told us it is very typical for children in the orphanage to have a set homework time from 5-7pm.  Our facilitator had some paperwork to do at the orphanage today, so once she had completed what she needed to do, we headed back to the city.
We met Laurie and Bryan for dinner and introduced Anya to them.  Then, in typical fashion, we stopped for gelato!  On the walk home, we stopped at a store that had all kinds of hair accessories and jewelry.   Doug and I picked out a couple things for the girls.  I can't wait to give them to the girls.  I think Hannah will like the bag they came in as much as the stuff! :)

We are back at the apartment, packed up our things and will head to the train station at 11:00pm.  We will arrive in the capital city tomorrow morning at 9:00am.  We have an appointment with government officials to go over our little man's history and officially tell the government officials that yes we would like to visit him.  There is a possibility that we might be able to pick up the referral yet tomorrow.  If not, we will spend the night in the capital city and head back to the boys' region by train Wednesday night.  We will get to meet our little man either Wednesday or Thursday!
Please pray for our friends Bryan and Laurie Maddex.  They have been in country for 38 days.  They are waiting for an appeal date to take the son they love dearly home.  Doug and I know what it is like to be in a foreign country for a LONG time.  While we love spending time with them here in the region, I would love even more to hear they have a court date so that they can take their precious son home to meet his three ornery brothers!