Hi everyone,

We left Kyiv today!  This is exciting news because the court decree did not clearly waive the 30-day waiting period, and you can imagine the challenge of having to stay in Kyiv for 30 days just waiting...

So I was estatic when the US Embassy signed off on my paperwork, with many blessings too!

I don't know how my translator's team did all this, but the paperwork is astounding.

So the boys had the second [airplane] flight of their life today from Kyiv to Warsaw.  And again they were troopers and didn't get carsick or anything (just a spilled coca-cola in the seat, which is enough for a fledgling mom to deal with.)

Warsaw is beautiful.  We were just at a park and the forsythia was blooming and the leaves are just budding out.  Another week and it will be full-blown spring here.  It is very quiet because today (Monday) is the Easter holiday and everything is closed.  In comparision, in Lyiv, you would never have known yesterday was Easter Sunday.

I am hoping we can find something open for supper.

We are stying at a very nice hotel, the Hotel Grand.  Thanks to my Washburn friends who donated towards this lodging, so we would be very confortable after Ukraine.  So we are decompressing by walking the central city and watching TV (they love the remote comtrol as you can imagine).  They have seen videos, but I don't know about TVs.

Little things continue to amaze, the taxi driver gave Nickolas the parking ticket for the machine, and while he was figuring out the electric car windows, he somehow slipped into the car door slot where the window went down... he never did realize how he had lost it!

Warsaw is beautiful with the old-European style.  Tomorrow if we have time, we will explore old-town, the part not totally bombed out by the Nazis in WWII.

We may be able to make the original flight of April 3.  If not that, then April 4.  Details to follow.

I finally feel like we can relax now!

Love,

Ruth