In Ukraine.

So, we're here in Kyiv. Travel with a baby went as you might expect. We all started out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. 

I was so excited about the bassinets that Lufthansa provides for infants

 on overnight flights. Jude could sleep on the plane! Then Dave and I could, too! 

Little Judester didn't get the memo about sleeping on the plane, though. He did for about 30 minutes in that bassinet. And like a parent of a newborn who finally gets them to sleep, NOT in their own arms, I was practically euphoric with relief, and didn't fall asleep myself. Oh, well. We all survived. 

We got to Frankfurt. I was very excited to see all of the signs in German. I knew that of course there would be signs in German, but I still loved it. I threw around my meager German vocabulary like a boss with the flight attendants, too. ;) 

Of course, being in Germany, wurst was on the menu for our meal. 

Which happened to be breakfast. 

And you end up feeling kind of sleepy after eating 1.5 pounds of sausage

 and french fries after being up all night. 

(Waiting for our flight to Kyiv)

And eventually we descended into Kyiv. 

At the airport, people were extremely nice to us. As soon as we got in the (long) passport line for non-Ukrainians, an officer approached us, and had us follow him to the FRONT of the diplomats line. No picture for that, just know that they treat babies like foreign ambassadors here. I like that. 

Jude passed out again in the car from the airport to our apartment. You should have seen his face after Dave dressed him in a snowsuit for the first time. He looked panicked and confused about this stifling get-up. It is cold here, but so far, not as bad as we expected. 

I'm not sure what to say about our apartment. It could be worse? I've been running through a predictable cycle of being shocked by the different standards, then feeling a little annoyed (I'm sorry), then feeling guilty for being annoyed, and for having so much in the first place. I am left wondering why America is so nice. I know that there are other nice places. And I know that there are places a lot worse than this. But still, why do we get to live somewhere so nice?

View from our apartment.

Today we got out in our neighborhood a bit. We are about 1/3 of a mile from the square where there is the large protest right now. Other than being able to hear the chanting at times, there is no sign of it if you are not right in it. 

Really close to our apartment is St. Sophia's Church. I hope to get a closer look tomorrow. 

And finally, lunch today at a Ukrainian/Russian restaurant. It was good, hearty food. 

That's about all for now. We'll be here for a few days, then expect to head to the boys' region at the end of the week. Here's a picture of several of the boys from the orphanage, with Oleg in the middle, and Tolia to the right. 

Thank you for reading. Please keep praying for a smooth process, and please pray for Oleg and Tolia, as they will soon have to officially decide to be part of our family.