Day 751 - Last night I made it to bed at 12:45 am. It was 5:30, when Emmy joined us in bed. An hour later the others were up too, and we got up. I took some cute pictures of our family time in bed this morning.
After breakfast we dressed them and left the house to walk to a nearby playground. Randy got the single stroller out of the car to put Sammy on it, and another kid could ride the attached board. We had not used it yet, but today it came in handy. We also took a big bag with us to go to Billa on our way back, and I gave it to Tammy, who was very serious about carrying it on her shoulder. It then ended up on the bottom of the stroller.
I was in a lot of (back) pain while we were walking to the playground. The playground itself was small, but had a lot to offer. They enjoyed the slide and the swings, and Tammy impressed me with her climbing skills. And Randy shook the leaves of the tree there and made it rain yellow leaves.
After half an hour, at 9:30, we moved on, walking down the path along the little stream. We finally got to Billa which was just a block away from the place we're staying at. The supermarket had shopping carts that were cars they could ride in on the front - something we don't have in Vienna, as far as I know. They both sat in one at first, but then Tammy moved to the baby seat in the other cart, which worked out well, and she was happy in it. This was only our second trip to the supermarket as a family ever. We walked down the aisles, picking things up that were easy to make, as we are on our own food-wise these next few days, while we stay in the church appartment. Tammy had already asked for salami for breakfast, but we were out, so she immmediately wanted me to open up one of the packs I had grabbed. By the time we paid for it most of it was eaten, a combined effort of all three.
We had bought quite a lot and put part of it under the stroller, and carried the rest in the bag we had brought. We had spent 40 minutes inside the supermarket, and by 10:30 we were back at the appartment.
I started making lunch, while Randy occupied the kids and then took their clothes off. The table is a little high for them to sit at. Randy bought some vanilla icecream, but there is no room in the little freezer compartment, so they had more than usual, and tomorrow it will be vanilla sauce. Plus I dropped it on the floor and busted the bottom, so it's upside down now. In any case the kids enjoyed it. Then I cleaned them up, dressed them, and it was bed time. By 11:40 they were all in bed, but needed some encouragement to sleep. Sammy fell asleep first, but woke up first, after only 40 minutes, and not long after he woke up his siblings, so none of them got enough sleep today. And we still had an hour before leaving. That time went by quickly. Especially since we got to do a video call with Grandma in Vienna.
At 3 pm we left to drive the 15 minutes to the pastor's house, where we were invited for coffee and cake. We hadn't seen them in nearly 3 years. Last time I was here I preached on not giving up on what God has shown you, mentioning the promise of having children. A few months later I was pregnant. We went straight into the garden, and what I noticed most was how quiet it was. They have five children, but they are all older now, so no more kids noise, and Mom was more relaxed than I've ever seen her. Just a few more years before that's me!
Our kids were shy at first, but that didn't last long. We sat down at the table, and they had milk, cake and icecream. It was icecream day today! Then they went inside to pet the 4-month-old cat, before going back outside to explore the garden. Emmy today grabbed his sister several times in the course of the day, just to hug her and love on her, which is really cute.
Our friend then gave Emmy a bucket and asked him to put the fallen down leaves into it, and Tamara immediately joined in the task. It only lasted a few minutes though. And then they gave Emmy a soccer ball, which made his face light up. Until his sister took it away from him and he was running after her crying to get it back. The girl always wins. If only they could get the concept of playing together!
Sammy was cranky all afternoon; I figured he was tired from his short nap and had to throw him around the whole time to keep him happy. For much of the time Randy was off with the other two, while I was holding Sammy. He went on the trampolin with them, having fun. In between all the activity we also found some time to talk, which was really nice. After over two hours we said our good-byes and left. They have learned a new word to say good-bye on this trip: "tschüss".
By 5:40 we were back at the apartment. They were all pretty tired. I immediately started making some bread with cheese and got the watermelon and salami out, and we all sat down to eat. Then we put water into the bathtub and I went in with them. Sammy was tired, or so we thought, crying, because he was the one who needed the longest to fall asleep, while the others were already sleeping. All three were in bed by 6:45 pm. But I had to sit with them. Emmy wants me there all the time now, and I can't even move away a little bit without him complaining. Sammy was constantly crawling out of bed, and Tammy gets up all the time. Randy was also there to help. Just as they were falling asleep, someone rang the doorbell, and they were back up. How frustrating! We had to start over, and I was glad, when they finally fell asleep. Except for Sammy who simply would not stay in bed and would not fall asleep. Randy finally gave up and left to get something to eat, while I continued trying to get him to sleep. Unftil he finally stayed in bed and did fall asleep. I was working on the computer, and now I'm done for the day.
