Day 833. Last night I got very little sleep. I went to bed at 1 am, but by 2 am I was still up, as the kids were having a rough night. Tammy was in bed with us, which made it harder for me to get comfortable and fall asleep. The night was busy, and by 6:30 Tammy and Emmy were up for good, and I had no choice but to get up as well to keep them from getting into stuff they shouldn't get into. I was pretty tired.
I made one portion of cereal for the three of them, and gave them some other stuff. After breakfast we sat down on the couch and read one Bible story, before opening the three advent calendars. Then Randy came with his breakfast, and I went to the back to work. It wasn't long before they started running to the back to see me, and they kept coming. Randy tried to put a barrier up to keep them in the front, but Tammy was crying so very hard I had to go and comfort her. No barriers! Every time they came, I'd have to lift them into my lap and then continue working that way. I was able to do one kid at the time. I even had Sammy one time. And they got a hold of the Christmas hats ,and so I have a few great pictures with them having those hats on.
They had been talking about the baby sheep, and so Amadou brought one of them over to our house for them to pet. Emmy was still scared, while Tammy cautiously petted it. Sammy was also still scared.
Around 11:15 I started making lunch for us, and so we sat down to eat before it was even noon. They didn't eat much. They always eat yoghurt though. Then I carried them straight to the bathtub, as they were dirty. Once again they didn't want to be in there for some reason that I could not figure out. Today it was Tammy who wanted out real bad. I got them all clean, and then they could come out. I put some essential oils on Emmy who has a (heat?) rash covering most of his body, we put their clothes on, and then it was nap time.
It was only just after 12:30. Sammy fell asleep fast, but not so the other two. It was 1:15 before Emmy fell asleep, and even 2 pm, before Tammy did. I thought she'd never fall asleep! It's so frustrating, when you spend so much time trying to get them sleep. I even lay down with them at one point. That's when Emmy fell asleep in my arm, but Tammy refused to lie down. I was so very tired and really needed to sleep myself, but that was impossible with her being so active. In the end Randy returned and sat down with her, and she fell asleep quickly.
I was back up, hoping just lying down was enough for me to be able to keep going, and so I went to work on the computer. It wasn't long before Emmy came running to the back. Tammy raised up and then continued sleeping. Next time he came he woke her up for good. She had only slept an hour.
Soon some of our Malian kids came over, as well as Fanta and Margit. Patrice was pulling Emmy and Tammy around in circles on their dogs. He also played with Sammy for a while, which was sweet. Randy put up the Christmas tree, and now it's up to me to decorate it.
Amadou brought over two of his chicks and told us that they were actually born today. Tammy touched them, but Emmy was too scared. In the end he did touch them quickly.
Sammy was cranky, and so I sat down with him on the mattress and started playing with him and having fun with him and making him laugh. Patrice was still playing with the other two, and today they were not as cranky as they usually are between 5 and 6 pm.
Tonight I got dinner ready earlier, at about 5:45. I put regular cheese on the Austrian berad to give to them tonight, cut up a banana, and fried some sweet potato slices. Tammy rejects right away what she does not know, while Emmy tried it. So it was up to Randy and me to eat it all. I did bring out the yoghurt for them to eat.
Then it was bathtub time, where we had lots of fun once again, doing all the actions song. We got them all out and ready for bed, and as it was only 6:30, Randy went to get two Bible stories for us to read. And so we sat down on our bed, and I let Randy tell the story in English, the book being German. Then they wanted to hear the other story, and I read that one. In the end I prayed over all of them, and Tammy and Emmy lay down on their bellies for that. When I was done, they said a loud "amen".
And then the long challenge of trying to get them to sleep started once again. Randy and I both tried every trick in the book. Finally Tammy fell asleep, and Sammy had fallen asleep being alone in their bed. Emmy was still giving us a hard time. He wanted to go into his own bed and ended up waking Sammy up. Now once Sammy is up, it's a challenge. Then Emmy fell asleep, and it was Sammy who kept trying to get to him and wake him up. He thought it was a game every time Randy pulled him back and laughed out loud. I finally had to take over and was able to get him to sleep. It was after 8 pm.
I got myself something to eat, ate, and then went back to work. Now it's 11 pm, and I've really been struggling writing my report, as I'm constantly falling asleep. I'm hoping for a better night's rest tonight.
