Day 1175. The picture of Sammy with the little horse is from yesterday. A few weeks ago they each got a toy from me, and as Sammy loves horses so much, I got him this little horse that walks and makes noises. However, he was terrified of it, while his siblings loved it. So it was put on a shelf. I don't know what Randy did, but he was able to get Sammy to fall in love with it - without the movements and sounds. I was shocked to see the transformation!
When they go to bed at night, I sit down by them. Yesterday we ended up having a long conversation. We were talking about getting married, and I told them I was praying for them to have the perfect husband/wife. Emmy told me that he was gonna marry Mommy, when he's grown up. I told him that was not possible. He then said he's gonna marry the girl from exercises class that he really likes. Tammy said she's gonna marry Emmy, and she was in great distress, when I told her she could not do that. Then she said she'll marry Sammy, and I told her that was not possible either. Finally she chose Daddy, and once again I had to tell her that that was not possible.
It's Sunday today, so no commitments or alarms this morning, which was nice. Emmy was up first, of course, then Sammy woke up, but Tammy kept on sleeping. Emmy wanted to watch videos, which we let them do on Sunday morning to be able to sleep in. I finally picked up the girl, and they all started watching, while I went back to bed. It was after 9 am, when we also got up. We had breakfast, and then I took them downstairs, where we read a Bible story together. Then I went upstairs to at least work a little bit. It was already going on 10:30 before my computer was up and running. Less than an hour later I went to the kitchen to start making lunch - really too late, so that we ate closer to 12:30 today.
After lunch they went to bed at 1:15 for their nap, and I sat down by them. I ended up holding hands with all three - two at the time - to help them fall asleep. Just before 2 pm I walked away. I was pretty tired and soon lay down for a nap. And it was a good one. The kids also slept longer, until about 3 pm, which is also when I was woken up. Randy and the kids went downstairs, while I went to the kitchen to make their dinner-to-go boxes. I wasn't sure whether everything would be ready by 4 pm, but we left on time and made the 4:20 train.
After we got off the train, we bought some fresh chestnuts and then walked to the tram stop. We then took the tram and walked up the hill to church. Tammy and Emmy always get out of the stroller as soon as we leave the sidwalk and walk into the courtyard, and today Emmy ended up pushing Sammy all the way to the entrance, while Tammy ran way ahead.
We got to church just before the service started and walked to our usual spot. All three enjoyed the streamers for a short time, but soon asked to go upstairs. Emmy also likes standing or sitting by the stage and just watching the musicians. At 5:30 we already went upstairs, then Randy returned to the sanctuary. The kids started playing, and Sammy of course wanted to go play in the play kitchen, so I sat down with him there. Other kids soon joined us, and everyone was having fun. They had announced in the service that there was no teaching today, so the kids got to play the whole 75 minutes we were in the room. Tammy had me read a few books to her, while Emmy was playing with one of the Dads.
With 7 pm approaching we left the room to return to the sanctuary. Sammy was already eager to see Anna, who was right there on the bottom of the stairs. We then walked into the lobby. As they had food tonight, which is usually not the case, we decided to stay a little, especially as the kids were asking to have some goulash. We spent some more time with Anna, and then found Sonja who the kids hadn't seen in about 3 weeks. They were all really excited to see her. At 7:30 we decided it was time to leave so we'd make the 8 pm train.
We walked to the tram stop, where we'd just missed a tram. The kids started watching and eating, and then continued on the tram, and then on the 8 pm train that we made. By 8:15 we were home. We got them ready for bed, read a bedtime story, then I prayed for them and put them to bed. It was already about 9 pm. And still, they all stayed awake for unusually long. Emmy was asleep first. Then Randy took my place so I could make my salad, and that often does not end well. Sammy starts being more mischievous, especially when his sister plays along with him. I had to come back a few times, but by the time I sat down to eat, they were finally all asleep. I ate and then started working on today's pictures. Now it's 1 am and time to clean up the kitchen and go to bed.
