30 months 2 days

Day 916. So much for going to bed earlier. It was 1 am last night. Tammy joined us in bed some time, and when I became aware of it, I returned her to her own bed. Emmy also came in the early morning hours. Sammy fell back asleep after getting some milk. Tammy was up at 6:45 and playing, and by 7 am Emmy was up as well. A few minutes later I also got up.

I made breakfast, and we sat down to eat. That is except Randy who was in the kitchen. When I got up to go to the kitchen, there were red roses, orchids, socks, chocolate and a hand-written note. It's our anniversary today, 7 years. Three years ago today I found out that I was pregnant, so the day has become extra special.

I cleaned up the kids and dressed them, and we went downstairs. They immediately saw the wrapped gift on my desk. I handed it to Emmy who gave it to Randy. Randy unwrapped it and found two wine glasses that had our names engraved.

Then I sat down with the kids to read a Bible story, beforen they started playing. I went upstairs to work, even though I was pretty tired. At 11:15 I stopped to get cooking. At noon I called them upstairs to eat. Emmy ate pretty well, Tammy not so much. I told them we had cake as today was a special occasion, our anniversary. They were eager to get some. Then we cleaned them up and dressed them, and the boys went to bed, while Randy went downstairs with Tammy. It was 12:50 before Emmy lay down, and I was still cleaning up. Once I sit down I get so tired that I don't clean up any more. Just after 1 pm Emmy fell asleep holding my hand. I let Randy know they could come back upstairs, and Tammy went to bed. I sat by her bed, and by 1:15 she was asleep as well. I myself had nearly fallen asleep. I grabbed my tea and returned to my computer to write.

At 2:30 Emmy walked into the room, and at the same time Sammy started whining, and so we took them downstairs, where Randy stayed with them. I finally got so tired I closed my eyes just before 3 pm. At 3:20 I woke up, stopped the ocean waves, and Tammy was immediately awake. I took her downstairs together with their snacks, and then grabbed my computer and tea to take it all downstairs to continue working there.

I put some worship on the Echo Show, and Emmy was watching it. It wasn't long until they were asking to watch Peppa Pig, especially Tammy who was cranky. I said no for a long time before I gave in. And they were upset, when I stopped it, but soon moved on to other activities.

Randy was working with Sammy, doing exercises with him, and it worked well. They've been working on getting him to use his right hand more, and we've seen progress there.

Then I suggested they'd do some drawing, and they responded enthousiastically. All of them did a great job.

Emmy sat down on the bar chair, and we started having fun together. I was having him go in circles, the chair turning, and snuck up on him, making him in laugh. In the meantime Tammy was taking care of her baby doll, feeding her and rocking her and taking her on a walk.

At 5:20 I told them it was time to tidy up. To my greatest surprise Emmy actually helped today, for the first time in a long time, and so did Tammy, and both received a coin to put into their piggy bank.

We walked upstairs, and they pulled up chairs to the kitchen counter. I started making their dinner and putting the food on the plates in front of them, and they already ate a lot of it right there. Once we sat down at the table, Tammy asked for her soup. I wasn't gonna give them any any more, as they sometimes eat  none of it at all, but after she asked I warmed it up and she and Emmy ate some of it. They didn't eat much else, but got up to go potty, then went into the bathtub. I put the rest of their food into a bowl, and did the same with Sammy's, and took them also to the bathtub. There wasn't much left in the end. After they had played and had fun, we got them out one after another, and by 6:45 they were all in bed. I was just gonna sit down by them, when the door bell rang and Sonja arrived. I was able to keep them in their beds until she sat down on the chair I usually sit on. I told the kids that Sonja would be with them, while we were gone, and that we'd be back soon and there when they wake up. Then I started getting ready to leave. I was amazed how quiet they were, as if they were about to fall asleep. When I sit there, they talk and talk for a long time.

We left the house at 7:15, which was earlier than necessary. It was weird it being just the two of us, as we never go anywhere without them and together any more. We were able to hold hands again and to take escalators instead of elevators. We rode the subway, then took a tram for two stops, and then walked a little through historic, downtown Vienna. It was pretty cold.

We got to the restaurant 20 minutes before our reservation. The lady told us to sit anywhere we wanted. We didn't get the same table as three years ago, when we had also celebrated finding out I was pregnant, but still had a nice table, where we could sit next to each other. It's an Austrian restaurant that specializes on pancakes, but we had normal dishes as the main course, and then a special pancake dessert. The portions were huge, like in America, and I got to take half my dish home with me.

We hadn't been there long, when I received a desperate message from Sonja that they were all up and asking for us, and that Sammy was just crying.  Oh no! She asked whether we could do a video call. I immediately called her. All three kids could see us on her phone screen, and I told them to go to sleep and that we'd soon be home. It was dark in the room, so I didn't see much, but I did see part of Emmy's face. He answered "yes", and when I said "good night", he said it back. Then we hung up. Sonja told me later that Sammy immediately stopped crying after seeing and hearing us and went to sleep, being the first one asleep. She said that Tammy was very obedient but stayed up a little longer before falling asleep, and that Emmy stayed awake the longest, but was quiet. He only fell asleep over an hour later, after 9 pm.

Randy and I finished our dessert, paid, and left the restaurant just before 9 pm. We walked through town all the way to the big square in front of town hall, where they have set up the ice rink. It's romantic at night, and free to use after 9:30 pm. When we got there, we walked along the ice rink, one of the many paths they have created, and enjoyed all the lights on the trees. After 15 minutes of walking around, we decided to head home, even though we had considered getting on the ice. We walked, then took the subway all the way home. At 10 pm we walked through our front door.

We profusely thanked Sonja for having helped us, as no other person could do this (except for Grandma who wouldn't), and she seemed to have loved doing it and having been blessed by it. She even gave me an anniversary card and gift! After having talked for a few minutes, she left to go home. Randy had already made tea for us, and I grabbed mine to go downstairs to do the pictures and write today's report. There was too much to do to get to bed earlier, and tomorrow we have an early and busy morning. I'm surprised that Emmy hasn't woken up yet to come see us.