Day 1020. Last night God inspired Randy, when he turned Christian kids' music on, when Emmy was crying for me and all three were awake and not falling asleep (thanks to jetlag). Emmy and Tammy fell asleep, but not Sammy. I ended up sitting down by him and holding his hand until he fell asleep, and then I was finally able to go to bed as well. Another short night.
I had set my alarm for 8 am, just so we'd get up at a decent time and conquer jetlag as soon as possible. However, I fell back asleep, and the others also continued sleeping, and it was nearly 10 am before we got up. It was 11 am before I started working, and so lunch was scheduled for 1 pm. It was hilarious, when Emmy came upstairs with a baby on his back, like the women in Mali. He then was the one eating little, while Tammy and Sammy ate well, but he ate a little more just to get icecream as well.
After lunch we put them to bed, and I sat down by them. It was 1:30, and we had to leave the house at 3 pm, so time was short. They fell asleep quickly, with Tammy falling asleep last. I returned to my computer to work, instead of sleeping, which I should have done. I was surprised, when Sammy woke up first after about an hour, and then Emmy was up to. I got Sammy out of bed, and a few minutes later Tammy was up too. We dressed them and left the house just after 3 pm.
Sammy now wants to be out of the stroller as well in the subway or train, and he loves looking out the window, and playing with the foldable table or trash can lid (which I try to keep him away from). After the train we took the subway, then walked through the mall to get to church. Last time we had tried to run the bumper cars, but didn't have the right coin, so I had told them another time. Today it was early, and we had the coin, and so I sat down in the car and had all three with them. I then moved around with them, forward and backward, turning left and right. They were having lots of fun, and a good number of people from church walked by and watched us.
We were still at church early and sat down in the last row, but then moved to the side and front, as Emmy wanted to look at the drums being played more closely. He loves watching the people worship and just sits or stands there quietly doing so. I also love to watch him walk around and look at people closely, and the freedom he has to go anywhere. I want him to know he can be free in church, and he does.
Half an hour into the service we left to go to the baby room, as Sammy was getting somewhat fussy. Emmy was overjoyed to see one of the little cars there, and he and Tammy took turns riding it, sometimes fighting over it. Sammy was having fun with Daddy, and then on the floor, while I lay down on the couch for a while, as I was so very tired. The service was going longer than usual, and so we left the room a few minutes after 6 pm. The church has a coffee shop, and we went outside on the terrace for the first time, as the doors were wide open. After a few minutes we went back inside and went into the sanctuary. Emmy went straight to the front, and so I followed with Tammy and returned to the side and front we had been at in the beginning. Then the pastor made an altar call to be filled with Holy Spirit, and Emmy went to the front. He raised his hands up to heaven, which was so very precious. I had Tammy on my shoulders at that point, standing nearby. The pastor came and laid hands on Emmy, as well as the two of us. I love that Emmy loves God's presence, and him being such a "Lausbub" (naughty boy) just shows how the enemy is fighting this calling of his.
The service ended, and we went to the lobby and talked to a few people before leaving. Ever since arriving Emmy had talked about going to McDonald's, and I kept telling him we would go after church, and so that's where we were heading. He was his usual naughty boy there yet again, together with his sister, which was aggravating at times. Then we took the subway to the train station and were lucky to get there just a few minutes before the train's arrival at 8 pm. 15 minutes later we were home. And today I had not let them watch Peppa Pig or anything on the train, and they accepted it with surprisingly little complaining.
We got them ready for bed, and it took until 9 pm before they were all asleep. It was time for me to go to work. Emmy got up once, but Randy was able to rock him back to sleep. And so it's been surprisingly quiet tonight, and it's already after midnight. May they all sleep through the night tonight!
