35 months 13 days

Day 1077. I had a hard time getting up this morning. Emmy was with me, and then Randy put Sammy next to me, and Tammy also stopped by, and Emmy was pretty wild, wanting to jump on me and was playing around with me. Randy got up first, which is usually not the case, and I only got up when I absolutely had to. It was already about 8:30.

After breakfast I went downstairs with them, where I got their previous Bible out again, as the one we'd been using was really for older kids (not enough pictures). They were listening intently as I told the story of Jacob and Esau. Except for Sammy who was not interested. Tammy wanted to draw, so I gave her everything she needed, then I went upstairs to work. I made good use of my time that is now even more precious with the teaching I do, and put the soup on the stove to warm it up. At 11:45 I'd heard Sammy cry hard for so long that I could not ignore it any longer. I went downstairs and picked him up and took him upstairs, and the other two followed. I held and comforted him for a while, then put him into Emmy's bed that he just loves standing in and put some kids' song on for them to watch. Once the food was ready and on the table, we all sat down to eat.

They ate better than yesterday, Tammy and Emmy finishing their bowl, except for Sammy who didn't want to eat at all at first. Then they all had icecream. After cleaning them up and dressing them, Tammy wanted to stay upstairs and watch videos, while Emmy wanted to go downstairs with me.

And so we had some quality Mom and son time, and it was really precious. He wanted to play the vehicle tiptoi game again, that we had played together just he and I before, and we had lots of fun doing so. So much so that Randy finally called downstairs whether we were not coming back upstairs.  We did and everyone lay down for a nap. I sat down by them and stayed much longer than usual. I was just so tired myself that I could not make myself get up and leave. In fact, at 2:30 Emmy sat up in bed, and because I stroked his head, he lay back down and continued sleeping. Normally he would have been up for good. Then I did leave and returned to my computer. Just minutes later Sammy was up and fussing and I went to get him. Surprisingly the other two didn't wake up as a results. Randy went downstairs with Sammy, while I started making their dinner-to-go. At about 3:10 I turned the ocean waves off, and when nothing happened in the next few minutes, I had Alexa play "Good morning" in their room. At first it was quiet. After the song was over, I heard Emmy say, "It's not morning." It was hiarious! It took them a while, but they finally did get up and then did go downstairs after a few minutes. At 4 pm they came back upstairs so we could get everyone and everything ready to leave at about 4:15.

Sammy was in the stroller, Emmy on the tricycle, and Tammy walking. We made it in time to the train station and got on the old train - no accidents this time. After we got off, we took the tram to get to church, where we arrived just as the service was starting. We went to our usual spot in the front, and the kids ran to get the streamers to dance with. I got Sammy out who was also eager to get going - to the trash cans that he immediately saw. I put him there and let him play with the turning lids. Then we sat down on the stairs, where we played a little bit with the fabric. He was a little cranky and went back to Daddy and then to me again a few times. Twenty minutes after the service had started Tammy was already asking to go upstairs. Emmy started laying the fabric out on the floor, and then Tammy joined in and helped him. Emmy then started playing with a lady, putting the fabric on his head, and he was having fun.

It was after 5:30, when we got their food and headed upstairs. We were the first ones in the toddler room. Sammy was heading straight for the kitchen, and Tammy was already over there, sitting at the table and playing. I left them and returned to the sanctuary. It was my turn to be in the service. I greatly enjoyed the rest of worship, being able to freely worship and not worry about the kids running around, which was a real blessing. I also heard about the first 15 minutes of the message, even with my eyes closed as I was so very tired. Then it was time for me to return upstairs to the toddler room. The kids were all playing and Emmy ran to me and showed me the drawing he had made. Randy had Sammy in the kitchen - where else - and Tammy was playing with another child and Dad with the garage and didn't even notice I had come back. Randy first changed Emmy's then Tammy's diaper, while I had Sammy. I took him to the table and started feeding him there, and he nearly ate everything in his box. After everyone was back, we put their shoes on and left. Sammy was already saying "Anna" non-stop, in joyful expectation of being about to see her. He kept shouting her name really loudly while we were walking down the staircase into the sanctuary. We could not see her anywhere and thought she wasn't there, but she was hiding under the staircase, and we could see her once we had reached the bottom of the stairs. Sammy was so very happy! Anna took him, and the other two also said hello to Anna, but were more interested in the climbing construct that was in the corner for reaching the ceiling to fix things. It made some noise, when they stepped on it, and I asked them not to, and then the pastor's wife already came saying how much the noise was carrying through the sanctuary. We got them off and made our way to the exit. As there was a special speaker, the preaching was still going on and probably went on for quite some time after we left.

When we stepped outside, it was raining, which wasn't very pleasant. We didn't have anything with us to protect ourselves, but at least it was warm, so it wasn't that bad. We walked back to the tram stop, where there was a roof for us to find refuge under. The kids wanted to watch Bobo, so I got my phone out and turned it on, and I also gave them their lunch box to eat some more food. Once on the tram, we continued there, then got off and walked to the train platform, where we continued. The old train came just before 8 pm. We got on, they continued watching and eating, then we got off the next time it stopped. We still had quite a walk ahead, and Tammy was pushing the stroller. Thankfully it was barely raining any more, as we walked to our apartment building.

It was about 8:15, when we got home, and half an hour later we had them in bed. I sat down by them, but after half an hour I was getting pretty impatient with them and their shenanigans. I left, but Tammy and Emmy were both crying hard. After having taking a deep breath, I returned after a few minutes and took my computer with me this time to not waste my time. By then it did not take them long to fall asleep. It was about 8:45 before I finally got to leave with my computer. I sat down in my "bedroom office" and continued working. Now it's nearly midnight, so earlier than it has been, but we have to get up early tomorrow morning.