Day 1084. Emmy was up early again, and I told him it was still time to sleep. But then it was suddenly 8:40 before I got up. Where had the time gone? After breakfast I took them downstairs, where we read a Bible story together. Then Tammy wanted to draw, and Sammy to play the piano. I got them what they needed and went upstairs to work.
But first I put a chicken into the oven to cook. It was later than usual after all. Then I sat down by the computer and got some stuff done, but time seemed pretty short. They came upstairs early, and at noon we sat down to eat. They all ate pretty well, and then had icecream. Emmy especially wanted to go downstairs, but it was already nearly 1 pm, so not really worth it. And then I disovered that a sticker book I was doing with them had been handed to them, and they had messed it all up, so no going downstairs. They were not happy. Just after 1 pm I put them to bed for their nap.
And they fell asleep pretty fast. Then I returned to my computer to continue preparing tomorrow's lessons. I was pretty tired but never closed my eyes. Sammy was the first one to wake up, and I got him out of bed. Randy ended up going downstairs with him. The other two were still sleeping. At 3 pm I went to the kitchen to make their dinner-to-go boxes. A few minutes later I turned the ocean waves off, and then I played the "good morning" song in their room. Tammy got up, got some milk, and wanted to head downstairs, but there was no sign of Emmy, which was unusual. He's usually the first one up. I finally went to his bed, where I found him, to check on him. In the end they did not go down but Randy and Sammy came upstairs instead. I always pick out their clothes and chose their "I am 2" shirts that they received for their birthday last year. They're turning 3 in 10 days, so there's not much time left for them to wear them. I was amazed at how well they still fit the boys.
At 4:15 we left the house to catch the 4:30 train. Sammy was in the stroller, Emmy on the tricycle, and Tammy walking. We made it to the platform in time and got on the old train with steps. We're now used to doing so. After the train we still had to take the tram and waited quite some time for it. After getting off the train, we still had to walk up the hill. In the end it was already 5:15, when we got to church. We went to the front, where the kids picked up their streamers to dance with. Even though we had arrived late, it wasn't even 5:30 yet, when Emmy asked to go upstairs. A few minutes later we did.
We were the first ones in the toddler room. Sammy headed straight to the play kitchen, while Tammy picked up a baby and stroller, and Emmy went to the box of cars. Randy returned to the sanctuary. I sat down by Sammy and held him up, making sure he was not falling. And we were playing together. Tammy also kept coming to us to tell me what was going on with her baby. After a while I went to the table with Sammy, but he didn't want to eat it. So I put him on his knees by the boxes he likes exploring. Then I told the kids and other parents that I needed to go to the bathroom. Emmy insisted on coming with me. As soon as the door closed, I could hear Sammy starting to scream. But I was quick, and we were back in no time at all. Sammy and I then sat down by the mat, where we sit for the program, even though it still took a while for it to start. Tammy and Emmy then joined us as well, and we did the greeting song together, then we did the individual greeting song, where they get to hug the hand-puppet sheep. Then they each got a Bible, and we did the Bible song, before a Mom did today's teaching, which was a repeat of one we'd had recently, on the 23rd psalm, just a little shorter. At the end she handed out papers to draw. Tammy had already asked to draw several times during the teaching. But it was Emmy - again, for the second time - who spent a lot of time drawing, and he wanted another paper after he was done with the first one. I was surprised to see him be the last one still drawing. Tammy had moved on to the books of the little library, while Sammy was finally eating with me. The other two ate little, but then finished pretty much their whole box on the way home. After Sammy was done eating, he sat down by the boxes of toys again and started exploring the contents. Randy had returned and taken Emmy with him to change his diaper. When they returned, we put their shoes on and returned to the sanctuary. Sammy had already been saying Anna's name for a while, getting all excited every time. As soon as we entered the sancturay, he was shouting her name into the silence, and as soon as we had reached the bottom of the stairs, we saw her. Anna then took an excited Sammy into her arms. The other two were excited too, but more interested in the scaffolding and wanting to climb up. We didn't let them but moved on to the lobby. The service was still not over, but we could not wait any longer. We said goodbye to Anna and left.
Tammy was pushing the stroller with Sammy to the tram stop, with me guiding it. They sat down there and were eating their food, while watching Bobo. They continued doing the same on the tram, and then the train platform, where we had 15 minutes to wait for our train. On the train they actually finished their food. I carried Tammy on my shoulders from the train to our house, where we arrived by 8:15. Sammy looked really tired. We got them all ready for bed, I put them to bed and sat down by them. I thought they were going to sleep quickly, but suddenly all three wanted Daddy, so I gladly let him take my seat. I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat, sat down to eat, and then started working on the pictures of the day. Now it's after midnight and time for me to clean up the kitchen before going to bed. While it's a holiday in Austria tomorrow, it's not in Germany and I'll be teaching like on any other Monday.
