Day 2152. After less than 6 hours of sleep for me, Emmy woke up first. I looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was already 7:30, and we were supposed to leave the house at 8 am. We all got up right away, ate something and got ready to leave the house. At 8:20 am we drove off, which was perfect. We got there right after 9 am.
We were meeting with my good friend and bridesmaid and her kids at an indoor playground that we had first met at two years ago. The kids wanted to go there again because it's so much fun. They were excited. We put their socks on, and off they went.
We started in the area with the slides and stuff that moved. Sammy had lots of on the slides - thanks to Daddy who'd climb up with him. Next we went to the huge ballpit with lots of difficult stuff to do, like on a Ninja competition. Sammy loved the balls and would hold on to the net until he'd fall into the ball pit. Tammy and Emmy also moved with the net and then jumped into the balls. They also had quite a few trampolins that they jumped on. Unfortunately Tammy's pants were too wide so that she had to hold on to them to not lose them.
We then went to the other side of the ballpit where the kids tried to reach those long, moving pillars using the moving rings. They tried over and over again, espescially Emmy, but couldn't do it, so we moved on. Just before we left the place, Emmy and I walked by it on the way to the restrooms, and he tried it again, and this time he conquered it easily.
We went to another area with a pool full of foam cubes. I threw Sammy in, and he and Emmy threw cubes at me, while I threw cubes at them. Then I pointed out the long pillow, and Tammy and Emmy got on the bar to try to throw each other off with them. Tammy won all three times, with Emmy falling off first.
We returned to the area where we had been at first as they had a type of zipline. However, they were too small for that. There was another climbing area that Tammy really wanted to do but you had to pay extra. So they did the slides and other moving things again. I love the picture of Sammy and my friend's daughter.
The kids were all getting hungry, so we left before it was noon. Tammy and Emmy got into the car with my friend and her kids, and we drove across the road to McDonald's. They had quite a big playground as well that the kids immediately started playing on. I started our order on the display screen there. The menu was a little different from the Austrian one. Then we sat down right next to the playground.
After a while, they brought us our food, and we sat down to eat. The kids were pretty hungry and ate well. I enjoyed catching up with my friend. Just before 2 pm we said our good-byes. Sammy was cranky and wanted to go home, but we couldn't go home just yet. We drove 20 minutes to the House of Prayer. When I lived in Kansas City over 20 years ago, which was the early days of that ministry, I spent a lot of time there. With the scandals around the founder and leader, everything is now gone except for the 24/7 prayer room. I was curious to see what it was like now. So it was great that my old friend suggested meeting at the coffee shop there.
We got there just before 2:30 pm. I tried to explain to the kids how important that place there was. We got the wheelchair out for Sammy, and walked into the coffee shop.
My friend was right there, and we sat down to talk. The kids had their tablets to keep them occupied. We talked while Randy worked on keeping Sammy happy. After a while, we all walked into the prayer room together.
I immediately sensed the presence of God. There was a team on the stage, playing soft worship music, and there were few people. It reminded me of the early days of the Prayer Room, when I'd always go there. I then became so big that the room was always packed which didn't have much appeal to me any more. I spent so many countless hours on the floor there in the early 2000s!
We sat down in the middle, and our friend with us. We softly talked some more with each other. The kids were bored. I just wanted to close my eyes for a few minutes and enjoy God's presence, but no such chance. Randy was off with Sammy somewhere, and Sammy actually got prayed for.
With 4 pm approaching my friend said good-bye and left. While all I wanted was to stay a few hours, that was not an option. I left the prayer room with Tammy and Emmy, and there were Randy and Sammy. They were talking to the lady at the reception and another lady. The lady at the reception looked familiar, and then she said right away that she had met us years ago. I ended up talking with them, and praying for the other lady. The kids gave them a brochure each, then we left the building for good.
By 4:45 pm we were back at the house. I was very tired, and so were the kids. Emmy wanted to watch "America's Got Talent" again, and after a while I gave in. However, he fell asleep before the show was over. I then gave the others some food. Eventually I woke up Emmy, and at 7:30 pm I took them all to the bathtub for a shower. Emmy was very cranky after having slept for an hour or so. Back in our room, I prayed for them and put them to bed. I held Emmy for a while, then he went to his own bed. I then turned my computer on and started working on today's pictures. Randy soon went to bed, but I wanted to get my report done. However, I kept falling asleep and finally gave up, going to bed before it was half past midnight.
