3 years 7 months 22 days

Day 1329. I went to bed late and did not sleep well. Tammy was with us, and at one point I carried her back to her bed. Emmy came in the morning and was up early, soon the others were too. At 8 am my alarm went off; Randy did not get up right away, so we had to rush a little bit to leave the house just after 9 am.

We took the 9:20 train, then a tram for two stops and walked the rest of the way to the swimming pool. Last week the teacher had been sick, so it'd been a few weeks since the last class. We changed and went inside. The kids were really excited to be back in the water.

The teacher started with her greeting song, then the kids were supposed to swim through a tunnel, which they all did and did well. Then she had them jump into the water from the side of the pool. She also had them swim on their backs, and they did so well. Today they also did that with a swim noodle under their back instead of the swim rings, and that also worked well. When we asked her at the end, she said she had forgotten about the swim test and is gonna do it next week.

She did a good-bye song in the end, then the kids still wanted to stay in the water, so we moved over to the other half of the pool that was open to the public. We played in there for a while, then the kids wanted to go to the baby pool, so we were in there for a little bit. But Sammy kept saying he was cold, and so we soon got up to leave. It was pretty cold leaving the hall, so we quickly jumped into the hot shower. Then Randy turned on the hairdryer above the changing table, which helped Sammy not to be cold. The other kids also thought that it was pretty cool and sat on the table under the dryer for some time, while I put their socks and shoes back on.

We left the swimming pool, walked back to the tram stop, where we had to wait for a few minutes, then took the tram for 4 stops to go to McDonald's for lunch. It had been two weeks since our last lunch there, and so the kids were excited to be back. They were also hungry and impatient for the food to come to our table. We then had a great time eating together. Once done, we left to go home. We took the subway for one stop and then the train and got home just after 12:30 pm.

The kids still wanted to watch videos as it was not bedtime yet. I was extremely tired and just wanted to sleep. And so I already put them to bed just after 1 pm. Normally Emmy is the first one asleep, but today the others were asleep first, while Emmy needed a new diaper. By 1:30 I was able to leave the kids and go to bed myself. By 1:45 or so I also closed my eyes and fell asleep. I don't know when, but kids came into my room at one point and woke me up. After some time Randy went downstairs with them, so that I was able to fall asleep again. He came back into the room just after 4 pm, woke me up and asked whether we were still going to church. I said yes and jumped out of bed. We then rushed to get everyone and everything ready to leave the house and make the 4:50 train.

It was raining a little bit again, as we half walked half ran to make the train, which we did. After the train, we took the tram and rode it for some time. Then we still had to walk up the hill to church, where we arrived just after 5:20. The service had started with announcements etc. at 5 pm. There were a lot more people than usual because of a well-known guest speaker. We went forward to our usual spot, took their coats off, and off they went, picking up streamers to dance and play. I started dancing with Sammy and having fun with him. Emmy then also danced with Sammy, which was fun to watch. Sammy really enjoyed it. A few times Emmy let go of the wheelchair, and as it rolls really well, I had to run after it so that it didn't bump into anyone or anything.

They soon asked to go upstairs, which we did at around 5:40 pm. I took the elevator with the boys, while Randy and Tammy took the stairs. I made sure they were settled in well at the toddler room and then left them there, as it was my turn to be in the service. I enjoyed the worship time and then the guest speaker. At 6:50 I left to return upstairs. The kids were happy to see me. Randy took Emmy to change his diaper, while I stood with Sammy in the play kitchen that he loves so much. Tammy then came to me with books she wanted me to read to her.

Sammy had been asking about Anna on the way to church, and now he was eager to see her. Last Sunday he'd been really disappointed that she was not there, and so I was glad to see her there today. We put the kids' shoes back on and left to return downstairs. Anna was already waiting for them. Emmy ran to her, and she picked up him, then she also took Sammy. I really don't know why Sammy loves her so much, as they have not spent much time with her, but he just does. He grabbed her neck and put his head on her shoulder, like he was not gonna let go of her again. She held him for quite some time, while the other two were running around and playing in the lobby. It was 7:15 pm, so we decided it was time to go home. She put him into his wheelchair, but he still wanted to hug and hold her, so he did. Then it was time to say good-bye.

When we left the building, it was raining again, so the kids opened their umbrellas up. We had to walk down the hill to the tram stop, then waited a few minutes for our tram. I had not had time to cut up what I usually do for their dinner boxes, but I had quickly made three slices of bread with salami and cut up two apples, and by the end of the day that was all gone. The kids wanted to watch videos, so they did waiting for the tram, then on the tram, then waiting for the train, and then on the train. Just after 8 pm we were back home.

The kids were clearly pretty tired, crying about little things. We got them ready for bed, then they still wanted to read a Bible story, so we did. That way it was about 8:45 before they were all in bed, after I had prayed for them and flown them into their beds. And then they were suddenly so talkative, as if all that tiredness was gone. We talked for some time, then I encouraged them to stop talking and go to sleep instead. I left them to get something to eat, and then Randy took his plate of food with him to the chair by their beds. After I had eaten, I went back to work. Now it's approaching 1 am, and I still need to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.