Day 1609. The kids slept longer this morning, but they were up before my alarm went off just after 8 am. Randy got up and gave them something to eat, then I got up and got them dressed. Just after 9 am we left the house to make the 9:20 train.
It was the first of 6 sessions of the new swim class - same teacher, same swimming pool, same day and time. It was really cold this morning, quite a few degrees below freezing. We rode the train for a few minutes, then had to wait for the tram that took us to the swimming pool. When we got there, we saw the huge construction zone that the swim school had already warned us about. We could not use the main entrance but had to walk around the whole building to a big, long staircase. Randy rolled the wheelchair up one step at the time, then we walked to the cash register and bought our tickets.
We went to the changing room to put our swimsuits on, then went inside. After showering, the kids went straight into the water and started diving immediately. They love diving now! And they don't even care that they have no swimrings and can't swim without them yet. At 10 am the teacher started her class. There were familiar as well as new kids in the class. She had them use the boards instead of the swimrings today, and they did some new things and did them well. The class was over in no time at all.
Sammy wanted to go into the baby pool, as he thought the water in the big pool was too cold. We all went in there briefly, but the others wanted to go into the big pool, so we all went back into the big pool for a short time. Then Sammy went out and stayed with Randy, while I was playing with the other two in the water.
After a while we all got out and got dressed and left to go to McDonald's for lunch. We rodet he tram for 4 stops, then walked in. The man from Ghana who works there and is always there greeted us warmly. He later gave the kids two cookies each, before we left. I ordered, and we sat down to eat. The kids were hungry, so they ate well. Then we left to go back to the train station and go home. We just about made the train, which I was thankful for, and by 12:45 we were back home.
Randy took the kids downstairs to play, while I turned the computer on to do some work. At some point I got so tired that I lay down and closed my eyes. I fell asleep, but Emmy woke me up. Randy had not closed the gate, as so often, which meant that the kids could come upstairs. Just before 4 pm they all came upstairs, and we got them dressed to go to church. We left a little late after 4:15 pm.
We took two subways, which took some time, so that we arrived at church late. We hadn't been there in a few weeks, so it was nice to be back. We went into the sanctuary to worship. Tammy and Emmy went to the front and did some coloring, while I had Sammy in my arms and worshipped with him. At 5:30 pm it was time to go to children's church. I then stayed there with the kids, while Randy returned to the sanctuary to enjoy the service.
First all the kids sat down to eat. I had bought bread at an open bakery in the morning, and we still had apples at home, and I had made them a lunch box before leaving. They were eating some, then they got up to play. I organized the bobby car for Sammy, but he didn't stay on it for long. Emmy started throwing the little pillows at me, and I threw them back at him. We had lots of fun playing like that, and after the program was over, Emmy continued throwing pillows at me, and I was throwing them back at him. Tammy found herself a cat to take care of that Sammy liked as well.
Then the teaching part started. All the kids sat down in a circle, then the lady teaching started with a game that was supposed to help everyone learn everyone's name. Then she taught the story of the Good Samaritan. Sammy was not interested, so I took care of him. After the teaching part, all the kids sat down to color, which is something Tammy enjoys, but Emmy not so much, so he got up quickly to rather throw pillows at me. Sammy was ready to go see Anna, so I took him to the sanctuary and left him with Randy. But Randy then soon brought him back; he had seen Anna, but wanted to be with me again.
After Tammy was done coloring, she and Emmy started building with blocks with a parent. I went to the bathroom, and when I returned, Emmy wanted to throw pillows at me again. Then he and Tammy found some costumes to try on. With 7 pm approaching, we put their shoes on and left, even though the service wasn't over yet.
It was a long ride home, where we arrived at 8 pm. We got them ready for bed right away. Sammy was in bed first and fell asleep quickly. Then I still read two Bible stories to Tammy and Emmy and put them to bed. It was about 8:30 pm by then, and so they fell asleep quickly as well. I went to the kitchen to make myself some soup, ate, and then started working on the pictures. Now it got late, as I got distracted doing some other stuff. It's 1 am and time to go to bed. Tomorrow daily life with lots of work starts again.
