A Day of Rest

Sunday. They're so nice. You don't have to do anything. Seems like we've had about two weeks of Sundays, actually.

This morning we broke our tradition of sleeping in and got up at 8:00. I know. It does seem early, but when you have as much to do as we do, you have to bite the bullet and drag yourself out at unearthly hours. It's rough. Somebody's gotta do the work around here.

That'd be Dad and Mom. They cook. They do our laundry. They do it all. Except clean. The maid comes in daily to do that. I don't know what I'll do when I get home and have to do all that myself again.

After dragging ourselves out of bed, we ate a fine meal of leftover baked oatmeal and burnt toast. The toast wasn't leftover, but it was burnt. In defense of Mom (she can get a little ouchy about some stuff), not all of it was burnt. Just nicely crisped.

Then. We had church. We downloaded a sermon off of a website and listened for about 1 1/2 hours. Lil Jack did super, considering he's never been to church before. Little Will had more problems than the other. I forgot to check for ants in his pants, but that must have been the problem.

Church over, it was naptime. All three children fell asleep well, but in true keeping with her reputation, Addie didn't sleep long at all. And, oh my. Does she need some sleep. The poor dear was so worked up after court on Monday that she could hardly sleep all week. Then she was so worked up after finally bringing Jack Nickolay home that she could hardly sleep. It's time for some sleep. Life would be easier if that would happen.

Dad and Mom left the room while we were napping. Not sure what all they did, but Mom came back bragging that she has officially perfected her pool playing skills. As proof....she beat Dad twice. Wish I could've watched.

For supper tonight we feasted on fish, rice, and mixed veggies. The veggies were delicious. I am considering becoming a vegetarian after how good they tasted. The fish left a little to be desired. Addie and Jack Nickolay thought it was delicious. The rest of us? Will declared that it made his tongue hurt. Dad and Mom thought it was the worst they had ever had. When I could glance past the skin that I peeled off the one side, I could tolerate it. But it worked out well to have lil JN sitting on my lap. He cleaned up my plate. Probably we won't buy any more fish from the grocery. No matter how cheap it is.

After supper, Dad washed dishes while Jason and Mom had a tea party. I rinsed dishes and ate sugar. Gotta eat something sweet since our M&M's haven't shown up yet. :) Let me clarify on that tea party phrase. Jason is hanging over my shoulder and doesn't think that sounds too manly. Both of them were sitting at the same table, both of them were drinking tea. Now doesn't that sound like a tea party to you? Me too.

Now it's 9:00. Or somewhere around there. The children are all in bed. Jack and Will are both sleeping. Addie is sticking to her guns and keeping those eyes open as long as she possibly can. Never mind. Will is still awake too. Playing with his face...which being interpreted means, picking the scabs off his nose.

How are the children doing with the new addition to the family, you ask? Maybe you didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway. It's a little rough at times. The newness must be wearing off a little.

Addie did so well yesterday. She loves her new little brother. But today didn't go so hot. Today she started to revert back to her "Russia" behaviors. Three different times we caught her doing things that we haven't seen for months. She's back to baby-talk. Not all the time, but more often than I like. She wants attention, but is going about getting it in all the wrong ways. We're trying to hold her more than normal....and tonight I rocked her before putting her down for bed. Not that it worked.....

Will? He's still Will. Just a little enhanced. Doing everything he's not supposed to. Being obnoxious. Yesterday he actually pulled a little piece of wallpaper off the wall and ate it. Yep. That's our Will. We felt better when a 'neighbor' came by and asked us if we had any glue. His little boy had pulled off a chunk of wallpaper. :) Must be something in the air. But he loves JN and would do just about anything for him.

Nickolay is doing well. He still is loving to be held. Jason is slowly but surely winning some ground with him, but he still prefers me. He's not used to being around men. He cried a couple times during the night, but quickly calmed when I placed my hand on him. He's sleeping in bed with us. Right beside me. I can't say that I enjoy sharing my bed with a toddler, but his rocking made it a requirement. Did you notice his bald spot on the back of his head in the picture yesterday? It's from rocking himself. I don't know that there is anything more sad than to watch a child lie in bed rocking from side to side. That's often the only method a child in an orphanage has of consoling himself.

Tomorrow our little family of five plans to stick close to our little room. Dad and Mom plan to hop on the train again, heading for the grocery and the baby store. It'll be a new experience for them. They will get off at the Second River station, walk about 20 minutes, cross the main road (let's hope there are steps for them to cross over rather than having to dodge cars), and they'll finally reach the market. Sounds fun in 10 degree weather, don't ya think?

Maybe I can finagle a guest post out of her. I suspect their day will be far more interesting than ours.

We're hoping to catch an evening church service over the phone tomorrow morning. Church starts at 6:00 home time, so we can dial in at 9:00AM here and listen. We'll feel just like we're there, I'm sure. That'll really confuse the children. Church two days in a row.

Maybe I should quit my fingers. Poor Jason is getting a workout that should last him for the week checking on the children. Will finally drifted off. I guess if you lie still and stop picking, sleep will come. JN is rocking. Jason is now over there laying with him trying to get him back to sleep. Addie? She's still hanging in there, trying to be the last one awake.

She'd hate to miss something.

Blessings on your Sunday.

P.S. Sorry about the lack of pictures. Several problems there. I only used my camera a few times today. Once for the tea party, and a couple times to take pictures of JN. I am too lazy to get the camera from the top of the fridge. And even if I did, you can't see pictures of JN for another 9 days. Sorry 'bout that.