The twins at the farm

Brittany, Andrew and the twins made it in Friday evening. They were all tired. Mama and I realize that travel with ones that little is a challenge. It is a sacrifice. And we appreciate the extra effort. The fact the Sophia had a very bad night that night prolonged the fatigue Brittany and Andrew were fighting. I was up and wide awake at 4 am so I got to hear the struggle to comfort Sophia through the remainder of the morning. As an afterthought, I realized I should have taken her from her mommy and done the best I could with her to allow them to sleep, but I did not do so. My bad. I just was not sure how the idea would be received nor how well I would be able to comfort Sophia as she struggled with her own discomfort. Generally, that is a mommy-required issue. Later Saturday, the twins were put down for a nap and Sophia did not sleep then either. She emptied the nearby bookshelf into her pack-and -play. Fortunately, she did sleep fairly well Saturday night. Zoe seemed unaffected by her sister’s sleeping issues.

We exchanged gifts Saturday morning. All the adults in the house got more fun out of watching the twins open gifts more than we did out of our own gifts. Both Sophia, and Zoe loved tearing paper from the boxes, but they got the most fun out of pulling tissue paper out of the gift bags. So, as you can imagine the gift bags were re-stuffed until the twins grew tired of the exercise. Victoria bought a Bluetooth capable knit cap for Andrew. He had it hooked up to his phone within minutes, playing Christmas music though the speakers in the toboggan. When he put it on Zoe’s head, she loved it. She crawled around the living room for thirty minutes or so. Dancing periodically. Pausing periodically to focus on whatever she alone was hearing. She was not happy when her daddy took it off her head.

We had a big Christmas-like lunch Saturday. Ham, brisket, scalloped potatoes, corn and rolls. Grandma came over for lunch and brought a pumpkin pie to add to the mix. Other than “teasing” Brittany about how she feeds the girls – she cuts up their food and puts it on the table for them to grab it themselves as they eat – things went well. Mostly we just relaxed through the day. I worked on a couple little things outside but did not tackle anything major. We just enjoyed the company. Saturday evening Mama and I attend the ballet that Yilin and Cheyenne participated in. They did the Nutcracker. At least that was the theme behind all the choreography. It was enjoyable, but I had been up since 4 am so it was more of an endurance contest for me. Mama was required to be with the girls backstage before the performance and then again after the first act. They did not participate in the second act but had to remain backstage through the entire performance. The girls enjoyed having Mama with them during the waiting periods. We were home late, and the twins had already been put to bed for the night, but we stayed up and talked for a bit with Brittany and Andrew.

Sunday, Brittany, Andrew and the twins went to church with us. That morning started out with breakfast at the church. So, at our table, we had our three Chinese girls and the twins, me, Mama, Victoria, Brittany and Andrew. It was a busy table. Mostly, I managed to complete breakfast without too much food on my dark blue dress pants. Pretty amazing since Sophia sat on my lap eating powdered donuts. During the service Brittany and then Victoria were called to care for the twins in the nursery. I never did hear what happened, but I know Brittany and Andrew enjoy their church in Wichita because of the amazing nursery they have there. We ate at the Chinese restaurant for lunch. Alex fixed me oyster soup. No one else would eat it. I thought it was very good. He also fixed us a rice noodle dish that has become a favorite. The twins ate really well. They were headed home by 1:30 pm. It was a good visit.

At least Mama and I thought so.