The Little Langemann Family: First days on our own

The time had come. I had had 10 great days of rest while Mom was here, and then a weekend to transition in with Josh home, and now it was Monday, he went to work, and the adventure of three-under-three began in earnest.

I saw God's mercies new every morning of that week, and would pray quietly to be filled with grace before getting out of my bed to start the day. I must keep this practice, for I notice much difference in my patience and peace when I do.

Scripture says the Lord gently leads those who are with young. I made the children and basic homemaking my focus during the day, and was blessed greatly with precious strength for each thing that came up.
Thanks to Philip's long naps, the girls and I have been able to have at least one period of "activity time" together each day. I find they do so much better when their curiosity and creativity have been engaged in a day... makes their toys and books seem more sufficient when they need to occupy themselves.

We had that Tupperware full of gingerbread cookies that needed to be decorated, and so we got right at it. Hope was a natural.

Joy was another story. She sure tried hard, but the Smarties had this runny look and her mouth had all these curious colours around it, so I decided I needed to focus on helping her decorate. :o) I would put the icing dots on, and she would hand me candies to put on top of them. Her finger dexterity still has a ways to go. :o) Then, at the end, she got the job of putting all the cookies back in the Tupperware container - a job she most enjoyed. :o)

Meanwhile, Hope had fun making her own very artistic and orderly creations. :o) And of course, can you guess which cookie she wanted to have for her dessert that night? I won't say she didn't get a sugar high, but that's part of the fun!

We kept our evening slate free from exterior activities, save Wed night church for some of us. Philip eats often in the evening, so it has been wonderful to have Daddy home to play with the girls and do dishes while I feed the little man. :o)

Thankfully, he has a nice little awake time most evenings. :o) Helps him sleep good.

I've been glad to be able to keep my part of the girls' bedtime routine, which is to get them in their PJ's, and set out their cloths for the next day. Then either Josh or I will do their bathroom routine with them, and then he settles them for bed with stories, songs, and prayer. Of course, Philip needed somewhere to hang out while they were getting ready for bed, so I set him in one of the dolly beds. I thought it was great! Hope and Joy had other thoughts.

Hope was distressed because she wanted to be holding him...

and Joy was distressed that Philip was in her dolly bed!!! No sooner had I got him out than she got it!

Cheeky little toddler. :o)

Happy Hope.

Happy all. Storytime on the spare bed that is still in their room. :o)

Then it was time for Philip to have a bath. Like I did with Joy as a baby, the kitchen sink was the location of choice for this need. :o) Works great for me, as I don't have to bend way over the edge of the tub to hold a wiggly baby in the water. :o) Philip loved it too. :o) And... I had a hot wheat bag in his towel while he was in the sink, and whisked it out and over onto his sleeper to warm it up too just before I whisked him out of the sink in that one chilling moment and had him swaddled up in his warm towel before he knew what happened. :o) Almost. :o)