Slumber Party

Last night Sarah, Charity, and I hosted a slumber party in our flat for the 4 oldest girls at Lighthouse: Hope, Annah, Dineo, and Mary. We all got into our pajamas, and I went and got the girls at 6pm to come to our flat to eat pizza (homemade by Janis!). Unfortunately, the power went out just about the time the girls arrived, and we ended up eating pizza by candlelight. I think our dinner was almost more fun that way though...sitting around our candlelit table eating pizza and laughing together.

The power came back on as we were finishing dinner, so we were able to start the DVD selection of the night: High School Musical 2. While we watched the movie, we ate rice krispie treats topped with chocolate (also homemade by Janis) and painted all the girls fingernails and toe nails. Janis had even brought over a foot bath for the girls to soak their feet in.

Sarah and Charity brought all kinds of goodies for the girls, so they also received glow sticks, plastic rings, and friendship bracelets throughout the evening. Charity made me a friendship bracelet that is green and yellow, South African colors. It will be a nice keepsake from this trip and also a reminder of our slumber party with the girls.

After the movie was finished and the girls had danced to several of the songs a second time, Sarah and Charity brought out their laptop with music on it and taught the girls a few new dances including Cotton Eye Joe and the Cha Cha Slide. Even though they didn't completely catch on, they had a fun time dancing with the "big girls." Mary, who is 4 years old, had crashed on my lap by this time, so we were just spectators.

At 9:30 we fixed the girls up with blankets and pillows so they could start winding down and going to sleep. I snuggled with Mary on the floor in the living room for about an hour. By then, she and Dineo were sleeping and Hope and Annah had settled down and were giggling much less than they had before.

I was in bed by 11pm, but didn't sleep very well because I knew I was going to have to wake up at 6am to give the girls their AIDS medications at 6:15. Antiretrovirals, the medications that slow the progression of AIDS must be given exactly every 12 hours to work properly. Since the kids have to leave for school at 6:45am, they have to be given their medications very early.

Thankfully I did wake up when my alarm went off at 6. I set out all their pills and then woke them up to come take them. Then we gathered up all their goodies - their rings and glowsticks and bracelets - and I walked them back to their house so they could get ready for our outing to the lion park.

We are all feeling a little more tired than usual today, but we had a great time spending the evening together!