Monthly Archives: April 2017

Nature Lodge -Mondulkiri 2017

Last week we were invited to join some friends from Phnom Penh at the Nature Lodge in Mondulkiri (the province directly south of us). We made the 4-hour drive Tuesday morning and returned home Thursday around supper time. It was a great time for our family to get away and be with three other ministry families.

On our way to the lodge, we stopped at Bu Sra Falls (about 20mins from the Lodge) and had a picnic lunch and played in the waterfalls. Unfortunately, the place was packed with tourist still on vacation for Khmer New Years and we/our kids had our photo taken over 20 times. Minus the photo sessions, we had a great time!

The Nature Lodge was a wonderful place for our family. Our cabin had a loft for the older kids to sleep in which was a treat. Our kids had lots of place to play and didn’t need to be supervised all the time. There were cows and horses wandering around the campus. The day we arrived a horse walked right up to Becca and nuzzled her head. The horses made it a perfect place for Becca.

     

On Wednesday, we went into the town to go swimming. The other families had rented a mini bus for the week to provide their transportation from Phnom Penh, so we rode with them. This bus was equipped with purple seats, disco balls, and a karaoke mike. We all enjoyed singing on the bus with the curtains shut and the lights going – a great experience for our kids. The swimming was great.

  

Wednesday evening Josh and the older kids went on a sunset hike to the red dirt mounds. They had a blast sliding down the dunes.

Thursday we went back to the falls with the group, played a little bit, had lunch and then headed home. We had a great time and look forward to going back again

Resurrection Week 2017

Last year, after reading Noel Piper’s book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions, I started thinking about how I could make Easter more meaningful for our family. Why is it that we spend so much time and energy celebrating Christmas and often only rely on the church for celebrating Easter? The resurrection of Christ changes everything for us. This year we started a new family tradition that we hope will grow and last – Resurrection Week Celebrations.

Our week consisted of special readings each night,  a resurrection tree complete with homemade ornaments, a countdown calendar with special activities for each day, and plays on the nights we could do them. We really enjoyed doing John Piper’s Lenten Lights readings each night with candles.

We started the week off with a Palm Sunday  party to decorate our tree. We also acted about Jesus entering Jerusalem.

Monday we acted out Jesus clearing out the temple. Anna was quite upset that her table was overturned and kept trying to set it up.

Tuesday was Anna’s birthday so we were busy celebrating that all day. Wednesday we took a trip to visit our co-workers in another province. Four families got together to celebrate Lydia’s 40th birthday. It was a three hour drive each way with a flat tire on the trip out and a broken air conditioning on the way back.

Thursday we had a Maundy Thursday service, remember the Lord’s last Passover and we washed each other’s feet.

Friday we read through the crucifixion story. Saturday was just a reading day. Saturday morning we decorated duck eggs and in the afternoon we had a egg hunt with plastic eggs.

Resurrection Sunday we had a special breakfast with eggs, bacon, and a pumpkin roll. The day before Josh brought home some bulb flowers he dug up from some Jarai people who live near out church. We attended church with our Jarai brothers and sisters. After church we rested and had a water balloon fight in the afternoon. We ended our celebration with a party which included a play (yes, the globe ball is the stone rolled away from the tomb), gifts, games, and our last reading. We had hoped to do a Bible club with our neighbor kids, but April 14-16 was Khmer New Year and all the kids were busy at the Wat with carnival activities all weekend.

We were very pleased with how things turned out. It ended up being a very busy week for our first celebration.  We had Anna’s birthday. Josh taught a Khmer Bible school Tuesday morning and taught at Jarai Bible school Thursday through Saturday. But we’re thankful we started this year and look forward to keeping and adding to this new family tradition every year.  Christ is Risen – He is Risen Indeed!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Anna Grace

A very happy 3rd birthday to our dear Anna Grace! Three is such a fun age and we’ve loved seeing Anna get ready to turn three. She’s been talking about her birthday for weeks…a big change from last year when  she didn’t even allow us to sing happy birthday to her and told us she didn’t want a party.

 

We spent the day having birthday activities: a water tea party inside, a real tea party on the porch, splashing in a blow-up pool, and her evening family party.  Anna’s party included pizza, limeade, cake, and gifts.

Lately Anna’s been talking up a storm and loves to tell stories, dance, and do plays. She’s just discovered all the books her siblings enjoyed at the same age and it’s so fun to watch her hear them for the first time. She’s also started enjoying listening to catechism and Hide Them in Your Heart when she takes her nap. We often hear her singing the songs.

Recently she’s started using the pedals on her tricycle. The day before Anna’s birthday she decided to start wearing underwear and using the toilet. (This is an answer to our prayers for many months now, as she’s been quite obstinate about using the toilet. We’d ask, “Anna, when are you going to use the potty?” Her steady response, “tomorrow!”)

Anna is full for enthusiasm. Loves life. Is very clever with her jokes. She loves playing with her siblings and is very kind to Clara. We’re so very thankful the Lord blessed our family with Anna three years ago.  Happy Birthday, Smiles!

Happy Birthday to My Josh

A very happy 36th birthday to my Josh (April 3rd)! I’m so glad you chose me to be your wife and that we can journey on this adventure together – raising our children and serving together in Cambodia. I adore you! Thankful for every day we get to be together.

We started Josh’s birthday with fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. While Josh was out studying language in the morning, the kids finished making their gifts for him and we decorated Josh’s office as a surprise when he returned. In the afternoon we had a birthday snack of baked apples. For supper I made a roast in the crock-pot with carrots and mashed potatoes. We finished off the evening with a strawberry cake for dessert and gift giving.

Looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays with my wonderful husband and fun daddy! What a treasure God has given us.