We celebrated Father’s Day the same night as our Olympic closing ceremony. (Sundays are just too full to add anything extra to.) For dinner we had hamburgers (ground pork burgers to be precise). Afterwards we did gifts and cards for Josh. So thankful for the man of our house!
Getting ready for next years’s Olympic bobsledding event! These two boys are crazy and double trouble!
Clara pulled out her own tooth last week. I think she was surprised at how easy it was to do. She’s looks so cute when she smiles now – it makes you smile to see it. Since she now has a “straw hole” we took advantage of it and bought her a coconut to drink. Such fun!
Last week we had our annual Jensen Family Olympics. Each child designed and made his/her own country’s flag. We started with an opening ceremony Monday night, including walking in with flags, an Olympic torch run and sparklers. We held most of our events in the evenings Monday-Thursday. Events included were: races, dart board, basketball toss, paper airplane contests, bowling, jump rope, ball bounce, ball & racket hit, and hulahoop. This year the kids ran a mile: Becca (10:25), Isaiah (10:38), Anna (10:58), Clara (19:11), and Ezra said he ran 50 miles!
Saturday night we had a medal ceremony and ended the evening with sparklers outside. The little boys were especially thrilled about their medals – I had to be a little creative. Ezra won medals for: Running 50 Miles, Paper Airplane, & Bowling. Micah won medals for: Most Time Up at Night, Best Window Climber, & Best Black-Eye. (Micah got hit by the swing this week and had a black eye most of the week).
Last Saturday we had a lovely afternoon together with the Carson family celebrating T’s birthday. So thankful we could get everyone together after a long time of not being able to. Thankful for these good friends God has blessed us with here in Cambodia!
This week we started the 2022-23 school year. We’ve had about 1.5 months of break from regular school and everyone enjoyed it. The reason we’re starting the new year so soon is not because we’re over diligent – it is to help move our start/end dates up each year, so that when we visit the States in 2024 we will be done with the school year and not have to lug all our books around with us.
The three older kids are progressing on as normal, entering 7th, 5th, and 3rd grades.
Clara’s grade is a bit of a mystery. Clara is 6 and should technically be starting 1st grade, but for the past two years she’s done 1st and 2nd grades with Anna. However, she’s not mentally ready to enter 3rd grade so she’s in an in-between grade. We haven’t come up with a name for it but we’re thinking of naming it after a Cambodian flower.
Don’t let the pictures fool you, the little boys are not doing school this year, but they wanted a sign too. My little boys are my biggest challenge in teaching right now as they are constantly getting into things and interrupting teaching. Micah no longer takes a morning nap and seems most happy when he is getting into things he’s not supposed to get into, and of course Ezra is happy to participate! But I know this is just a season – so we’ll wait it out.
Yesterday we celebrated Isaiah’s 10th birthday. Our boy has reached double digits and has completed his first decade. We started celebrating Isaiah’s birthday two weeks ago with his countdown calendar – themed after the poem he recited for graduation.
Some of the things included in the birthday countdown calendar were: gifts, snacks, games, watching Davey Crockett and the River Pirates, and a boys’ sleep-out downstairs in the tent. Isaiah was very kind to invite Ezra along on the sleep-out. This year Isaiah made and helped decorate his cake. He wanted his special initial symbol on the cake.
Isaiah wanted tacos for his birthday meal, which is great since it’s avocado season and we can make guacamole. After we sang for Isaiah’s cake, he decided to blow his candles out one at a time. After dinner we gave gifts then played the new game (Trash Pandas) he received, and watched a birthday slideshow. It was a good day. (Ezra – document clips; Clara – umbrella; Anna – binoculars and notebook; Becca – cap gun with caps; parents – books, snacks, a game, legos, sticker mustaches, etc.)
We’re thankful for our firstborn son, Isaiah. He’s a very kind young man to his siblings and loves leading activities for them. He loves learning new things and trying to create new things. He loves to play outside, and he loves to dress up like a cowboy (another missionary family gave him boots and a leather vest). This year he read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We love our man and are very thankful for him!
