Recently Micah has been waking up for the day during the 4AM hour, and somehow he goes non-stop until after lunch. I don’t know where he gets such energy. Ezra sometimes joins us around 5:30.

These two boys are hilarious. They are double trouble. Love to laugh, run, and play. Micah loves to make fun of Ezra…if he hears Ezra crying, he comes along to add his mock cry. Watch out world!

We started celebrating Ezra’s birthday with a dinosaur countdown calendar. He was very pleased with opening the doors each day after his nap – which included things like chocolate, milk, craft, movie, new book, making his birthday cake, and a whole pack of gum.

Isaiah made pancakes for Ezra’s birthday breakfast, and then Ezra went to the market with Josh to buy a “new moto” to ride in the house. Ezra requested a dinosaur cake this year. Becca helped me make a pattern for cutting the cake. Ezra wanted hotdogs and mac&cheese for his birthday meal. I added chicken kabobs, roasted potatoes, and veggies to the meal. We had the Carson family come and join us for Ezra’s birthday lunch and had a wonderful afternoon with the family.

Ezra loves to have fun. He loves playing outside and getting dirty. He loves to play tiger inside (I’ve finally put a hole in my best jeans from crawling like a tiger and chasing him!). He loves doing mischief with his little brother. He loves “doing school.” You can often find him looking at books on the couch.

During his nap times and when Ezra goes to bed at night he listens to the Bible. He has an amazing memory for what he hears, and it brings us much joy to hear his retelling of the things he hears. His renditions of the story of Ehud and the story of Abimelch and the upper millstone were amazing. And the ways he misunderstands scripture are often very entertaining. Try explaining to a 3-year-old that Jairus’ daughter was really dead, when he insists, “Jesus said she was only sleeping.” When I asked him why he thought the people laughed when they heard Jesus say that, he replied, “they were happy!” It’s so wonderful. We’ve had our children listen to the Bible when napping and going to bed since Becca was 2, but I will never stop being amazed at how much Scripture gets into their heads.

Ezra was pleased with all his gift from family. He spend the next several days playing with things, in fact as I’m writing this he is sitting next to me using the play dough Anna bought him. We’re thankful for our little man Ezra!

Best ever chocolate cake recipe…no eggs, so feel free to lick with a guilt-free conscience! Drink with some toad water and you have the perfect snack.

Afterwards do an art project. Life is good.

Last week we took a family vacation to Siem Reap – it was our first time to have a true vacation since Jan 2020 – before covid made things more difficult. We had a wonderful time relaxing and spent most of the time swimming and eating. The pool was a perfect fit for our family, with plenty of space for the little boys to wade. Micah loved the water. Ezra became confident in swimming with swimmies in deep water. Clara learned how to swim across the pool by herself. The older kids’ swimming improved.

Our hotel was in walking distance of a few stores and shops, so we took a walk almost everyday as well. A highlight was eating real ice cream at Swensen’s – twice! We took three evenings to watch the original Anne of Green Gables. We played a few games as well.

Our trip was not without some “excitement.” Two hours into our drive to Siem Reap, our car broke down. Thankfully we were about 30mins from Stung Treng and a trusted mechanic towed us and repaired our car. The repairs took several days – but we were able to rent a taxi Starex to take us on to Siem Reap so we didn’t have to miss our vacation or be stranded in a town with nothing to do.

We’re very thankful for the place and time God provided for our family to take a break from life in Oyadao. The kids loved it so much! I’m not sure we got any extra rest while away – but it was great to just have kids to keep up with and take a break from our normal work. Ezra keeps asking if we can go back “each day.”