The month has flown by and we’re getting ready to get into birthday season (March & April). Maria turned 19 months. She loves being outside with all the kids now, which makes the afternoons a bit tricky. She’s no longer content to stay upstairs while the kids play down below. She’s been healthy all month and is still waking up about 4 times each night.

We tried having a well dug again. The house we rent shares a well with 4 other house, and it runs pretty low during dry season. At the end of January the well truck came, hit sand, and decided to come back after Chinese New Year. They returned the first week of February and spent a day drilling. They got 68 meters down, hitting rock and sand along the way, when finally the sand broke through the pipe and they quit and said they won’t come back to try again.

Back in January we had a chick in our home for two days. Ezra found her Saturday morning, and Clara took care of her. She couldn’t walk and there was something wrong with her. We could only get her to drink water. I was able to get some seeds in her mouth. We put her in a box with towels and put a lamp on her for the night. I didn’t think she’d make it, but Clara was thrilled that she was still with us in the morning. And she was still alive when we got back from church. However she died Sunday afternoon in Clara’s hands. It was a very sad time for the girls. They buried Ruthie in the back yard.

Life continues to move on. Becca prints a monthly family newspaper which we enjoy reading aloud the day it’s released. Ezra is learning how to read. I’m trying to write Acts Sunday School lessons for the Jarai curriculum in any blocks of time I can find. And we’re starting to feel the heat of hot season!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day at home is so much nicer than being in an airplane like we were last year. Becca used raisins to make hearts on the oatmeal in the morning. Josh was in Ban Lung for the morning and brought back roses for the ladies and KitKats for the boys.

We made heart shaped cookies and decorated them in the morning. Each kid personalized a large heart for dessert. We made heart-shaped pizzas for supper. It takes a very long time to bake that many pizzas, as our oven only fits one pan at a time. Josh read to the kids while we waiting for the pizzas to bake. We had salad and soda along with our party meal. After eating, we exchanged cards. Everyone makes special cards to give out. It’s a fun tradition that Maria was really into this year.

For over a week there’s been a carnival in town, just a block from our house. It’s actually quite annoying, as the loud dance music goes until about midnight. We’re hoping they will end soon, but we’ve been told that as long as people continue to sign up to “khmer fight” against each other for prize money, the carnival will stay. We took the kids last Friday for the little rides. It opens at 6 every night, but doesn’t get really exciting until after 8. When we arrived, we had the carnival to ourselves. The kids enjoyed the trampolines, bounce house, and round-about rides. We ate cotton candy and caramel popcorn and arrived home before 8. It was a success! Note – in the picture Maria looks unhappy, but she really loved this ride. She was so upset when it was over.

Dad and Mom Jensen were in Cambodia the last half of the month to visit with EMU missionaries. They ended their visit with a stay at our house. We enjoyed spending time with them. One day we took a trip to a waterfall and another day Josh took his dad to see the river. Saturday morning Josh and I took a bike, while the kids played at home with Dad and Mom. Josh drove his parents 9 hours to the airport Monday morning. We had a good time together.