October 28, 2025 we finished our second read-through the Bible. (The last time we finished was June 5, 2021.) This time the kids wanted to read through chronologically, which was a little more complicated to keep track of, but we did it. We do our Bible reading during breakfast, usually just a chapter a day. Sometimes we read a section of a chapter, if there was a lot to talk about. What now….back to Genesis!
The Friday of our vacation, we visited the Angkor Wildlife and Aquarium (which we didn’t know existed). They kindly gave us the resident price, instead of the tourist price. The kids enjoyed the aquarium and the animals outside. We spent about 5 hours there. Maria especially enjoyed the alligator. We were able to see both the freshwater and saltwater fish being fed at different times. The otters were a favorite…they could not wait to be fed! The tiger was active and fun to watch close-up.
Sunday late afternoon we rode the Angkor Eye – an 18 minute ride on an 85 meter ferris wheel. It was a bit frightening at first, but after the kids got used to it, they all had fun! We could see the Angkor Wat from the top of the ferris wheel.
Our drives to and back from Siem Reap were very peaceful. Josh went to PP at the beginning of September to buy our family a van. Now that everyone has his/her own seat, traveling is much easier and shall we say…peaceful. 🙂 Thankful for everything the Lord has and is providing our family.
Last Tuesday we drove to Siem Reap for a family vacation. It’s been over two years since we’ve taken a true vacation with just our family, and it was a wonderful time together. We stayed at a place that had a four-bedroom apartment, which meant we could actually sleep, without worrying about kids waking up other kids; and our kids had an area to play and hangout, instead of being cramped in a hotel room. It was truly a relaxing time for us all. Our kids loved getting up in the morning and having tea or coffee before going downstairs to the hotel breakfast (a highlight). Our main goal was to relax without having to be on top of a schedule. We swam everyday and had real ice cream twice. We played games, read aloud, did some fun shopping, and went to bed at a normal time so we weren’t worn out in the morning. Next week I’ll share pictures from two fun outings we went on.
We’re all thankful for our time away. It was a good break from daily life, from being busy with work and school, and from our normal ministry to other people. Thankful!
Once again our family celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Why do we celebrate? Here in Cambodia most every holiday is seeped in Buddhism, and all the activities (whether Buddhist or not) are held at the Buddhist temple, so we don’t go. International Talk Like a Pirate Day is just a fun day we can have together.
We started the day (a week ago Monday) with pancakes for breakfast, and then the kids rehearsed their play in preparation for the evening. Afterwards the older four kids did an acrylic painting project, while the 3 younger kids made cookies. The next activity was a treasure hunt: in succession, each kid received a map which lead them to the next map/clue for the next kid to find. The treasure at the end was Blow Pops and a new game Josh’s parents had brought over: Splendor. Splendor is a game the kids would often play with the Kane kids and haven’t been able to play since the Kanes left in August.
In the afternoon I did a art project with the two younger boys. After dinner the kids performed a play based on The Great Brain books. Becca wrote the script, and the kids have been practicing for weeks. They did a great job. Then we had our traditional pirate dancing and watched some clips about pirates, before turning in for the night. It was a fun, full day for all.
Last Thursday we had the 3 Queys over for 5 hours to help give their mom some time to prepare for a new baby. The kids all did great and had a fun time playing together. We’re thankful for their friendship and thankful our younger kids have kids their own ages to play with. Also thankful for the way our older kids can show love to younger kids.
Last week we had another Preschool/Elementary Music and Art Day for the MKs in Ratanakiri. This month we had a pirate theme. The music lesson was on dynamics and Haydn’s Surprise Symphony. The art lesson was drawing and painting parrots. Becca did a great job preparing and teaching the art lesson – she’s great! After the classes, we ate a lunch of chicken soup together (with only had about 4 spills!).
When lunch was over, the three moms had a prayer time together, while my older kids watched everyone upstairs. It bring me much joy to watch my kids take initiative and do such a lovely job watching and playing with these younger MKs. I’m so thankful.
