After Josh took this picture Tuesday, I was surprised at how much smaller I look than I feel. Maybe we should have taken the picture straight on. We’re about a month away from hitting full-term, so I’m happy for this little one to come anytime after the next 9 days. By then we’ll be in Phnom Penh, waiting for the baby to arrive. Waiting in PP is not the easiest thing to do: it’s hard to be away from home and my own kitchen when making meals, it’s hard to have to watch kids constantly (instead of just being home), it’s hard to leave normal life and live somewhere else….BUT we’re very thankful for the place we get to wait and the wonderful people who work there and live nearby who are so kind to us. The guesthouse staff said they are hoping I deliver the baby there again – they are so sweet.

The kids are planning to do a performance of The Sound of Music with some of their friends in PP. They are been working on it since before June.

Everything with the baby seems to be going well. This little one is very active, and my Braxton Hicks started weeks ago. I’m getting very in shape to have this baby! People say I have short labors….little do they know I’ve been in labor for 2 months by the time the baby arrives!

These are the strangest grapes we’ve ever seen. Not sure where they were imported from (they don’t grow grapes in Cambodia). Micah lost another tooth on August 14th. There are lots of neighbor kids coming again to play. Usually they play marbles, but other times Capture the Flag and other group games, if it’s not raining.

Maria is a hoot. She loves swinging and sometimes falls asleep in the swing. What she really needs is a nap, but she’s given up on those!

Check out Micah’s symmetry! I recently had Becca make a gift for one of my friend’s birthday. We turned it into a fridge magnet!

When your husband and daughter take a 37-hour trip to Phnom Penh (nightbus) and back and it totally confuses your week and you have no idea Thursday is already over…..

This school year I was hoping to have the kids give more presentations on a regular basis. However, once the school year started, I realized there was no way I could help everyone prepare and practice their presentations and keep up with all the other school subjects, so we adjusted. This month Clara gave a science presentation on dolphins. Then we added a few other things that the kids were ready to do: Clara performed a piano piece. Anna sang an original song she wrote for spelling, played a flute piece, and read us three chapters of a story she’s writing. Isaiah read a poem he’d written for Omnibus and played the recorder with Clara and then Anna. Becca read part of a poem she’s working on. Micah played a piano piece (this was an impulsive decision, and when I asked Micah when the last time was that he’d played the piece, he said at the June recital!). Micah, Ezra, and Becca read the monthly family newspaper, and Maria joined in on the recorder playing.

Throughout July most of us contracted dengue fever. I ended up missing church for the whole month, being sick myself and then being home watching sick kids. One Sunday Becca and Anna took my place leading Jr. Church. Becca took my place running it, and Anna took Becca’s place, leading a small group. They both did a great job. It was Anna’s first time. After two Sundays of being sick, nine of my ladies came to see me. I was not feeling up to visitors and the hour they stayed felt like 10 hours – but it was really sweet of them to come. They told me to just lay down on the floor, but I told them that wasn’t my custom when having visitors. 🙂

In our backyard we had a very tall kapok tree that was rotting. It took a long time for our landlady to find someone to cut it down. When the three brave (or foolish) men came to cut the tree down, they didn’t believe Josh that it was rotting inside. They were quite surprised when they hit the rot about halfway through, and the tree came crashing down. Thankfully no one was hurt!