Yesterday I celebrated my 40th birthday! Yahooo! Another decade complete. One of my daughters said, “Mommy, you don’t look like you’re 40 – you look like you’re 20!” (Not that she knows what a 20 year old or a 40 year old normally looks like. 🙂 My response, “I’m sure glad I’m not 20!” Don’t want to go back and have to relearn all the things I’ve learned over the past 20 years.

Birthday celebrations are a great time to look back over the year and remember all that God has allowed. I’m always most hopeful that He has allowed me to become more like Him and less like myself. Celebrating a new decade is a time to look back over 10 years and reflect. A lot has changed – I have 4 more kids than I did when I turned 30. I live in a different country and know (in different degrees) two new languages. I have a whole new set of friends. I think differently. I live differently. I really am a very different person – in a good way. I’m very thankful for all God’s workings.

The kids sent me across the street to get my hair washed and cut. My family celebrated my birthday with a soft taco dinner. Isaiah made the tortillas and frosting. Becca made and decorated the cake. Josh made guacamole and chips. The kids put on a hilarious play of Josh and Amy writing letters before we were dating and when Josh was visiting Cambodia. Anna bought and put on a wonderful fireworks show to end the evening. It was a nice way to celebrate.

July 12th Clara pulled out her second top front tooth all by herself. So exciting!

While I was trying to take Clara’s picture, her little brothers thought it was a good time to get in the action. Here they are – the younger half!

This week two different neighbor kids (who play with our kids almost everyday) had their birthdays. So we were at parties Tuesday and Wednesday nights. RaekSmey turned eight!

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.

Happy New School Year!

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!

The kids have been enjoying their summer break. The older kids have lots of activities planned to keep them busy. The younger boys need some help. Anna is finishing up reading the Little House on the Prairie books. Becca is reading books by Jane Austin. The other kids are rather random in their summer reading. Unfortunately, we’ve had lots of rain, so it’s not really good outdoor playing weather – but there’s plenty to do inside!

Friday, May 13th, we had our third annual Jensen Family Homeschool graduation. Very proud of everyone’s hard work this past school year. Our program included recitations, book reports, and diploma ceremony.

Ezra: The Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti
Clara: My Shadow by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Anna: Oh Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
Isaiah: Paul Revere’s Ride by
Becca: The Book of Jonah

We were very pleased with everyone’s recitations. Afterwards I handed out diplomas.

After our program we had a dessert buffet, each child worked on a dessert. We enjoyed the desserts as we watched an End of the Year Slide Show.

We also had two display tables out with the kids work from the school year, plus an art wall. And the girls got their yearly dresses made for the occasion!

The Friday before, May 6th, we had our Spring Piano Recital and Catechism Bee. It was a great night. The three oldest children performed. Becca and Anna played a duet. We ended the recital with the grand finale – a trio by Becca, Isaiah, and Anna. Becca and Isaiah memorized all 101 catechism; Anna – 78; Clara – 52; and Ezra about 10. I don’t have any pictures from the night.

Thankful to be the mommy of these six gifts. Life is so full and joyous. The kids made me a 10-day countdown calendar to celebrate Mother’s Day. And on Saturday they made a meal and performed a play.

And of course, I’m thankful for my man…who is the one responsible for my motherhood! Thankful to be parenting with him.

April 14th I gave Micah his first haircut. I was holding off as long as I could to avoid “exchanging” my baby boy for a big boy. Micah hair grew much faster than Ezra’s, and Micah had longer hair at 17 months than Ezra did at 24 months. Bye-bye baby boy. However, it is nice that now I won’t have to hear multiple times a week that he looks like a girl!

We have a shack next to our house that is the original kitchen of our house. The kids use it as a playhouse. Recently they cleaned it up and stacked all the stuff stored in it to gain space.

We celebrated Holy Week last week (right along with the Orthodox). We started with our yearly Resurrection Tree decorating and nightly Lenten Lights readings and singing.

Sunday the 17th, we celebrated Palm Sunday. Monday night we reenacted Jesus cleansing the temple. Ezra was rather distressed about the whole event.

Tuesday night we had our egg hunt with a store afterwards to exchange eggs for goods. Ezra was a blast to watch and truly the most excited and thankful about “buying” things with his eggs. The next morning the kids were so excited looking at their “goods,” it seemed like the day after Christmas.

Thursday evening we celebrated Maundy Thursday with a remembrance of the Last Supper and did foot washing.

We celebrated the Resurrection on Saturday (since our Sunday was packed with church activities). We gave gifts in the morning and then had a wonderful lunch and afternoon with the Smedley family. We ended the evening with our last reading from Lenten Lights. Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

This has been a crazy month, so we celebrating things all out of order. Last Saturday we celebrated Josh’s birthday (about 2 weeks late due to a full schedule and sickness). We’re also postponing Easter a week and are celebrating Holy Week this week. So while the world was celebrating Easter, we were starting Palm Sunday and Holy Week.

Josh’s meal was hamburger – with real ground beef from a part of a cow friends had given us. Part of his party included decorating our Resurrection tree. I was especially pleased with how the cake turned out (making a strawberry cake from scratch can be complicated).

We’re thankful for our man – husband, father, and friend. So glad he’s the head of our home.

This Monday we celebrated Anna’s 8th birthday. The celebrating started on March 31st with Anna’s Birthday Countdown Calendar which included: gifts, snacks, movie night (Annie), and special visitors.

Our very good friends, the Nhoemvans, came to visit from Phnom Penh, Friday-Tuesday, while the men taught at Bible School. I kept their visit a secret until they pulled into our yard on Friday morning – surprise! It was a very exciting few days for our kids as they played together.

This year Anna chose tacos for her birthday meal and a panda cake. We had a great time celebrating.

Anna is a very energetic girl who is full of life and loves adventure and acting. She’s finished all her 2nd grade work and is already into 3rd grade math. She is currently reading The Little House on the Prairie books. She is now in the middle of The Long Winter. Anna loves to sing and is enjoying her piano lessons. She loves to play outside and she’s tough when she gets hurt. She still loves her dolls and wanted her birthday present to be “one last doll,” so she could have 10 dolls. Anna is very good with taking care of children. I often see her walking around outside holding our landlady’s almost 1-year-old daughter. And she holds another baby at church. She’s also very helpful with Micah at home and at church. She’s a little mama.

We’re so very thankful for 3rd child and 2nd daughter. We’re blessed to have her and love that she’s ours.

Two weekends ago was haircut day for the older boys; Micah needed a nap before I was ready for him, so he missed his chance to match. We’re keeping that baby hair for a little longer.

While Isaiah and Ezra favor each other, Micah looks more like Clara, especially if you compare their baby pictures.

Our Micah is a load of fun – always ready to laugh and make others laugh. This month he’s becoming quite resourceful with finding ways to get the things he wants. He’s an expert problem solver when it comes to moving around chairs and stools to get to high places. He’s also very good with climbing up and getting down from places. Micah’s hair is growing much faster than Ezra’s did. His hair is longer now than Ezra’s was at 2 years of age. With the heat and humidity rising, I’ll probably have to give my baby boy his first haircut soon.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have these two boys close together. I love watching their friendship develop – it makes me so happy. It’s funny how different they look from each other. Micah looks a lot like Clara.

Two weeks ago we had a friend visit from Phnom Penh for two days. She’s looking into a change of ministry location and made some time to see us during her trip.

During Clara’s birthday week we decided to surprise Josh at work with a picnic. We packed our lunch, drove to his office, snuck around to his office window, and the kids shouted surprise! He was surprised. We enjoyed our picnic lunch in the cashew grove next to Josh’s office.

This month Clara celebrated her 6th birthday. The celebrating started on the first of the month with her birthday countdown calendar which included: cold Coke, water balloon fight, small gifts, a river adventure with Daddy, swimming, watching Sight & Sound Esther, party at Crowleys, and a picnic in the Saom Kaning cashew forrest (surprising Daddy at his workplace).

For Clara’s birthday party we spent the night at the Crowleys’ and invited the Kane family to join us for a hotdog and chicken kabob dinner. Clara chose a doll cake for her birthday and was very pleased with how it came out.

Clara chose her birthday meal and the guests, but she was quite embarrassed when they arrived and when we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Saturday morning we went swimming. And then Sunday night (the actual day of Clara’s birthday) we had cupcakes after our evening Khmer Bible study. It was a weekend full of partying!

Clara is our bright little firecracker who loves life, adventure, and playing. She’s reading at about a 2nd level. I’m always impressed with the words she figures out and with her expressiveness when she reads. Clara wants to have a bakery when she grows up and is learning how to make biscuits and other baked goods. We’re thankful for our girl and look forward to watching her grow another year.