This is a post of randomness – complete randomness. Enjoy.

MOLD: July through October is rainy season. It was no big deal  in Phnom Penh, but here it’s another story. Mold is growing everywhere: books, puzzle pieces, blocks, picture frames, belts, clothes in our dressers and closets, etc, etc, etc, etc!

SLEEP: We sleep so much better here than we did in Phnom Penh.  We lived right across from some wealthy people who were heavily involved in spirit worship and Buddhism, and we can’t help wonder if that affected our kids’ sleep. There were times (one in particular) when the kids would wake up screaming, and it frightened us too. Since we’ve moved up here, our sleep has been much more peaceful.

COOKING/BAKING: I’ve started enjoying cooking/baking again. It was so hot in Phnom Penh and our house held oven/stove heat for hours that cooking was not enjoyable. Nothing like dripping with sweat while trying to make Christmas Day cinnamon rolls. Since moving here cooking/baking has been fun. I enjoy trying to find baking recipes that work with the ingredients that are easy to get here. (Which means I’m trying to find things that don’t require butter or milk, etc). We found this great chocolate cake recipe that doesn’t even require eggs, and it’s very tasty . . . and the kids love that I freely let them lick the batter!

PUMPKIN: Pumpkin is in season right now and we’ve been enjoying homemade pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin soup (with homemade “Olive Garden” bread sticks). Right now I have eight pumpkins sitting the kitchen waiting to be cooked and pureed. [Comment from Josh: The bread sticks are much better than any I’ve had at the Olive Garden.]

GENESIS: I’ve started studying Genesis with our house helper every Thursday afternoon. It’s fun to have the extra motivation to study a book and neat to see Genesis through our helper’s eyes. So many things we take for granted are new treasures of information for her.

DIRT: We get so dirty here. Sometimes I have to scrub our kids’ feet/legs off with a brush. Whenever they wear new clothes it seems like they get stained the first day they wear them. I love consignment shop clothes . . . guilt-free clothes. We seem to get the dirtiest at church, and usually as soon as we get back from church all the kids get a shower.

ANTS: I don’t even know how many different kinds we have in our home. Don’t want to know how many we’ve probably eaten. Welcome to Southeast Asia.

SHOWER WATER HEATER: In hot season it doesn’t matter, but in rainy season and cool season the shower water heater is a really nice gift from God. On those cooler damp nights, the water pressure might be bad, but I’m sure glad I don’t have to restrain my screams while taking a cold-water shower.

IMAGINE … Using a faucet that has cold and hot water options. Do they even have such things? Imagine having a hot water cycle option on your clothes washer (I’m not talking about the boil a pot of water and dump it in option, which we have!). Imagine not eating rice for almost every meal. Imagine not sleeping in a mosquito net. Imagine not wondering how long it will be until your kids get worms. These are all just normal things here and sometimes I forget that it’s not like this everywhere. What do you mean you don’t sleep in a mosquito net!? Do you want to get sick and go to the hospital!?

In other exciting news, today Becca finished Level 1 of All About Reading. Tomorrow we’ll have a party to celebrate! (She lost her second tooth last Sunday. Every time she smiles I laugh because she’s so cute.)