Ok, I admit, I was very mistaken, I thought that with the boys and everyone gone, this summer was going to inch it’s way past. But here we are, halfway through July already! And I’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks.

Well, I think life has finally found a new normal. This normal isn’t going to last long though! In a little over a month we are going to be Our whole family is going to be together again! But even that’s not going to be normal, with Lori getting married, there’s going to be an addition soon.

I had a very enjoyable day the other day. Some could think it was boring, but I didn’t. Alaina and I went out to the village in the morning. I was going to go and give
the land surrounding the pavilion a long needed mowing, and the bathrooms a
thorough cleaning, and Alaina jumped at the chance to go out and play with her
friends. I dived into the yard work (not literally) for close to half an hour when I decided to sit down for a couple minutes. As I sat there listening to Dad and Frank talk I noticed that the sky was getting slightly dark. I asked Frank if he thought it would rain, and he said that the wind didn’t feel like it would. So I waited for a couple more minutes before I started again. A couple minutes later, lo and behold, it started sprinkling. I stopped, it stopped. I started, it started. I stopped, it stopped. Finally the rain was tired of playing games. It poured! Frank said in the old Khmer culture, if it rains when you’re doing something good, you’re getting a blessing, maybe it’s patience? We went for lunch, came back, and sat at Frank’s place and talked for close to an hour before it finally let up. I, determined to get done, sloshed the mower through the water. I felt accomplished after I was done. Some of the staff guys were in the middle of a volleyball game when I was done, so I sat down and watched them. It truly is the little things that makes life wonderful! Even something simple like sitting down and not sweating, while you’re mind wander between the game and various little bunny trails.

The kids are still keeping us laughing! The other day mom needed a spoon. Alaina asked mom “a Christian spoon or Khmer one?” Apparently, anything western is “Christian” and anything else is “Khmer”!

Since my last blog post our baby parakeet flew away, the children were heartbroken. A couple weeks later, Sen gave Forrest two baby mynahs. Forrest was overjoyed! The day after we got them, we were getting ready to head to bed. Mom heard the birds being extra loud, she thought Alaina was probably trying to hold them. She went to check on them. Just as she came into the living room, a cat ran out… with a bird in its mouth! After we gave it a good chase, we figured that would be the last of the cat. However the next evening Forrest was in the living room, and once again, the cat invited himself inside for a meal. Forrest was not feeling quite as hospitable as the cat had hoped. He scared it out, then went outside with his slingshot and returned minutes later, an exuberant expression on his face. He shot it and scared it away.

On Sunday, we left the house here around 6:15 – 6:30. We were supposed to meet the Bakong and Kampong Phlok people at 7:00 at the pavilion in Bakong to go out to Bong Malea for church. Alaina and I rode Khmer style. 23 people in the 12 passenger van! Being crowded just made it jollier.

There was approximately 60 people crowding under Chhum‘s parents house. We had a very close gathering! Literally! After the service we had a potluck of sorts. Everybody brought something, then they all shared. The hit of that meal was definitely moms French bread. In fact I think that’s all some of them ate. I saw people walk past with 5+ slices in a bowl with sweetened condensed milk on top.

Dad was aroused early on the 30th by a call. It was Frank. He was cutting palm leaves for his fence. Frank saw a hole in the ground that looked like a snake hole. Frank, curious to know if anything was in there, stuck a stick down the hole. In return he heard a loud hissing. He then figured it was a Cobra. He got Chhom’s nephew, Tain, to come help him. They finally caught it, getting spit on a couple of times in the process. It was a spectacled Cobra. We needed to go clean the pavilion and bathrooms for church on Sunday anyway, so went out and watched Frank and Dallas play with it for a while. It was tired from the chase the guys gave it, so it wasn’t very active. Which was kind of disappointing. They measured it, it was 47¼”. After we left, they killed it and made it into a soup. I thought the kids were more photogenic than the cobra… sorry!

Definitely More Cute!

Heather for the Helmuth’s