Khmer New Year Whirl-Wind Break!

Hey all!

WOW! Does anyone else find it funny that sometimes it seems like you are more busy when you are on VACATION, than when you are working! IT'S CRAZY! This week Kristy and I have been on Khmer New Year Break! (Don't ask me what year it is! I'm still trying to figure it out since we had Western New Year in January, Chinese New Year in February, and now Khmer New Year in April! I think that puts us two years ahead... so 2013? IDK?) I am trying to figure out a way to get a couple more birthdays out of the deal though... but don't tell Kristy. Got any ideas?

Okay... enough rambling about the year... on with the good stuff!

Well... look at that... I guess it will be tough for me to get much better than that! That picture is some GOOD stuff. I mean really.... that guy is a stud! Soooooo good looking! What REALLY could be better than that? Okay... well... Humm... I conceed. She always has to one-up me! Oh well... at least since she is my wife it makes me good too! Soooo pretty!

AS FOR OUR BREAK --- :) We decided to go to a province town called "Sihanouk Ville", which is VERY popular for it's BEAUTIFUL beaches, and diverse choice of ethnic foods! We, however, went for the relaxation! We arrived by bus (which is insane, by the way!) on Saturday, and checked into our hotel --- The Orchidee --- If you can figure out how to say it correctly, you are already ahead of me! After settling in, we took a walk to the beach! Here are a few photos!

I loved the Ocean! It was soooo clean!

Kristy had a great time!

And for those of you who know me well... you will be surprised to hear, but I actually RELAXED on the beach for nearly 4 hours! Here are a couple of photos. I did ask Kristy what time it was like 20 times, but I did GREAT!

That is one of Kristy's feet and one of my feet! So... proof that I was there and relaxed, for all you DOUBTERS!

The beach was great, but another one of the best parts of this trip was FINALLY getting to eat Mexican food again! It was AMAZING!

We spent four days in Sihanouk Ville, just eating, relaxing and kickin it on the beach. I actually got to read a book for fun! Kristy got a sunburn, but still says it was worth it. We took a HIKE along a rocky part of the shoreline. It was HOT!!!, but sooo beautiful! Take a look....

The last day there, we had food delivered to our hotel room, and just watched movies together all day. It was so awesome just spending quality time together! WE NEEDED IT! I recommend it for EVERY couple! We finally arrived home late Tuesday evening tired and ready for some more relaxation. However, our landlords had other plans in mind. The told us that we needed to move up to our new floor THE NEXT DAY! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!

The next day proved to be extremely less relaxed! We moved everything from our 1st floor to the 3rd floor! That night we spent unpacking and settling in. We did not end up going to bed till after 10 p.m. (that is really late for us here!) Here are some pics of our new apartment!

Our new HUGE kitchen!

Our ridiculously LONG hallway! (anybody else love RITZ crackers?)

Our new bedroom!

Our NEW living room!

Our NEW balcony!

After a couple days of settling in when were finally able to get caught up on school stuff and errands. We are really happy about our new place, because it is WAY cooler! There is a lot of wind that comes through the windows! Praise God! It has been a great break and although it sounds WEIRD, we are ready to get back to our kiddos! (students that is.... not our own children!

Finally, possibly the craziest thing about Khmer New Year is the fact that it marks that we have ONLY seven weeks until we jump on a plane for the States. We are getting really excited to see everyone! However, I am not going to lie about the fact that we might be equally excited to finally eat normal food! (okay... maybe seeing everyone is a little more!) We are sad that our first year is almost over, but excited to see family again!

Please Pray that we: 1. continue to draw close to God together 2. continue to draw closer together 3. gain more opportunities to witness to our landlords and our students 4. trust in God's provision in our finances 5. help God bring the Kingdom of Cambodia to Him! 6. Get enough rest!

Please Praise God for: 1. His provisions for us so far! 2. Him creating opportunities for us to minister to others. 3. We have made incredible relationships with new people. 4. Our new apartment! 5. A great time of relaxation!