Dear diary ... 

Today was Sabbath and while it was a full day, it was also a good one. The pace on Sabbath changes, which is nice, even though there's so much happening. The way it works here is that there's always one person "on duty" who is responsible for making sure things are flowing and everyone is safe and accounted for. If we didn't do it this way, there's too much risk that everyone would assume someone else knew where the kids were and that's dangerous. So while one person is on duty at all times, it doesn't mean everyone else is twiddling their thumbs, child-free. The kids flow in and out and all around, just like in any other home.

Sabbath's are different in that we all take a one hour shift in the morning, then we split up for Sabbath School followed by the church service and then lunch. I teach the teens, Hannah teaches the middles, and Abi teaches the littles. Robbie handles miscellaneous tasks to help things keep moving as we make the transitions.

This morning my Sabbath School class discussed success and what it truly looks like. We covered various verses in Scripture and then they split into two groups. Group one was tasked with designing a person fashioned after the world's definition of success. Group two put together a description of a person fitting God's definition. They definitely understood the assignment and were very detailed with what they came up with. At the end, they discussed which of the two "people" they would tell something to in confidence, or turn to for help, or trust to be there when they needed them. Every one of them answered, without hesitation, that the person with the character reflecting God, rather than the world, would be the kind of person they'd want as a trusted friend. When we have these discussions, occasionally someone digs in their heels and argues with the others a little, so it was encouraging that today they were all in agreement.

This morning as I was praying while out walking, the sermon topic finally came to me. We've been really encouraging the kids to go deeper in their personal times of worship, but some of them have admitted they don't know how. So this morning I shared some ideas for ways to get into their Bibles and to help make prayer more meaningful and connected. Namwan did an excellent job translating. We gave them each a clipboard with a piece of paper and a pen and told them to take notes so they could tuck the ideas into their Bibles for when they feel stuck or stalled out. I was surprised when three of them spent the entire lunch period writing more notes from what we'd talked about. I'd put a few things on slides quickly this morning and they borrowed the ipad to copy more of them than they could get written down during the sermon. Now we sort of think we should ask them to take notes during the sermon more often.

We have quiet time after lunch and then at 3pm we have a pre-planned activity. I'm the leader of the activity period but Abi has recently taken over planning it out. This week she came up with a new idea that turned out to be a really good one. We divided the children into 5 groups and each was given a card with three random words on it. Their task was to create a story with a spiritual focus, that contained each of their assigned words. Each group was then given the chance to tell or read or demonstrate their story. They surprised us with their creativity. Sometimes it's difficult to find activities where you can engage kids from ages 5-18 so it's a happy thing when something works well as it did today.

I snuck in a walk right before supper and while it sprinkled a little and thundered a lot, it never truly rained. I was thankful because while the day was full, a lot of it happened without much movement. I needed to stretch my legs and expand my lungs.

Tomorrow morning, just after 6am, Abi is leaving here with Yim, Namwan, and Nuu to go pick up some of their friends and then hike the mountain behind us. It's a difficult hike and I'm not entirely sure some of the girls have been intenionally active enough to tackle it, but tomorrow will hopefully prove me wrong. They'll be gone all day and the girls are very excited ... Abi, on the other hand, spent some time this evening putting together first aid supplies.

And then at 8am Hannah is participating in the JFA 24 hour prayer call by walking around the property while the group assembled on Zoom for that 30 minutes is praying over the work here. They do this regularly although we haven't joined very many times due to our schedule here. We need to make the time more often!

After lunch tomorrow, Robbie is taking Jing and Bpa to town for their birthday's, which were last week. They're taking some of the other boys along for a little excursion off the property. They won't likely do a whole lot but with so many kids, just getting away to do something (anything!) different is a treat in itself.

Hannah and I will stay here and hold down the fort while Levi, Quinn, and Zach get back to work trying to weed eat and machete the whole field that was recently backfilled. We don't have a tractor or mower and we tried having the goats eat the grass, but they're failing. I've heard of goats who eat tin cans while we're over here with goats who are picky even about what grass and brush they eat. So on Friday the three boys made the decision that they can handle keeping up with the whole field by hand. We were skeptical but told them to go ahead and take a swing at it. I was shocked that by Friday afternoon, they had a huge amount of it done, while also having finished all their schoolwork. Their goal is to finish it off tomorrow so that when Jaew, our maintenance guy, comes in to work on Monday he'll be pleasantly surprised that it's done. He did NOT think it would be possible. We shall see.

Twenty-three days until we see Micah, Nik, and Alex!

If I go to sleep quickly, I'll wake up and it'll be 22 days. :)

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Today's step count: 10,792

Today walked: 2.83 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 66.17 miles

Hard day. I think I identified that the "trigger" for it was a poor night of sleep but I struggled with overwhelm all day. At one point mid-morning it felt like my brain couldn't take any more and I climbed into bed. I told myself I needed to sleep it off and I'd wake up better. But as I laid there trying to squeeze my eyes shut against the cyclone of emotions, I sensed God nudging me to get back up. It was like sudden clarity came over my tired mind and I realized that laying in that bed and abandoning my duties was going to make me feel worse and not better. I was literally so thankful to not only be able to recognize what He was calling me to do, but that He'd also given me the desire to obey.

I got up and made tortillas and even though tortillas are a very simple thing to make, doing it gave me a quick but sure victory over my feelings. Cooking was the last thing I had wanted to do and yet there I was, cooking anyway. I heated up the leftover white beans and purple rice from yesterday, made a cashew cheese sauce and then I chopped up a few tomaotes and an onion and splashed it with lime juice and a sprinkle of salt. We had soft tacos for lunch.

The rest of the day remained a struggle. I actually never got a walk in and I have no idea how many steps I got today because I forgot to strap my watch back on after showering. I almost didn't write anything here tonight because it felt like it would be negative or whiny but I want to be able to look back through this season and see the ways Satan tried to destroy and also be reminded of the ways God protected me from him. The battle for the mind is real and while I don't want to dwell on the difficult parts of it, I want to acknowledge that God is a strong defender.

This evening I made the boys blackberry muffins using frozen berries and then I mixed some almond milk, more of the berries, peanut butter, pea protein powder, a scoop of greens, a little honey and called it a smoothie. They drank it with their muffins, some grapes and sunflower seeds. I had lots of little girl helpers in the kitchen while I made it and they were even excited to clean up. They went across to the big dining room and ate Thai food for supper but they enjoyed helping to make the "American" food.

We have Bible study with friends through Zoom every Thursday morning and all 8 of my biological kids join. Today's study was a continuation of last week's, which was on prayer. It was a good discussion and then the kids and I spent the better part of an hour talking after the study before ending the call. I enjoy my adult children so much!

The boys updated us that Frank has not only once again become an outdoor cat, but also that she's now brought home a friend. Alex thinks the new friend is also a girl but I already know not to trust his gendering abilities since he thought Frank was a boy for a week or something like that. I think they should name her Lynn because then they'd have Frank and Lynn, like Franklin. Alex named his childhood cat, Tomato, and Nik named his childhood dog, Tippers. Maybe they should let Micah take a crack at naming the new cat. 😜

I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and for that I am thankful.

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Today's step count: Forgot to wear step counter

Today walked: 0 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 62.19 miles

Today got off to a slower start as I got out of bed a few minutes later than normal. For the first little bit it felt like I was walking in quicksand and I'm really not sure why. Thankfully, it got better and I made my way around the pond about 1.3 miles worth. But then I went up on the big porch for morning worship with everyone and I forgot to stop the timer on the app. So it looked like I may have actually been walking in that quicksand. Never mind. I use the app for the sake of accountability, and not to impress anyone, which is a joyful thing.

Fahsai and Awa lost all their school socks somehow (again) and they asked if they could each use their points to buy a pair from our little store. So right before they loaded into the van, I sprinted over to the store and was surprised to find my body felt much less stiff and wooden as I ran than it normally has in recent months. It was a small thing to notice but I felt it surely must be positive progress.

Last night Levi had asked me to make french toast for breakfast today. I inwardly cringed because sometimes my cast iron pan underperforms when asked to take on french toast and things end up getting a little sketchy. But I love my boy so I mixed up some almond milk with a little flour, nutritional yeast, a splash of vanilla, celtic salt, and a little coconut sugar and then I dipped the bread it and held my breath as I placed it in the skillet. The pan must have been seasoned just right because it cooked up beautifully and Levi was pleased as punch. I melted some coconut sugar in a pan with a little water and drizzled that over the slices on each plate and gave everyone some apple slices, dried banana, sunflower seeds and a few nuts. We called it breakfast and then we cleaned the kitchen together.

I sent the boys across to do school without me again today because I had so many things I needed to accomplish. But I still participated in their schooling by grading their completed work, and checking upcoming projects (the curriculum assigns) to see which of them we have the materials for. I unassigned the ones we don't have the supplies for and told myself they'll turn out okay somehow, even if they don't have a microscope. I hope I'm right.

I got a good bit done and I now have my Sabbath School lesson all planned out but I'm presenting the sermon this week and I still don't know what to share about. I'm hoping and praying I'll come up with a topic soon.

I made lunch using the leftover pasta and sauce from yesterday but it wasn't enough for a complete meal. So I cooked up some white beans and purple rice because what else could possibly compliment pasta and red sauce better? The beans took so long to cook through because my pressure cooker broke and I had to cook these on the stove top. They finally softened and I served up the plates and was pleasantly surprised to find that mixing it all together actually tasted pretty good. I realized afterward that I should I served salad, but it wouldn't have mattered if I had remembered beforehand because I didn't have much in the way of salad fixings. Note to self: plan better. I'm telling myself the kids will turn out okay even if I sometimes forget the salad. I hope I'm right.

After school today I opened the store for the usual hour so the kids could do their shopping. They earn points each week for chores, extra jobs, acts of kindness, etc and then they can redeem the points in the little store. They come there to get things like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, laundry soap, school socks, umbrellas, stuffed animals, small games/toys. It's a highlight of their day and it has helped to teach them money management as they've learned to budget their points.

Anyway, as I was ringing kids up, I saw Robbie walk through the door holding our smallest goat in his arms. I've had cats and dogs come in looking for a handout, but never a goat. Oddly, the goat looked relaxed and happy being toted around. I spoke to her and she answered by bleating. I'm glad she came to visit.

I sat on the floor of the store for awhile talking with Namwan and Yim. They're excited about a hike Abi is taking them and some of their friends on this Sunday and also about life in general. They were happy and lighthearted, all except for when Yim would say she didn't understand something I had said in English and Namwan didn't believe her. Then they'd argue playfully until Namwan finally gave in offered the translation. It was clear by her grin that Yim had understood but enjoyed making Namwan work ... and I enjoyed their friendly banter. They're sweet girls and, while they're not blood related at all, they love each other like sisters.

Tonight I went out for a last quick walk because I needed to clear my head before I got ready for bed. I thought to myself that surely I was getting faster at these walks and I told myself it used to take me a full 20 minutes to walk a piddly mile. I then glanced at my app just as it crept toward the one mile mark and I was humbled to see it showed over 21 minutes.

I'm not really that slow it's just that I get busy talking to God and I forget to walk fast. That's all.

Here's the blog post I wrote today: Mission Update: Q & A (Part 2)

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Today's step count: 16,425 steps

Today walked: 4.21 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 62.19 miles

The first day of a new month always feels a little like a fresh start, even if it falls in the middle of the week. I like fresh starts. Sometimes I take a 20 minute nap when I seem to be making a mess of things and then I tell myself it's a fresh start when I wake up.

This fresh-start-Tuesday got off the ground with a bang. Or a splash, really. I went out at 5am for my walk and at that hour it's still very dark. I use the light from my phone to keep an eye out for snakes but the older my phone gets, the dimmer that light is. So I was walking along with my dim light, praying right out loud, when I heard a sudden and VERY LOUD splash in the pond to my left. Now, it's not at all unusual to hear splashes in that pond. Big fish jump out and smack the water. Monitor lizards skitter down the bank and thrust themselves into that murky mess. Our ducks make quite a ruckus in there sometimes. But this splash was different. It sounded like something large had hit the water and then struggled. I flashed my light around and saw nothing so I put it from my mind and kept walking. I made it about 3/4 of the way around the loop that wraps the pond when I saw flashlights going this way and that, coming from the gate of the property. I took notice, but didn't think a lot of it because the rice farmers/fisherman in the area seem not to sleep, so it's common to see and hear them out there while it's dark. But as I rounded the last bend leading to the stretch where I had first heard the splash, I heard loud voices by the gate and then saw a flashlights moving inside the fence at the pond area. And of course my very active mind immediately knew we had a problem on our hands. At first I thought maybe someone had been running to hide and they'd jumped into the water to get away from whoever was pursuing them. Then I worried that someone had been at the water and fallen in and these people were looking for them. I felt terrible that I had assumed it was nature making nature sounds instead of helping.

I told Robbie and we both went out to look, but by that time, the men with the lights by the gate were nowhere in sight. The light from the pond was still flashing around, though, so we kept pursuing answers. Several minutes and a lot of laughter from our kitchen staff later, we learned it was Bunmee, our Bible worker, throwing nets into the pond and checking whatever nets or traps he'd put in there for the overnight.

I still don't really understand why the other men were there with lights and loud voices, but it's whatever. All is well and everyone is safe. Maybe I can be a hero some other day.

I sent the boys to do their school in the classroom without me this morning as I really needed to clean out the pantry. A few months ago I asked Robbie if he could make a wall at the back corner of the living room so we could create a little storage pantry. We already had the materials from the building projects so it was basically free and I was elated to finally have some storage for the things stacked in my kitchen. But like everything else here, it gets really dirty, really fast. I pulled everything from all the shelves, wiped it all down, and re-organized. It made me feel productive and happy to get that job done.

Then I made some spaghetti sauce. Levi had requested lasagna, but after spending so much time cleaning the pantry, I didn't have time to make the lasagna noodles. But I did have some store-bought pasta Robbie had recently brought home. So we had pasta with sauce and lettuce, tomato, pesto sandwiches. When we can find the right kind of basil, fresh pesto is so yummy. I just add the basil, cashews, garlic cloves, lime juice, nutritional yeast flakes, olive oil, and celtic salt so it's super fast and a fun flavor change.

This evening Abi made a fire by her house and invited me down. I was watching the kids but I kept sneaking away to sit by the fire with her. Earlier in the day I told her to do something that sparks joy and I guess she took me pretty seriously because those were real sparks in that fire.

Today is Bpa's 14th birthday. Three days from now is Jing's 13th. Two weeks later Zachy turns 12. Someone is always trying to get older around here and I cannot convince them there's truly no rush. Fun little fact: Zach always teases that he needs a twin because Levi and Quinn have one. For Christmas last year my mom and stepdad gave a gift of money and we got Evy, our little dog. Turns out, Evy and Zach share the exact same birthday and he's finally satisfied that he has a twin, too.

We leave for our trip in 27 days! I hope our big boys are ready for the level of excitement we're bringing with us. Also, I'm hearing rumors that Frank isn't thriving as an indoor cat and keeps escaping to the outdoors. It could have something to do with Micah's rather strong dog, Saint, who seems set on eating Frank for breakfast. I don't know, exactly.

I just peeped my step count and saw that it's hovering around 14,000 again but what made me laugh about it is that the vast majority of those steps happened between my kitchen and little pantry as I was cleaning. Who says housework isn't exercise? Probably nobody who's done housework actually said that, but anyway.

I'm ready for bed. And tomorrow I hope my morning walk will be less eventful.

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Today's step count: 14,220 steps

Today walked: 1.16 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 57.98 miles

I took a few days off from writing here but it really didn't help me have more ideas of what to write about. :) I sort of want to make up some fun stories and tell them like they're real but that seems deceptive so I won't. Instead I'll tell things like it's raining and it's been awhile since I've seen a snake (which I'm happy about!).

The last few days have been a lot of the same things on repeat. I did have another super productive office day yesterday which set me up strong for the week. All the papers I create for the weekend (campus newsletter, church bulletin, Bible reading plans for each age group) are done and printed, which is always a weight lifted. Hannah got the morning and evening worship schedule/plans done and printed as well as the church responsibilites scheduled and posted for September. Every single thing we get planned out well in advance is so helpful in the day to day. Abi found us a new joint app for scheduling responsibilites where we can all see the progress we're each making. We were using a different app but we all kept getting locked out of it so it was time to find a new one.

I'm noticing my brain doesn't feel so muddy and I don't feel overwhelmed by the day before my feet hit the floor. My body also isn't as sore and painful. In fact, it really isn't at all. I'm still quite tired during the day but the strong and continuous pull to crawl into bed has weakened. These all seem like really positive things and are helping to motivate me to keep doing the things.

Harvey and Brenda sent us a far infrared setup that belonged to Dr Dreher. It feels sad knowing he doesn't need it now and at the same time I'm thankful he's at peace and his wife, Lorna, is back surrounded by family. I'm very hopeful we'll all find this light therapy beneficial. I recently watched an interview about the amazing benefits so I'm thankful to have the opportunity to try it. We've still been taking our "UV walks" during the days and the boys have gotten better color in their faces from them.

I'm continuing to write the Bible but my pace has slowed with my more limited time lately. I'm only in Genesis 7 right now but I really, truly enjoy the process of writing each word out. It's a totally different experience than just writing something random but it's hard to explain how. Anyway, even when I only have time to write a few verses, I still grab my book and pens and do it. Robbie found me a fountain pen so I'm going to try using that.

I've gotten to talk to each of my older boys recently and I'm thankful for every opportunity. This morning I talked with Micah for over an hour. It reminded me of when he was in high school and he'd wait until his younger siblings were in bed and then he'd come find me for a chat. Sometimes I'd be in bed myself but I don't regret a single time I woke up, or stayed awake, to talk with him or any of the others. I learned so much during those quiet nighttime sessions. Getting to talk to them is still so fun!

I'm hopeful the soft rain hitting the roof will bring about good sleep. I don't like the violent rainstorms we sometimes get, but the gentle rain is definitely soothing on the tin roof.

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Today's step count: 14,044 steps

Today walked: 2.99 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 56.82 miles

The tide seems to be turning. Fewer are sick now and those who were, are healing well. Gita was still home today but I think we've reached a point where she almost got used to being sick and had to be reminded she's allowed to be well now. This evening after our chat, she was caught smiling and laughing and having her usual energy. The mind is a powerful thing!

Everything tastes weird since I got sick this time. Water tastes awful and it's a chore to get it down. I mentioned this fact today and others agreed. We all hope it's short-lived.

Online school continued but we tweaked some things from yesterday and it was much smoother.

The water levels continue to go down and it's just the happiest sight. Which is good because the smells aren't quite as happy. I suppose it's rotting vegetation mixed with fish and maybe even sewage but the air is just a little more pungent right now. No need to focus on the negative, though. I'll take stinky smells over evacuation every.single.time.

One of our staff members has been looking up sentences she can say to us in English, practicing them, and then using them on us. I noticed she kept talking to me in English, which wasn't common for her. And then last week when we were in the hospital with one of our girls, this staff member walked up to me after we'd been sitting in different places and told me something about immigration, but she said it in English. It stood out to me because she doesn't typically put sentences together with such accuracy. And then the day before yesterday I was passing her and she asked me if I ate lunch yet or not, in English. She's asked me that plenty of times before, but always in Thai. So I told her she's been speaking such good English and she giggled and clapped her hand over her mouth and then admitted she's been looking up sentences and practicing before saying them to me. Sometimes adults are adorable, too.

There's a pack of stray dogs that lives on our road and the whole gang enters our property after dark each night and it seems their entire purpose is to tear up any trash they can find and kill everything they can get their teeth into. Multiple times in the past week or so we've gone outside to kittens that have been killed by them. And they've killed our ducks. Abi suggested we get a german shepherd to patrole the property at night. I can't decide if Abi just wants another dog or if this is actually a good idea. Evy tries her best to scare those dogs away but they just don't seem too intimidated by her presence.

This morning Quinn told me I should read Romans 12:18 and then I forgot to actually do it. So this evening some of us went for a few quick laps around the pond and he asked me again if I'd read it yet. I hadn't so I came in and did. Then I realized I have it memorized but I had detached it from the reference. It's about living at peace with everyone, so far as possible. I'm not sure if he was feeling convicted, or if he thought maybe I was struggling, or if God was using him to issue a reminder about the verse because something is just ahead. But anyway, it seems worth recording since it was so much on his mind that he mentioned it several times.

Seven years ago today we stepped on that first plane to start our journey to this country. It was a circus of luggage that was overweight, but the airline attendants checking us in let it all slide and didn't charge us a single extra penny. Then we hugged all our friends goodbye and cried buckets of tears at the enormity of loss we were feeling leaving everything we knew behind. Then we got to the escalators we needed to take downstairs and realized our three little boys had never been on one and trying it the first time with their carry-on suitcases was not a great idea. They got nervous and stepped on and back off that escalator multiple times before their luggage finally started tumbling, end over end, without them. Nobody and nothing was injured, except the family pride. We then got to security and they separated Hannah from us and she burst into tears and basically terrified the security guard. By the time we made it to our gate, we'd essentially been through war. Two layovers later and we touched down in the Land of Smiles and cried some more.

It's good we got all those tears out then because we haven't had so much time or energy to use them since. God has been unspeakably good to us over the past 7 years. The journey doesn't have to have been easy for us to see His goodness throughout it and we are abundantly thankful for every beautiful child we've come to love and be loved by!

Also, THIRTY-ONE days until I see my boys!

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Today's step count: 14,350 steps

Today walked: 2.74 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 48.86 miles

First, a few words regarding how the online classes went today: ughhhhhhhh. Okay, that was only one word but I think it summarized my thoughts well so I'll move on.

Gita was sick again today and she was willing to try the garlic and lime mixture we take when fighting a virus. I was shocked by her agreeing to try it because she's not been super agreeable during this illness and also she seems to be very sensitive to foods she doesn't like. But she drank both doses we gave her without a murmur or complaint. She also consumed a good amount of coconut water plus plain water, which I'm hopeful is helping her rehydrate.

Tonight we've got Abi, Gam, Phot, Quinn, Gita, and likely Chia down with this ick. Everyone is doing really well, though, and we're thankful to God for that! I've been trying to make sure there's palatable American foods for the American sickies among us because right now Thai food feels impossible. I boiled some potatoes and carrots tonight and added onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, celtic salt, and cashews blended creamy. I was hoping to create something with some nutritional density that would also feel like a comfort food because who really wants to eat when you're sick? They each got a bowl of it down which made me feel better.

In a strange and completely unrelated twist, Hannah's dog Izzy obeyed when Hannah called her out of the pond water this evening. I can't express how significant this truly is. We've called that dog for more than an hour at times, trying to get her to stop swimming after the ducks. She acts completely deaf to us when she's in that water. We've actually worried that she'd swim so long she'd just sink and drown. But tonight Izzy came and we're going to just sit with that and celebrate it and let the past be the past. Time will tell if she's truly ready for a new, and more obedient, future.

Sumita and Fahsai came to me after school (only the upper grades of the private school are doing classes online) and told me Fahsai's teacher had turned on a ghost movie today. Fahsai said, "I was so sa-keered because I know it not good to look that!" And then she told me Lao, who is also in her class, asked the teacher if the girls in the class who live with us could do something else while that movie was on. I nearly melted with the joy of hearing it! Sometimes you wonder if they're really getting it. If things are really sinking in. God is faithful!

I went out for a walk tonight, not because I wanted to or even felt like I needed the extra movement. I went out for the sake of consistency because I have the absolutely terrible habit of letting everything derail me. Hannah perked up slowly throughout the day today and then was a dear and watched over the kids tonight and got them tucked in. So I went out for a walk and listened to the first four chapters of Ezekiel and then Alex called. I was just about to stop walking when the phone rang but I decided to keep going while I talked with him and I was glad for it. Also, how amazing that we can pick up a phone and hear the actual, realtime voice of someone we love on the other side of the world?!!! I got to catch up on his life a little and listen as he talked about doing mundane things like watering his plants or cleaning up the backyard. I love the mundane stuff! Frank, by the way, is settling in and giving her three dads some relief from the constant yowling.

During Bible study this morning, our friends told us about severe flooding in Nepal and China. I haven't been able to bring myself to read about it, but we're certainly praying for all those people! Life is so fragile and I'm thankful that this world is only the beginning because it sure wouldn't make a very happy ending.

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Today's step count: 18,668 steps

Today walked: 2.8 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 46.12 miles

Covid has entered the arena. And I quickly realized I must live under a rock because, while I knew the virus was something people still exercise caution over, I wasn't aware it still closed things down. But today we were told someone, in the upper grades of the private school most of our children attend, tested positive and that school for those grades will be online for at least the rest of this week. The students in the other grades are required to wear masks but in-person classes haven't been cancelled at this point.

We'll see how it goes. We have multiple sick tonight, including Hannah, Abi, Levi, and Zach. Actually, that's all with acute symptoms right now. I'm feeling much, much better and Robbie was also much improved. The other children who have been sick are bouncing back nicely and we're hopeful that trend will continue.

Yesterday I picked up Evy who usually fusses herself silly for the attention. She politely allowed me to hold her but she turned her face away from me the entire time I did. The boys saw her do it and we all laughed because it was like she was afraid I might infect her. I can't blame her, really.

Other than that, there's just not much to write about. Life right now is consumed by getting well and helping others to get or stay well. There's not a lot of time for anything else. I did notice the water went down last night which was nice to see. We're almost to September without an immediate threat of flooding, which is a beautiful thing and I praise God for it!

I only got the smallest walk in this morning because I got out of bed a few minutes later than usual due to fatigue. I made it maybe a half mile. Anyway, the day was busy and I can only do what I can do so I'll be thankful for the short time I got out there walking and praying. And that it wasn't raining!

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Today's step count: 10,832 steps

Today walked: 0.61 miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 43.32 miles

Well, turns out there was a solid reason God helped me be so productive with my office work on Sunday and that's because by Monday (yesterday) I woke up sick and steadily deteriorated throughout the morning. By lunchtime, I was out of commission. Robbie also woke up sick but we had very different symptoms which seemed odd. He hung in there yesterday with Abi and got the afternoon/evening things taken care of and then today he was pretty much down for the count. Last night Abi had Bpao and Gita sleep with her again due to sickness and Gita kept them awake nearly all night. Needless to say, Abi dragged into worship this morning a little wild-eyed but with a great attitude. Hannah has been at the house in town with the littlest ones so she's missed out on all this fun!

I had to take Bifern and Alu into school late today and Yim, who was off school for the day, went along. We ran into Makro after the dropoff and bought fresh fruit and some other items we needed to restock the fridge with. I'm always amazed at how expensive if is to eat healthy foods and how cheap it is to eat junk. My small cart of healthy foods cost over $100. I can save a little money by going to the outdoor markets but not a substantial amount and I can't get the American "comfort fruits" at our markets. Some places throughout Thailand have many more fresh options than what we have in Sukhothai. So our options are more limited and more expensive.

We currently have two boys with fevers, Zach and Chai, Phet who's feverish but won't admit defeat, and a few girls whose lips have paled out this evening. It'll be interesting to see what the night holds. I was cleaning up the kitchen tonight after everyone had gone to bed and Yim walked in with a crying Bpao and said Bpao wouldn't sleep. Bpao said she couldn't sleep because she has a nose. Yim's a little tired from Bpao's sick-and-not-sick yoyo so she didn't see the humor in her declaration in the same way I did. I got Bpao a bit of oil to mix some peppermint into and dabbed it under her nose and got her some extra pillows to elevate her head while trying to sleep. I also clued her in that crying makes your nose feel stuffier and she seemed most appalled and immediately started swallowing hard and rubbing her wet eyes with her shirt.

I sure hope Abi gets some sleep tonight since she doesn't have any kiddos in her house this time.

With so many germs floating around, I cleaned my kitchen extra well today. Moved everything and scrubbed under and behind it all. And I was honestly just horrified. WE clean daily and when you walk in our house, it looks like it's cleaned and well-cared for. But when I moved some of the things that don't regularly get moved, there were soooo many lizards dropping and so many spider webs. I felt a little green around the gills thinking that we eat food from a kitchen that I can't keep any cleaner than this! But when you have lizards running literally everywhere and debris that falls from your ceilings, what else can be expected? I do know I decided I'm going to have to increase my cleaning vigilance because there's just no way I can unsee all that yuck.

Update on Bpao: Yim just brought her back and Bpao's exact words were, again in English, "I still have my nose." I think right now isn't the time to teach her the correct way to say that because I'm also teetering on the brink of exhaustion trying to recover from my own illness while tending to the little people. I'll let her say it cute-ly so it keeps making me smile. Bpao is tucked in on my couch now so Yim can have a break from the marathon she's been running with her little sister's nose. Yim also warned me that Lao is complaining about her nose, too, so my guess is that's it's going to be a fun night! The ones with fevers are much quieter. I've done some ice rags when they feel a little warmer than I'd like, but mostly the fevers have been doing their jobs and burn themselves out pretty quickly.

I didn't get out for a walk today because the day was busy from sunup to well past sundown. But I still logged over 15,000 steps so hopefully it counts as exercise even if it happens by accident.

Also, are diaries supposed to be this boring? I always feel like people who keep them must have really exciting lives but I don't have exciting things to record.

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Today's step count: 16,129 steps

Today walked: No walks taken

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 42.75 miles

Sundays are always full of activity. This particular one, however, got off to a slightly slower start since a number of our early risers were either not feeling great or trying to sleep extra to help themselves not succumb. I got to walk from 6am to about 6:45am before the first bedheaded cuties started to appear. It might seem strange to some that our kids go outside when they wake up, but we spend the vast majority of our time with the children outdoors. It's good for them, it's good for us, and it's just quieter to have a large group in the wide open than it is in a house. They start the weekend mornings doing their personal worship outside.

Today we didn't have to go to town and that's a rare treat! We had our Sunday meeting during the kids' quiet time and we got some more weekly tasks assigned and organized. Every week it seems like it gets a little better. By the time these kids are grown, this place will be running itself!🤭

I didn't get to writing out the next verses in Genesis yet today. Because the purpose is to take in more slowly what I'm reading as I write it, it's hard to do when there's a lot of activity buzzing around me. I'm planning to write some tonight before bed. I've actually never done it at that time of the day so we'll see how my eyes handle it. I still stand by the act of writing out those verses being the absolute best antidote to those horrifying images that so easily pass through my mind. And as I've been faithfully intentional to add healthier activities into my days, those images have been less. I need to stay the course!

I just realized my sweater dropped off the back of my chair and onto the floor beside me and that Evy, our little Maltipoo, is curled up on it. I'm not a dog person at all but this dog won me over right out of the gate. She's so sweet and adorable and she doesn't smell like a dog or shed. What more could I want than a small, red, curly poodle-ly dog that lays down close to wherever I am? If I get up to leave the room, even if she's deep in sleep, she seems to feel obligated to interrupt her own nap to follow. Maybe she thinks I'm trying to get away or it's possible she thinks I'm not safe on my own. I can't be sure, but I do know it's awful cute.

The wind is really blowing which is soooo nice and is probably just exactly what we need to blow the germs out of here. The only problem is how easily the branches fall from the trees. When the wind starts to really blow, we always have to call the children out from under the trees in case something drops. This feels excessive and dramatic until you walk around and see the fallen branches.

A little earlier Charlie starting running a fever. He was determined to outrun it but it didn't work and he finally had to accept defeat ... which means he had to rest. Now Chai, his faithful little bestie, wasn't about to let Charlie rest alone and risk feeling abandoned. And so this evening, Chai made Charlie a makeshift bed on the second story porch outside the boys' room. He set up a mosquito net and everything and gave Charlie the birds-eye view of everything happening around him outside. Get you a Chai, is my suggestion to everyone. And a mosquito net.

I got so much office work done today, even with endless little people popping their heads in asking for an apple, or to borrow my tape, or give me flowers. I like starting the week ahead and I feel more ready for Monday than I often do. Kwan messaged me tonight from college and I just thought how crazy it is that I have a Thai child in college and she's messaging me because she loves me. God is good.

Also, Namwan was standing outside the older girls' house tonight where she sleeps and said, "I love this house!" which made me wish Ethan, Luke, and Austin could have heard it so they'd know just how grateful those girls are. And I love that it's literally right beside me.

Countdown to our visit to the US is on and Levi, Quinn, and Zach are steadfastly gearing up for a friendly soccer challenge against their three older brothers. Right now the big question is, are they going to play in bare feet or wear cleats? Time will tell. Speaking of time: 36 days!

I pushed my leg into my pajama pants tonight and out popped several winged intruders who like to stow away inside our clothes while they hang to dry. You need to shake out your clothes, check your shoes and watch where you step around here.

And you'd better be sure I'll be taking a peek under the covers before I slide in tonight. Centipedes are painfullllll and also plentiful.

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Today's step count: 20,008 (full disclosure-I saw it was close so I stood back up and walked around the house until it hit 20,000 🙃)

Today walked 5.88 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 41.1 miles

Last night was one of those wild nights you survive and hope you never have to repeat. Gita had gone to bed with a fever, but nothing concerning. Whatever this virus is has been slowly winding its path through us. Some have gotten fevers and others haven't. But in general, it's been quick and not too bad. But Gita suddenly woke in the night screaming, "Mama, help me! Papa, help me! P'Hannah, help me! P'Abi, help me!" She was very thorough in calling us and it terrified the other girls. She kept yelling that things were falling in the room and she didn't know who was doing it and, obviously, that also unsettled the other girls. Yim, 18, sleeps in the room with them since she's adult age and we always want an adult with them. She came and got me and I could tell she, herself, was a little rattled. I immediately grabbed a pot and filled it with ice water and a rag. I knew Gita was likely still feverish. I got to the room and found multiple girls very much on edge. I got Gita settled back into her bed and placed the icy rag on her head and prayed with her. She was nice and calm and I sat down nearby so I could continue changing the rag as it warmed.

About an hour or so later, her body was much cooler and I put a fresh, cold rag on her head and found a spot to lay myself down close to her bed. I wasn't comfortable so I didn't fall asleep quickly but clearly I must have slipped into sleep because the next thing I knew, Gita was up and screaming out again. The interesting thing is that everything she was yelling was in English instead of Thai. I got to her and prayed with her and she calmed down. I put a new rag on her head and she seemed to drift off again. I laid down and not much time passed before she was off her bed, blanket balled up in her arms while she spun in circles, yelling things out.

I got her laid down beside me and she went to sleep. It was a long night and I was actually relieved when morning finally came. I went outside to the usual spot I sit reading my Bible when I have the early morning shift watching over the kids. Wawa came out with her Bible and did her paper and then told me she didn't have strength. She threw up at breakfast so I guess she was pretty serious. Happily, both Gita and Wawa are fine this evening.

I spent most of the day in bed, however. I got a short walk in this morning after I had worship and then I slept for hours while Robbie, Hannah and Abi picked up my slack. I even slept through church. In the afternoon, Robbie gently forced me out for another short walk and I came home from that pretty sure I was sick and not just tired. By the time I made it back to my bed following the walk, I was aching all over. More sleep and more shirking of my duties later, and I'm feeling much better. Seems suspicious, even to me, that I feel much better after the work of the day is over, and other people did most of it.

The water has been on the rise again and I'm not even going to pretend that doesn't bother me. But Quinn just walked in and told me, totally at random because I had said nothing about the water or the rain that was violently hitting our roof: "Don't worry. The rain isn't going to flood us tonight." And then he walked away. I'm going to assume God sent Quinn to remind me worrying is a waste of time.

If everyone can sleep through the night tonight, that'll be great. If the rain doesn't cause us to flood, that'll be greater. If neither of those two things happen the way I want them to, God is still greatest.

Goodnight.

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Today's step count: 7,866 🙈

Today walked 2.53 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 35.22 miles

The ick is still going but I can't be certain it's not more than one kind of ick. Bifern was back at school today but tonight Gita has been running a fever. She hasn't mentioned a stomachache and instead cried that she was hungry after opting out of supper. We got her some fruit and she calmed. I'm hopeful by morning the fever will have burned itself out and she'll be perked up. Tonight at worship I heard a sudden splash of liquid on the ground to my right and then I saw kids jumping aside. I was absolutey certain someone had vomited. You can imagine my relief when I learned Lao had just tipped over a bottle of water and it had gone everywhere. No vomit today.

The mosquitos are awful. There, I said it. One of the kids asked me why God created mosquiotos and it reminded me I have so many questions for Him. I think it's going to be so fun (fun isn't really the right word but I can't think of a better one right now) to sit and just talk with Him and find out the whys and wherefores of life on this planet. And honestly, I have a sneaking suspicion He's very much looking forward to answering and explaining. He's waited a long time for the chance to sit with us face to face. I think of how much I miss my boys in America and it gives me the tiniest peek into how He must feel about missing us.

Alex was in an accident in his truck a few months back. Thankfully, nobody was hurt but his truck was totaled. He's patiently waited to buy a new truck until he felt able to handle it and yesterday he brought one home. He went into business for himself earlier this year and not having a truck to haul his tools and equipment was taking a toll. The truck is big and blue and that's about all I know about trucks.

No new updates on Frank. I wonder if she likes knowing she's a girl? I did learn they're keeping her name so I hope they at least make her feel pretty or something.

The immigration police came today to interview Robbie. It went well and the lady from our local immigration office tapped him and said, "See you next month" which seems like a very good indicator that they plan to issue the visas. The same lady was the one who flat-out rejected our application last year and she was unmovable about the matter. The only reason we ended up getting them approved was because one of our social worker's father is in the government and he made some calls to friends even higher up in the goverment and they responded by overruling the local office's judgment. We were grateful then, and we're grateful now, and also we'll thoroughly enjoy if we get to walk into the office and get the visas without the drama. But God uses every encounter in ways we can't always see or know. One thing the licensing of BTY and the 90 day immigration check-ins, and the yearly extensions have offered us is a lot of interaction with government officials. That can't be a bad thing.

Tonight I walked and listened to the Bible and then made a couple loops with my girls. The rain held until we were done. Thankful!

Lastly, I have a missionary friend in Panama who is currently sleeping with a box of baby chicks in her bed between she and her husband, trying to keep them alive since they've been hit with lots of cold rain lately. They're off-grid and don't have heat lamps so she's doing what she's got to do. Getting her picture and messages this morning made me feel like I need to step up my game. I'm considering going to grab one of our ducks and tucking it in beside me tonight. It's raining, after all. But really, there's no way I'm going to do that.

You win, Cindy. ;)

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Today's step count: 15,063

Today walked 3.57 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 32.69 miles

The rain started yesterday and just hasn't stopped. It was gentle, mostly creating mud and not huge swampy areas like is typical. But today it's gotten harder and more persistent. This evening is defintely swampy. I didn't go out for a walk to pray this morning because of the rain so by the time we got through lunch, I had been very sedentary and I messaged Hannah to see if she wanted to go with me. Thankfully, she did.

As we were walking, Hannah look over toward a field full of mud clods and said, "Look! It's so pretty!" I obeyed and looked and then tried to figure out if Hannah was serious. Because I saw mud clods and not beauty. But she wasn't joking. I looked again and I said something like, "I'm glad you pointed it out because I never would have thought that was pretty." The truth was, I still didn't think it was pretty. I just didn't want to be a wet rag. And then she said, "Look at it! The field, the sky, the clouds...it all works together and it's beautiful!" Then she pointed back toward those mud clogs to an area where water was sitting just over their surface and she told me how beautiful it was the way the raindrops were disturbing the water. I finally saw it. I took in the whole scene and realized I was looking at beauty without recognizing it.

The rain started to fall again and I popped my umbrella up and suddenly had this surge of determination come over me that I want to get into nature, no matter what the weather is. I want to notice the beauty in mud clods.

Levi, Quinn, and Zach built a little shelter, inspired by their new position as goat herders. They spent much of the afternoon under it, beyond proud that it doesn't leak. Now the shelter happens to be in a tree so I decided I'm just not going to look. Robbie said it's safe and I'm choosing to believe it's true. They came in having thoroughly enjoyed their time up there.

We haven't completely escaped the spread of the stomach ick, as Bifern was home from school today. But it doesn't seem too bad so even if it keeps making its rounds, I'm thankful it seems fairly mild.

We had Bible study this morning through Zoom with some good friends in the US, like we do each Thursday. All 8 of my biological children get on and I cannot ever explain in words how grateful I am for that. We go long stretches without seeing each other in person but we get to study together each week and then we stay on the call with the boys after the study is over to hang out and talk. The whole thing is definitely a highlight of the week!

I just glanced at my step count and realized I'm going to have to pace the house or something. I really want to get to at least 10,000 today even though the rain has been relentless. I wonder if pacing the house really counts as physical activity? 😂

Tomorrow the immigration police will be coming here to interview Robbie as part of the visa renewal process. Each year this is a challenge and it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out this year. The interview part is expected to go smoothly, as it did last year. It's the rest of it that gets sticky. God will have His way.

My sister got engaged this week. She sent me pictures of the beach proposal (she works in marketing at a beach resort) and she looks as happy to be proposed to as Adam looked to be proposing. I'm so happy for them!

As I type, the rain keeps pounding on my roof and I just keep telling myself I like the sound. I'm almost starting to believe it. As long as I take my thoughts captive about the flooding, the sound of rain really does induce good sleep. I'll focus on that because I could use good sleep.

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Today's step count: 10,312

Today walked 2.09 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 29.12 miles

My alarm sounded at 5am this morning and at first I considered ignoring it. But the very conscious thought of wanting to connect with God came to my mind and I got up and went out to walk and talk with Him. My sandaled feet got muddy because it rained yesterday. But by the time I'd covered more than a mile and a half, I genuinely sensed the connection and I was grateful to have dirty feet since it meant I'd had time alone with Him.

We all had worship together on the porch while the mosquitos thanked us for our presence by treating us as their morning buffet. We had lots of fans going to help keep them away but lately they've been especially numerous and persistent. Rainy season seems to do that.

After we got the children loaded into the vans and Robbie and Bunmee headed to the schools, I finished getting ready for a day at the hospital with one of our girls. We picked up her grandmother at the bus station and arrived at the hospital just as a parade from a nearby school was blocking all the lanes. Parking was not an easy feat. Today she had two different appointments and the second one was long and stretched through lunch, which turned out to be a blessing. No need for hospital food. We just drove home and ate a late lunch.

I skipped over the middle parts where the day at the hospital, and the meeting after, felt heavy and stress tempted me. I'm trying to focus on the things I can find to smile about so I can teach myself to recognize that even when things feel too much, God offers moments of lightness and I want to be grateful for that.

One such thing was a text message I woke up to this morning from Alex. A few weeks ago he found a cat that turned out to have no known owner. So he took the cat home to the little house he shares with my other two adult sons. That cat has meowed until they thought they'd lose their minds, but they hung in there and named him Frank. We get fairly regular updates about Frank and last night I learned Frank had run outside and was now "an under the house cat". But this morning there was a plot twist. The message read: "Back inside again. Frank is a girl now, so that's big news." Something tells me that though Frank was initially mistaken for a boy, his very boy name will stick. I sure hope Frank the girl cat stops meowing all the time.

Something happened last evening that should probably concern me about myself more than it does. I was tuckered and ready to shower so I could crawl into bed. I grabbed my pajamas and went to wash away the dirt from the day. However, I got into the bathroom (after flipping on the light which is outside the room), locked the door, and got my things settled. Quite unexpectedly the light went out. Electricity in our part of the world isn't the greatest and we supplement with solar. But during rainy season the batteries don't charge well and the solar switches back to the grid earlier than during times of sustained sunshine. Also, most of our wiring is more than a little wonky so I don't know if the light went out due to a malfunction or a drop in current. What I do know is that I had two choices: Exit the bathroom to go find a flashlight or shower in the dark. I'm not even kidding you when I tell you I laughed out loud as I opted for the latter. Because it was DARK in that room and I already don't have great eyesight. I could see nothing.

I felt my way over to the area under the shower head and fumbled around for the lever that turns the water on. I found it and as soon as the water hit me, I realized my mistake.

I was still fully clothed.

In all my effort to find my way in the dark, I'd forgotten critical elements for a successful shower. I stood in that dark bathroom, fumbling again for the lever, this time to turn the water OFF. The whole thing became a challenge I was ready to conquer. My friend in the US recently did an Ironman and I knew if she could do that, I could do this. I'm happy to report, I did get both clean and dry, without going to get a flashlight. Upon exiting my dungeon at the completion of my challenge, I tapped the switch and sure as anything that light turned right on. I have no idea what had happened but it gave me a giggle so it's whatever.

Today was full and busy and some moments felt tense. But tonight when I shower, I'll go ahead and keep the light on.

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Today's step count: Forgot to put my step tracker on after charging.

Today walked 1.64 intentional miles

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 27.03 miles

Tonight I went to put the girls to bed and found that both Awa and Wawa hadn't put their school uniforms in the laundry basket, which meant they didn't get washed. I held them up and told them throwing their clothes on the floor is not an acceptable method. Awa, full of vigor after her day of vomiting yesterday, rushed up to me and said, "Oh mom! I can not do it! That's why. It's okay." And then I knew I'd heard the best excuse for throwing clothes on the floor I'd ever heard. Because if you can not put them in the basket, then you simply can not do it.

Tomorrow we'll make sure Awa learns she can do it. Wawa didn't dispute her choice, or her ability to have made a different one. So that seemed like solid progress.

Every day that I'm free to do so, I sit in the classroom across the pond from our house with Levi, Quinn, and Zach while they do school. We switched to a computer curriculum because I'm so often pulled away causing consistency in their schooling to be sadly lacking. I was tired of beating myself up and also tired of them not knowing what grade they're in because did we finish school last year and move up? Or no? This way they have a set amount to do every day, and when it's done, most of it is already graded. What I do have to grade is minimal, which right now, is very, super, incredibly helpful. But I'm right there with them to explain things they don't understand and to answer questions or to reset assignments they don't do well on. It's given me the funniest glimpse into the varying personalities of my three youngest biological boys.

Levi and Quinn ask me to reset most anything that's below an A. Zach, on the other hand, likes a little spice in his life and seeing more of the alphabet in his grades doesn't bother him a bit. He'll come celebrating an 80% on an assignment because he didn't even have to ask for help! All three boys are doing well, though, and I thoroughly enjoy those hours with them in that classroom. It's where I sit writing out the Bible and somehow the whole time in there just feels peaceful.

Today Abi, Gam, and I took a walk around the recently backfilled rice paddies. Because of rainy season, the weeds have grown up in thatches out there. We don't have a tractor or anything and it's a huge expanse to try to tackle with a weed eater. As we were walking the perimeter we suddenly had the idea to set the goats loose in there! So we did and then we played shepherd which resulted in all three of us running like crazy people trying to herd the goats away from Bunmee and Nun's beautiful vegetable garden. I saw Abi grab one of the goats by the horn to direct it where she wanted it to go and I thought, I can do that! So I kicked into high gear to chase a goat down, got her cornered at the fence, grabbed a horn, and then wrestled her the whole way back to where we wanted her. The entire time I had her horn she was trying to turn her head to ram it into me. I think it was the start of a beautiful friendship.

But I also thought it was a vastly better idea to go hunt Levi, Quinn, and Zach down and convince them they'd always wanted to be shepherds and today was their chance to make that dream come true. They politely side-eyed me and then headed out to their post. They ended up perching in a tree to "watch over them". How come it worked for them to sit afar off but for us we had to chase those goats? Anyway, it doesn't matter because I have no desire to be a shepherd.

I guess in the case of goats it would be a goat herder and not a shepherd but that's okay.

Tomorrow I'll be at the hospital most of the day. Everything happens a little differently here than in America. Routine medical appointments happen in the hospital. Some immigration offices are inside shopping malls. You pay your electric bill in 7-11. We even once mailed a package at a laundramat.

When we're at the hospital over lunch time, I always take the social workers who go with me, and the child we're there with, to the hospital cafeteria. It's basically a big room with tables, and a good many food vendors serving Thai food and white rice. They choose their favorite option and tell it to the ladies wearing the aprons who then go and serve the food up and then call out for them to go get it. It's almost like you're eating from each individual vendor's personal kitchen. I've not yet been able to order food for myself from there. First of all, I'm vegetarian and I've never seen a meatless option not being served right along side the meat options, using the same utensils. I don't know when I became so sensitive but I can't handle it! But also, I've never understood how people manage to eat in hospitals without any problem. Tomorrow I'll be fasting through lunch.

We seem to possibly have escaped the stomach ick from spreading beyond the first two girls. I wouldn't say we're out of the woods of having new cases, but it's certainly hopeful since nobody came down with it today. Bpao had a close call, though. Because Awa sneezed near her resulting in Bpao spending the next several hours convinced she was sick. It's amazing what the mind can tell you because that little girl truly believe she immediately became sick after the now-better Awa sneezed in Bpao's space.

I'm happy to report that, as I leaned down at Bpao's bedside tonight to pray with her, I asked her if she was feeling better (because she had waaaayyyy too much energy to truly have the sneezy flu) and she grinned sheepishly and admitted she forgot she was sick. I patted her little head and told her I was glad.

Because I am.

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Today's step count: 16,737

Today walked 3.78 intentional miles (2 walks)

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 25.39 miles

Today felt long but that's generally the way it is when you have kids with a stomach bug.

I told Abi today that I literally think it's my fault this belly ick hit because not more than two or three days ago I was thinking how amazing it was that we almost never have vomiting (from a virus) children here. And if in all our years here a stomach bug ever raged through, I don't remember it. I was thinking it in a thankful way but then today Lao threw up in the van on the way to school and then Abi messaged that Awa was throwing up. She'd already stayed home because her head hurt so it wasn't super surprising. Poor Awa spent the day throwing up intermittently but by evening seemed to be perking up a bit. She and Lao are both at Abi's house so we can try to isolate them from the other children. Abs has been a dear to spend her day looking after them in spite of their cooties. :)

We had a meeting today through Zoom that felt hard but also it went well. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made and we struggle making them. We were thankful for the fellow missionaries that helped us work through things today. This week is full of medical stuff for one of our Thai girls and I'll spend most of Wednesday in the hospital for appointments with her. We're definitely hopeful for some helpful answers.

This evening I sprawled across my bed for a quick minute before evening worship due to fatigue from the day and I ended up sleeping through until 7:30pm or so. I had to force myself up because I've let our accounting spreadsheet fall behind and that's never good. I have my weekly meeting with Todd tomorrow to go over the spreadsheet and I wanted it to be all caught up. By God's grace, it is.

All the kids are in bed and I'm going for a few loops around the pond to settle my mind before I climb back under the covers myself. I use the cover more to keep the mosquitos from biting than because I'm cold. I'm defintely not cold. I'm trying hard to get to bed by 9pm each night but mostly it feels impossible. I'll keep trying, though. I know the efforts for better mental, physical and spiritual health I've been making are having God's blessing added to them. I'm so thankful for how personal He is.

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Today's step count: 13,539

Today walked 2.34 intentional miles (2 walks)

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 21.61 miles

The day got started early; much earlier than I had hoped. I'd gone out for a walk before dawn and gotten a mile or so in by circling the pond. But then I heard the familiar sounds of children scuffing along in the gravel. I accepted that my walk, and quiet, was over and I made my way to the sala that sits out over the pond. The children started coming to me with Bibles and their Bible reading plan papers we give them each Sabbath. They sprawled themselves around the sala benches, found the day's reading in their Bibles and then scratched out the answer to the related question on their papers. I signed each one in turn, evidence that they had, in fact, done it that morning rather than rushing to do the whole week's worth on the day the papers are to be turned in.

We're trying to teach the children to establish a habit of personal worship each morning and evening. We've modeled it for them over the years but in the past year we've been more intentional to "teach" it to them. For many of them it's still getting done because it's required. For others, it's becoming a part of their day they look forward to.

Leaving the sala around 7am, I rang the bell for the kids to start their morning chores. Barely had the tinkling of the small bell stopped sounding in my ears than I started to hear angry voices escalating into a fight inside the younger girls' room. One girl's things had been taken and she had a suspicion as to who'd done the taking. The accused didn't receive the accusation well and she stood, arms poised for a fight, voice rising to match her indignation.

Here we go again, I thought. How fun that they're fighting already. I gave them a few minutes to see if they could work it out without intervention. We've been working hard for them to know how to deal with conflict in a healthy way. Sometimes they nail it, other times they fail it.

Today was a fail and intervention was required. I finished supervising chore time, while periodically calling out to Charlie to stop screaming like he was at war, and then rang the bell for group morning worship.

And that's when the accused from the earlier spat remembered she was supposed to be angry. And she started to howl. And then the howls got louder and she settled into her anger with conviction. I placed a hand on her back and guided her through the crowd while throwing them my best fake-it-till-you-make-it smile. I walked her away from the worship gathering and over to the firepit where we have Friday evening worship. I got her seated on a bench, prayed with her (though my words were drowned out by her shrieks) and then let her know she wasn't to leave the bench until I came for her. I then walked back to the rest of the children until worship was over. Her cries slowly died down as she'd lost her audience and my patience regenerated as I gave God a moment to remind me why we're here.

The morning continued with breakfast and then a swap in shifts as Hannah took over for me while I ran some of the older girls to town quick and Robbie took two of the boys for haircuts. By soon after lunch, Robbie, Hannah, Abi, and I met on the porch of the girls house for our weekly meeting while the kids had quiet time in their rooms.

It was like an exhale, and while we talked and problem-solved and planned, we also laughed and enjoyed a reprieve from the childish drama that surrounds us.

Following the meeting and quiet time, the day continued very much as it had started. None of us know why the kids were in such sorts but it was hour after hour of this thing or that. We were all happy to reach bedtime.

When tucking them in for the night, the younger girls have all started to ask for us to pray with them individually, instead of over them as a group. After a long day, it takes grit to hang in there for that extra time before you can retreat for some peace. It's as awful to realize in the moment as it probably is for someone to read it. But feeling like you don't have the energy for something doesn't mean you don't do it. And in doing it, we always realize how sweet those moments are when their soft voices pray to a God they're sure can keep them from bad things in the night.

And He does.

I flipped off the lights and called out a final round of i love yous and I'll see you in the mornings and then I made my way to quiet for some rest.

Because tomorrow we get to do it all again.

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Today's step count: 9,539

Today walked 1.44 intentional miles (1 walk)

Total intentional miles walked since 8/9/2026: 19.27 miles