Cambodia (part 17)

We continued on with our tour for a few more minutes, until someone came up and spoke to our tour guide. He quickly left us, and P, an American who lived and worked in Cambodia full-time, told us that fighting had broken out in the city and we needed to leave immediately.

We all piled into the cars and headed to her house. Along the way we noticed the increase in soldiers on the streets. We even passed tanks on street corners, with obviously well-armed men on top.

We got to P's house and were waiting to hear what we would do next, when suddenly fighting broke out just down the block from us. We all had to run into her house to take cover.

We didn't leave again for days.

There were about 40 people in her one house. My team, a few Cambodian girls who had been hired to cook and help out, P, and her young daughters. Her husband was in the States, so she was handling everything by herself.

Now that I'm a mom, I can't imagine the fear she must have had, taking care of 30 college students and her daughters all by herself in the midst of war.

We soon learned that a faction of the government, a man named Hun Sen, had accused Prince Ranariddh of conspiring with the Khmer Rouge, a political group that had killed thousands in genocide. He was taking over and the Prince was out.

Oh, and across the street from us? Large radio/tv tower. For someone in the government. The fighting was so close because someone wanted that tower destroyed.

A few other girls and I tried to entertain P's daughters. They were the sweetest things, and easily distracted by the video camera we showed them. We played games with them, while around us people were panicking, praying or singing.

At one point the fighting came too close. The little girls and my friends R, N, and I were barricaded into a space underneath the stairs for their protection.

Can you imagine having to lock your children away, and not being able to be with them?

While you wondered if your house was about to be blown up with you in it?

WW- Yummy Kids

I don't know who I stole this from

But I am a big, fat copycat.

Mama TaderDoodles tagged me for a memories of 2007 post. However, that would require deep thought and much contemplation, and as I've just returned from a long weekend alone with my hubby (no kids!!!), I am exhausted.

I'll just let you read into that whatever you will.

Anyway, on someone's blog, and at this point I have no idea whose, I saw a post where you write the first sentence of the first post from each month. So that will be my year-in-review.

That's right, if you're looking for deep insights, lessons learned and lofty aspirations, you've come to the wrong blog.

Lazy cut-and-pasting?

Read on, my friend.

January

I've had a few questions about why I had a baby attached to me for five hours straight on Christmas Eve.

February

It is a sad fact of my life today that if I am not at home (and I usually am) then I am at Target.

March

Dora-Let my people go!

April

It seems my life has become one big paper trail.

May

We had some terrible, terrible news today.

June

So today Isaac was watching "Future Weapons" on the Discovery Channel.

July

I can't even begin to tell you all how much you have encouraged me over the past weeks as my husband has been deployed.

August

Today we are potty training Luke.

September

So my break is over and here is some of the excitement of our day today...

October

We had a day full of errands and are almost ready to go tomorrow.

November

And no, I don't mean for the year.

December

If you get a wireless internet connection, your husband will want you to make it secure.

If you decide to do the same, leave a comment and I'll come see! And if I stole this from you, please don't hate me.

But wait, there's another giveaway!

If you are willing to spend just a little money for your blog, then this is the giveaway for you!

Girly Blog Designz has offered to give away a $25 credit towards ANY purchase! This means you can purchase a custom WordPress design package for only $50 instead of $75. Or a completely custom header for only $10! Check out all her options here.

But this offer is for just one of you! So check her out and leave a comment on this post if you are interested! I will close comments on Friday night and announce the winner on Saturday!

Giveaway Winners!!!

The winner of a Platinum Package by Blue Yonder Design is not-so-deep Denise!

The winner of a Gold Package by RS Designs is Tiffany at Snapshots of Life!

The winner of a custom header by Simply Southern is ChristiS at Blah Blah Blog!

Thanks everyone for entering! Don't forget that Blue Yonder Design and RS Designs are BOTH offering $10 discounts if you place an order with them soon and mention this giveaway! Megan has the winner for Jennisa's Bloggie Designs up at her blog. Jennisa's designs are only $25!

Also, don't forget to come back on Feb 11th for The Big Bloggy Move! You can debut your blog or visit some new blogs for the chance to win prizes! My new design is already in the works, and it is sooo cute! Karen at Swank Web Style is doing a great job on it, and also did my current blog design!

Congratulations, ya'll!

Win a Big Bloggy Makeover!

We have two THREE FOUR different contests for you today! Megan is giving away a free, custom Blogger design by Jennisa's Bloggie Designs! Here, I am giving away TWO custom design packages, one by Blue Yonder Design and one by RS Designs! Also, scroll down to the next post to enter to win a custom WordPress header by Simply Southern.

To enter the giveaways for Blue Yonder or RS Designs, just leave a comment on this post. And make sure you visit Megan and enter her giveaway for a free Blogger design! The winners will be announced on Monday, January 7th, so be sure to check back and see if you've won.

Here are the details:

Blue Yonder Design is offering one free Platinum Package! And for those of you who don't win, she is also offering a $10 discount! Just mention The Big Bloggy Move or After a cup of coffee...or two to receive your discount. See examples of Jen's great designs here. Plus, Jen has offered to help you move your blog to a new platform if you are moving!

RS Designs is offering a free Gold package. Revka is also offering $10 off your order of $20 or more for those who don't win! Check out some of Revka's great work here.

And don't forget about The Big Bloggy Move! On February 11th be here to sign the Mr Linky and debut your new blog. Or check out all the new blogs for a chance to win prizes. For all the details and to grab the code for the button, click here. Spread the word!

Good luck, ya'll! And get your move on!

Win a Bloggy Header!

Want to have a custom look for your blog, but don't want to worry about any fees?

Betty of Simply Southern has offered to create a custom header from one of your photos, or she has a large supply of nature photos (or you can probably find nice ones on istockphoto.com or even flickr). She will add any text you want and she can install it for you or if you know how you can do it yourself. There are no WordPress fees associated with this, so it is absolutely free! Check out her blog for an example.

Leave a comment on this post to enter for a custom header!