A Tragedy With Scissors

Oh yes. We are good parents. We have removed scissors to levels that are unreachable and places knives out of the reach of our little midgets. But our adventurous little boy thought it would be fun to scale the sides of the bookcase in the office and get the scissors. Now, there are plenty of pieces of construction paper, tissue paper, and notebook paper that he could shred to smithereens but what does he decide to carve??? 33 days from our departure for America...HIS HAIR and HIS SISTER'S HAIR! No, praise the Lord it wasn't the bangs but it was pretty bad. I have to admit that I was mad, hot fire mad! I was so excited because Lauren's hair was growing and Lily's too. He cut his in 5 different spots so he looked as if he had mange. So after the entire day of play outside we all decided that it was hair repair day. The repairs of the girls' hair was not that great but Kendall did awesome with Easton's fix! Here are the before and after pics! Oh now the scissors are HIDDEN and HIGH!!!

 Lily before...

 Lily after...no the back is not perfectly straight, we are waiting for a good haircut in America.

 Easton the Barber...

 Lauren before...see how short that is on the top front???

Quick fix and changed the side that we part on to cover up the damage!

Bakery of Cowboys

 It's 3:30pm on a hot September afternoon. It's too hot to play, even in the shade, and too hot to take a nap. So where are my kids? Playing hide and seek in the kitchen cabinets...oh wait! The game has changed! It's time to "cook". With measuring cups, collinder, cookie cutters, and electric beaters...the chefs are ready to cook! They cooked and cooked then all of the sudden the cowboy boots came into the picture. Easton said, "the cowboy is here and he is hungry!" Lily frantically squeels..."HURRY we have to cook for the cowboys!" Oh the fun times that the kids have had! I love their imagination play and most of all I love the dirtiness that accompanies them to indicate that they play HARD!!!!

Breakfast at Zeria's

 The simplicity of meals in Zambia is something that my kids love. We also love that Zeria lives with us and the kids love going to her house. They love going to her house for a meal or two! Zambians never turn away friends or family from a meal! Lauren and Easton love eating tea and scones with Zeria! The morning of breakfast with Zeria, I happened to have my phone to take some pictures! I think the funniest day was when we had finished eating lunch and Lauren walked to Zeria's house and said, "Zeria, you cook nshima?!" Zeria said, "no not today!" Then Lauren said, "tonight?!" We all just laughed. Lauren and Easton love eating nshima with Zeria, Lily said that she prefers nshima at our house because she likes eating at a table and at Zeria's they eat on the floor! Zeria told Lily, "next time we have nshima, Lily, we will give you the table!" We are going to miss Zeria, she is our family now! Oh how we love her!

Boots on the Floor

The cleaning out of our home is underway. It is quite an interesting time because our kids are finding all of these new surprises that have been here all along! As we cleaned out toys today, they acted like they had just opened Christmas gifts as we pulled out all of the toys that they don't play with anymore. Our cowboy boots in our closet were the main attraction for the two youngest Helgren's today! Lauren and Easton clopped all over the house in those boots randomly saying, "TEXAS!" It was a definite memory made today! 

This cracks me up, look at Lauren's tongue! You can tell she is saying, "Texas" that is an 's' coming out of her mouth! Hilarious!

Recently, Lauren has started folding her arms when she is talking to someone or just in observation mode. Don't know where she got this, but it is definitely a unique personality quirk!

Almost Heading "Home"

We are getting so excited about our upcoming Stateside assignment! But we are nervous and excited at the same time. Some of my good friends have shared these two poems on their blogs and I wanted to share them too! They perfectly describe the emotions and feelings that not only our children have, but us as well! This will also help you to know how to pray for us!


I Am Green

I grew up in Blue Country
My parents grew up in Yellow Country
They tell me I am Yellow
And sometimes we go and visit Yellow Country
When I am in Yellow Country
I go to school with the Yellow kids.
I dress like the Yellow kids
And I talk like the Yellow kids.
but when I am in Blue Country
I go to school with the Blue kids.
I dress like the Blue kids
And I talk like the Blue kids.
Sometimes when I am in Yellow Country
I really miss the Blue ways.
I guess that the things I do and say,
Are really rather Bluish in color
In the same way, when I am in blue Country
There are things I miss about Yellow Country.
And I am sure the things I do and say
Appear rather Yellowish in color.
All this changing around is so confusing
Blue or Yellow? Who am I really?
I wonder if there is a place where I could just be me,
Where the Blue and the Yellow could both run free.
Sometimes when I am flying between the two places
I want to stay up there in the middle of all the races.
If only I could stop some place in between
If only I could just be GREEN!



Timbuktu Will Have to Do

"Where are you from?" you glibly ask
Where am I from? I slightly frown....
that depends....
on how much you want to know
how long your attention span
on whether you care
or just need something to say...
It depends
also
on how I feel today
-sure of myself or hesitant
-competent or lonely
-cynical or wanting to belong
Should I say-
your eyes give me no clue-
the last place I lived?
or where I lived the longest?
or where my parents live now?
or where I was born?
Should I tell you all the places I've lived?
in order? and how long? and why?
Or shall I pick a name out of the blue
Timbuktu
and see how you respond?
I am from God's earth-just now
a sojourner and wanderer
and you cannot put what I know
or who I am
into a box
by thinking you know "where I am from."
The question poses an enormous problem for me
Yet it is understandable that you ask
It is not wrong of you to ask....
People ask it every day....
But you stand there awaiting my answer
Hesitancy forming in your eyes
And I should not be uncivil
After all, you asked...
I think, today, I will say
"Timbuktu"
and see what you do.