The Helgren Five

The Science of Peanuts

2012-02-13T20:29:00.000+02:00

Growing up in the South, I knew all about how to eat boiled peanuts and how to cook them at a pretty young age. This time of the year there are fresh peanuts and our kids love when we boil peanuts. Today, I watched Lauren and Easton eat their peanuts and my heart was so happy to see them open them perfectly with their teeth without damaging the peanut inside! Last year, they destroyed the shell and the peanut and it was bad! My little Southern heart was so happy at this little thing that my kiddos have learned!!!

See?? Perfect peanut after opening!

Can you tell that they love boiled peanuts???

What Day Is It??

2012-02-13T20:13:00.001+02:00

"How many days until we go to Lusaka?" "How many days until my birthday?" We were so excited when Mamie sent them their own calendars! We put the events for this month on the calendar marked with special stickers to know that they when and what is coming up! Who knew a calendar could bring so much happiness?!

The Keepers of Our Door

2012-02-07T16:01:00.000+02:00

Had to snap this shot of Summer and Higgins napping during the rain shower today...great doggies!

Hoodies and Popcicles

2012-02-05T11:18:00.000+02:00

I will let the picture speak for itself....but the only thing is....it was 80 degrees and they were in hoodies, but never too cold for a popcicle!

14 Days of Love

2012-02-05T11:12:00.002+02:00

I love my kids! And I tell them each day! I wanted to find a super special way to show them for the days leading up to Valentine's Day that I love very specific things about them. Today is the 5th of February so there are five hearts. But on Valentine's Day they will have 14. They love getting up to find their new heart each morning! I am even doing 14 hearts for Kendall! I found this idea on Pinterest from a friend and had to do it this year! Maybe a new family tradition!! Happy Love Month!

Lily's first 5 days of love for 2012

Easton's love...

Lauren's first 5 days of love

Snowball and Lulu

2011-12-22T08:52:00.000+02:00

The word for rabbit in Chinyanja is kalulu. Well, for Christmas our kids received two kalulu! Kendall had been checking around town and found a lady that was selling them. Yesterday, he snuck out to go and buy the kids their Christmas presents! The kids were so excited! Of course the first order of business was naming the rabbits. Snowball and Carrots were the first names. Then we settled on Snowball and Lulu. Lulu had a little adventure jumping around the yard and went right into a cactus in our front yard. So for about 20 minutes, Kendall and I used tape to pull out the fine hair thorns. For several hours after we kept finding them in our clothes and they would randomly appear on our hands. Needless to say, Lulu was not held very much yesterday because of the thorns. ( I think that he/she was a smart kalulu.) Kendall and Rabson built a great pen for the rabbits and they are happy. The funniest thing is that our dog, Summer, is incredibly protective of the rabbits and will not let the other two dogs anywhere near the fence. She slept by the pen yesterday and is quite the mother kalulu!

Lily holding Snowball

Lulu...loving the fact that the kids can't hold her because of the thorns!

Summer watching Kendall dig the last hole for the final post of the pen. She was already watching over those rabbits!

Snowball was hungry and Easton loves these rabbits and would stay there all day and night if we would let him!

A Simple Nativity

2011-12-22T08:17:00.001+02:00

Yesterday's Christmas craft were these fun, easy, and cute nativity scenes! The kids loved making these. I had to help them with the hot glue and the garland on the angels, but everything else they did! Popsicle sticks, paint pens, and glitter glue. You can't tell by the picture but the angels robes are made of glitter glue! I found the idea on Pinterest and the link to the idea creator is below!

Easton's nativity

Lily's nativity

Lauren's nativity

Idea came from this blog: http://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/astudentatmamauniversity/nativity-crafts-for-kids-popsicle-stick-nativity

Gingerbread House and Nerd Snow!

2011-12-20T13:41:00.000+02:00

Our precious friends sent us a Gingerbread House kit from the States and for craft time today the kids decorated it! I was pretty impressed at how well they did! And the best part about this craft is that they ate all of the "scraps" off of the table! Fast, easy, and efficient clean up!

"Tan I Dew Da Dishes, Mama?"

2011-12-16T15:59:00.000+02:00

Everyday, as I turn on the faucet to begin washing dishes...I petite little girl with big brown eyes and a big smile pulls up a stool and says, "Mama, tan I dew da dishes?" With delight I accept her request and she works until they are done.

Easy and Fun Initials

2011-12-10T14:48:00.001+02:00

I got this fun, easy, and neat idea from Pinterest! (http://evie-s.com/news/2011/01/24/diy-yarn-wrapped-monograms/) I had to try it since I had all of the materials. All you need is cardboard, yarn, and hot glue! Simply cut out the letter or letters you want, then hot glue the end of the yarn to the back and wrap away! I had so much fun doing this for the kids and start to finish was about 1 1/2 hours!

Lily

Easton

Lauren

SOS....from Timeout

2011-12-02T15:28:00.001+02:00

Lily hardly ever gets put in timeout. Well, she did this week. After she had been allowed to come out of timeout, Easton produced 5 letters that Lily had written during her "imprisonment" and passed them through the window to him to give to me. The best one got thrown away and it said, "Easton, please tell Mama to let me out, I am bored! PLEASE!" These were two of the notes I found today. I love the picture of the wedding cake with Kendall and I on top. Funny girl.

Insect Expeditions

2011-11-18T15:49:00.001+02:00

Every morning, my precious little boy ventures out into the wilderness (our backyard) to begin his insect expeditions. And without fail, within 10 minutes he has at least 3-4 kinds of bugs in his "Easton" bug catcher. He truly has a gift of finding those little critters quite quickly. Yesterday, I was even pretty fascinated with one of the grasshoppers he had found! At first he didnt look like a grasshopper but sure enough...he was! I love the dirt on Easton's face and the grit under his fingernails, that shows that he had a hard morning of work!

Easton does the "hunting" and Lily joins in on the entertaining of the critters!

Here is the little guy!

Spot It!!

2011-11-18T15:37:00.001+02:00

When we were in Lusaka we played a new game with several missionary friends called Spot It! It is such a fun game that I went home and bought it and my Mama sent it in the packages that we received this week! Each Friday after we finish school we have game time for about 2 hours. Last night, the kids could not wait to play the new game! I wasn't sure how Lauren would do, but I was so surprised that she liked it and played so well! It is the kids new favorite game and I love to play it with them!

The object of the game is to spot similar objects on other players cards and your own. There are 4 variations to the game and it is great! The company that makes it is called Blue Orange.

Coloring Picnic

2011-11-16T20:00:00.001+02:00

On Saturday when there was no electricity and it was pretty steamy in the house, we moved outside. I sat in my hammock chair and read a book and the next thing I know the kids have their coloring books and crayons outside having a great time. Easton quickly informed me that they were having a coloring picnic! Gotta love it!

Fun In Lusaka

2011-11-16T19:54:00.001+02:00

Kendall went to South Africa for a meeting and while he was gone we stayed in Lusaka. It was the best time for our kids because several other missionaries families came into Lusaka too!! This was a fun picture that I snapped one day when we took the kids to swim at the Olympic Pool in Lusaka! It is so fun to see all of these missionary kids loving on each other!!! What a blessing!
On another note, isn't it funny that all of them have blonde or dirty blonde hair?! They really do look related!

Look What We Found!!

2011-09-22T09:12:00.001+02:00

Kendall and the kids took a field trip to the boma (town) church plot. He wanted to show the kids what it looked like since it is clean now and the tall grass is gone. They came home red faced, dirty, sweaty, and with a treasure in their hands! They found these huge shells at the plot and were so happy! We all couldn't believe how big they were!

Splitting Hairs

2011-09-21T10:05:00.000+02:00

I am going to put Lauren's thoughts (or how I perceive them) into words in regards to her hair.

"Oh come on Mom, seriously, do you have to put those bands, clips, and bows in my hair? I mean, I really prefer for my bangs to hang over my eyes so that I can hide the dirt on my forehead! And it is so much more fun to push the hair out of my face with muddy hands so that I leave an abstract work of art on my face. So to make your life more difficult, I am going to remove the hair "clippies" every hour just to get a rise out of you and to see what device you will put in next! HA!"

Well, after a Skype conversation with D-Daddy, he made a great observation stating that her hair-do was an accessory to the attitude and awesome personality (emphasis and desciptive words added by me). So, for D-Daddy and my sake, I implemented the 5 rubber band hair-do yesterday! It went over well and she only removed 3 of the bands! Today, we are attempting "braid piggies" as he Daddy calls them!

The Amazing A

2011-09-21T09:35:00.001+02:00

Being the youngest can be hard sometimes, especially when you are on the brink of brilliance and your Mama is trying to learn to homeschool a 1st grader and Kindergartener. I mean, come on MOM, I need my brain fed as well!
This Mama is struggling at times to be diligent in "teaching" our littlest Lauren. Monday was better and we have been working on the letter "A". We read "The A Book" and as I read the book, Lauren kept saying, "Ants advance! Ants advance!" After we read we made a picture about the story that we read. She told me some of the things that the ants advanced over, I drew them and she colored! Of course we had to have ants too! After the completion of a big task like this, she had to have her picture taken with her masterpiece! Pray that I can be diligent to feed her little brain and not neglect to teach Lauren too!

Lauren told me that the ants advanced over the apple, acorn, and the apartments on Avenue A!

Bat, Mat, Pat...The Genesis of Reading

2011-09-21T09:21:00.000+02:00

It was a big day at our house on Monday! Easton READ his first three words on his own! I wish that I could have made a video of him reading, he was so excited as he sounded out the three letter words with such care. Then when he put the three letters together and made a word, his expression was indescribable! He beamed with such excitement and joy! I was elated and so proud of him! In his curriculum, Veritas Press, they knew that it was a big deal too and he got to sign his name to a certificate saying that he read his first three words: bat, mat, and pat! Mama Helgren signed off on his certificate making it official! He was so excited! Homeschooling has its ups and downs, but Monday was definately an UP day for all of us!

After reading his first three words, he made "G" googles! I was so proud of him because he cut out the "g" with such care! Yahoo for a big boy who really loves learning!!!

Infinity, Google, 100, Aren't Just Numbers To Me

2011-09-21T09:01:00.001+02:00

Before we left America, Easton came up to me and said, "Mama did you know that google is the highest number?"

I said,"huh? Where did you learn that?" I then learned that Lily's friend, Kendyl, taught it to her when they visited us in Georgia! Well, I learned something from Kendyl via my children that google is the highest known number. If you know my kiddos, they wanted to know more! So, we told them that infinity never ends! They loved that!
Everyday, one of our kids says this phrase, "Infinity, google, one hundred" in regards to something. This morning I woke up and Lauren hugged me and said, "Mama, I love you infinity, google, one hundred!" To anyone else, it may sound crazy but to me that means that "I can't find any other words to describe the depth of my love."

Best Accessory To An Outfit...Dirt

2011-09-11T11:53:00.000+02:00

At the end of the day, we know that she has had fun by the amount of dirt caked onto her and her clothes!

Homefront Update

2011-09-07T16:29:00.000+02:00

So many things have been going on at home lately and I have just really enjoyed seeing our kids grow and change and God is really teaching me how to appreciate and love them in unique ways. I can't believe how big they are getting up and how grown up! Here are some fun things that have been going on lately!

Lauren loves to help in the kitchen and I try to find little jobs for her to do that really do help me! Well, I went out on a big limb and taught her how to peel carrots. She did an awesome job! As I left her peeling, I turned back around to see if she was doing okay and she was taking a bowl from the drying rack to peel into so that she didn't make a mess on the counter.

Lily has been learning in school and this week we talked about strip maps in Geography. We learned that they were one of the first forms of maps. Lily made a strip map showing the way from our house to the Nyimba bus station!

Our house is at the bottom, as you travel "west" you pass the small houses, the tall grass, the big tree, the MTN (cell phone network) tower, the "apple" man, the Nyimba council, police, government offices, and the petrol (gas) station! The destination she chose was the bus station! I love her bus that she drew and cut out! It is so neat to see their creativity!

Every morning our kiddos have chores and they love doing them! I just love that every morning, Easton likes to put on his rain boots to feed the dogs and chickens. The morning that I snapped this picture, I stood at the kitchen window and watched Easton as he laughed at the dogs and chased the chickens around the yard. It brought a huge amount of joy to his mama's heart!

Caution: Lauren At Work!

2011-08-23T19:50:00.000+02:00

I had to snap these pictures today of Lauren doing her school work. No her hair is not perfect, because she did it for school, but that is one thing I love about this! She is so precious and she just colored her animal workbook page so well! I wish that I could have recorded all that she was saying when I took these pictures!

A Simple Conversation

2011-08-20T19:24:00.000+02:00

Lauren curled up beside me in the bed this morning and hugged my neck and curled up to fit right next to me. She lay quietly as she looked up at the pictures on top of our window. She put her nose on mine and said,"Is that your married day?"
I answered, "yes, those are pictures of the day that I married Daddy!"
She said, "OH! You marry in Woosaka (Lusaka)?"
I said, "nope, we weren't married in Lusaka."
She quickly asked,"oh you marry in Nyimba?!"
I answered, "No. Do you remember Georgia?"
Lauren said, "I do wemember Goyjah! Do you go to the marry day in the Land Cruiser?"
I answered, "No, we didn't have the Land Cruiser then. I went to the church in a car!"
She said, "Was it the Land Cruiser?"
I answered, "Nope. I went in Mamie's car!"
She was amazed that Mamie took me to the church to get married!
It was a fun conversation that then moved to the things that God created and why our nostrils are dark inside and what "lives" in there! I love the conversations with my kids that are like this. She is so inquisitive and likes to know who, what, when, where, and how! Thank you Lord or sweet conversations in the cool and quiet of the early morning with a precious child on my pillow with me.

Kendall and me on our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico. Praise the Lord for a husband who loves me and for the awesome children that HE has blessed us with!

Ridin' In The Truck

2011-07-30T21:50:00.001+02:00

We are so thankful for the truck that God gave us!

It is much better than riding on a bus!

We spend a lot of time on the road.

The roads we travel have tarmac or dirt, but when there are many potholes it can be a bear on our load.

We travel to Lusaka to see friends, get supplies, and eat some great food!

We love to go to the village and no matter how we feel, we always leave in a great mood!

Most of the time we travel without DVDs and without the radio too!

We make up fun songs and games to give us something to do!

Daddy makes up songs that helps the time go by fast.

We make sure to spread out eating our snacks to make sure that they last!

As we pass through the mountains, monkeys we do see!

But to see the Luangwa Bridge we are all filled with much glee!

The roads they wind and they turn.

And as the miles go by we see grass as it burns.

When we arrive in Chongwe we know we are close.

And we all begin to decide what restaurant we want to eat at most.

We love our big white truck and the places we go.

The fun times we have are plenty, the time we spend is much, but we love to travel that is all we know!

Dancing Princess

2011-07-30T21:08:00.001+02:00

Recently, the kids were visiting with another missionary family and they asked each of our kids what they want to be when they grow up. Lauren's answer was this, "I want to be the big princess to a little princess." Today, she told her D-Daddy that right now she is a little princess (as she squats to the floor to show little) but when she gets big she is going to be a BIG princess (as she jumps in the air)! When our friend was here she took these precious pictures of Easton dancing with his princess sister!

Tuckered Out

2011-07-16T10:56:00.000+02:00

After a long day of playing...she just couldn't stay awake any longer!

It Really Does Get Cold

2011-07-04T22:02:00.000+02:00

No, I did not put the thermometer clock in the fridge before I took this picture!! It DOES get cold in Nyimba! This was actually taken on June 30..not July 30 like the clock says!

A Window In Her Mouth

2011-06-28T16:22:00.000+02:00

Welp, Lily is really growing up now! She lost her bottom two teeth in America. Then last Sunday, Kendall assisted in the pulling of her front top tooth. Two days later, while she was playing with her brothers and sisters the other one got knocked out! Tada! No tears just a bunch of laughter that she has a window! Last night she was talking to Easton about losing teeth and she said, "Well, I mean it's just something that happens in life, everyone has to go through it! You will too!" Hilarious!

New Additions

2011-06-28T16:04:00.000+02:00

We love chickens! Kendall could not wait to get some new chickens so one morning Easton, Kendall, and Jumbe set out to find us some chickens. About 45 minutes later they came home with three new chickens. My sweet friend, Amai Maseko, gave us a chicken to say "Welcome back to Zambia" and we named it "Little Maseko". The other chickens came from Paul's village. When Easton walked up to the door he screamed, "WE GOT THESE CHICKENS FROM DA BILLAGE!!" This was the sight I saw. He was grinning and holding his chicken that he has named Lettuce!

I love this picture. It is typical of our life here! When something exciting happens, Zeria comes out of her house, and whatever friends we have over come to see the action too!

Easton wanted Lettuce to meet everyone officially at their new home!

We had to keep Shadow away from the new chickens.

Rabson and Jumbe were quite entertained by all of the commotion!

My Bug Man

2011-06-15T19:00:00.000+02:00

Well, we have been in Nyimba for about a week and a half and my precious boy, Easton, has already jumped back in to gathering bugs to play with. He loves to catch grasshoppers, beetles, and worms. I just love the fact that he can have a biology lesson in our backyard!

Lily Turned SIX!!!

2010-12-14T21:37:00.000+02:00

We cannot believe that our little girl has lost two teeth, is learning to read, can ride a bike without training wheels, and is SIX years old! We had such a fun day on December 2, celebrating Lily's birth!

Opening presents from Mamie and D-Daddy!

Lily's favorite...steak!

PawPaw and Lily!

It's tradition that you cannot see your cake until it is time to blow out the candles and she was so excited!

Gramsie with the non-birthday kiddos! Trying to keep them out of the cake!

Sweet Miss Katherine!

Keepin' Up With the Joneses

2010-11-27T02:22:00.000+02:00

We are so blessed to have a wonderful family all the way around! Our family was so excited when Kayla and McKenzie came to see us in Comanche! They came to see us the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we wore them out with FUN! When they came we went to the Ranch and rode 4-wheelers, went looking for arrowheads at the canyon, McKenzie caught frogs at the tank, and we had a great time playing with the cat tails at the tank too! Later that night they helped me cook dinner and carrot apple muffins for Thanksgiving. We also played some Phase 10 and just had a great time laughing and enjoying each other!

McKenzie and Kayla

Our mode of transportation around the ranch!

The cows were quite mad at us because we shooed them away from the tank so that we could play!

The kids thought it was the neatest thing! Oh the simplicity of nature and the fun we can find!

Easton got Kayla with a cat tail and he laughed so hard!

Kendall kept the "Texas Snow" coming!

Lauren LOVES "Tenzie"

Church Clothes

2010-11-27T01:54:00.000+02:00

The kids were so excited this past Sunday when we got up because they were going to get to wear their new "pretty" church clothes! The people in the neighborhood probably thought that we were crazy for taking their pictures but this was their first Sunday at our "home church" in Comanche and the first time to wear their new church clothes. Lauren was the funniest because after church she cried because she didn't want to take off her "priddy toes" (pretty clothes). Kendall convinced her to change and told her that she could wear her pretty shoes still! She was happy then!

The First High School Football Game

2010-11-23T18:10:00.000+02:00

We took the kids to their first Texas High School football game this past Friday. Brownwood played Bridgeport in a Regional game. Brownwood is the town 23 miles from Comanche and we wanted to cheer them on! The night was cool and PERFECT football weather! I had to take the camera along to document this "first" for the kids! We even had popcorn from the concession stand!

The kids first glimpse at the field!

The girls loved the cheerleaders and Lily really liked the part where "the boy throws the ball a long way!"

Our friend, Amanda, was there for the festivities! It was a blast!

Brownwood warming up! Go Lions!

As we watched the game, I had so many memories of watching football games from the time I was a little girl through college. Kendall and I love football and the kids really loved the game too!!

FISH!

2010-11-23T17:59:00.000+02:00

While we were in Corpus Christi we took the kids to the Texas State Aquarium! They had a BLAST seeing the fish, turtles, frogs, otters, and other aquatic animals! It was so fun to see the excitement on their faces as we ventured through the "sea".

The Helgren's at the aquarium! So fun to have all of us together!

Paw Paw and Gramsie with the Grands!

The kids got to hold a pencil urchin! Lily loved it and Easton threw his back in the water after I snapped his picture!

Lauren could have lingered all day long at each of the tanks. She loved the fish and everything that she saw!

Lookin' for the frogs!

We all wanted to see what wingspan we had! The kids weren't even a red-tailed hawk!

Kendall was close to a turkey vulture!

We didn't make it to the USS Lexington but it was neat to see from the aquarium!

Of course the otters gave us a fun show!

We got to pet the sting rays then see the diver feed the fish. We were happy to have our picture taken with him too!

The last fish we saw were "Nemo" and "Dory"!

4-wheelers and Uncle Deron

2010-11-16T06:16:00.000+02:00

When we got to Comanche the kids were so excited to get to go to the ranch! They had heard about it for a long time and couldn't WAIT to see what it was all about. When we got there, Gramsie showed them the cows, the salt blocks and the huge tubs of liquid feed or molasses that the cows liked to eat! Well, a few days later we took them back to the ranch and they found out that Uncle Deron had a 4-wheeler that they would get to ride! I had the best time seeing them smile and laugh all around the yard! Needless to say, everytime we enter the gate to the ranch now they ask, "can we ride the 4-wheelers today?!"

The girls loved being in the cool air out at Sipe Springs!

Lauren waited patiently for her turn!

Lily just smiled and soaked it all in!

Easton talked and talked and yelled the whole ride!

Lauren laughed the whole time she rode with Deron. He would ask her how she was and she just giggled!

Stayin' Cool

2010-10-17T21:18:00.000+02:00

It is summertime in Zambia and we have had some good fun keeping cool!

This was our "after the sprinkler" picnic in Nyimba.

Jello Stars are the kids new favorite snack. Each morning I make them and in the heat of the afternoon they have a fun snack!

Easton loved swimming with his daddy at Protea this Saturday! We had such an awesome time as a family. It was a great time of relaxation and enjoyment!

Lauren could have cared less about swimming, there was a bushbuck wanting to swim too!

Still swimmin'!

The girls, we chilled in the shade and had some snacks before our yummy lunch was served to us by the pool! We left that day so relaxed and ready to head home and complete our packing so that we can head to America!

The Highway

2010-10-01T19:10:00.000+02:00

I love to take random pictures of our life here in Zambia. I love taking pictures when we are driving because things that have become so normal to us are not normal to all people. Today, I snapped these shots on the Great East Road that runs from Lusaka, past our house in Nyimba all of the way to the Malawi border. There is always excitement on the road as we travel! Here are some snaps of our highway, it is a far cry from an American highway!

Everything is so dry and you can see for miles! I saw so many villages that I have never seen before today.

If you have never driven overseas, you probably have never seen a speedometer in kilometers! The speed limit on this road is 120 km/h.

Way in the distance is a man on a bike, this is not unusual to have animals, people, or broken down trucks on the road.

This carpenter makes great things. We have bought from him before! Doors, tables, sofas, and chairs for sale!

This is part of the town of Minga Stop...although the supermarket is named "Nyimba Supermarket".

One of the many villages we pass.

A Tragedy With Scissors

2010-09-30T17:19:00.000+02:00

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

2010-09-27T16:28:00.000+02:00

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

2010-09-25T15:56:00.000+02:00

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

2010-09-25T15:38:00.000+02:00

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"

2010-09-25T15:24:00.000+02:00

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.

What's That Sound???

2010-08-24T21:04:00.000+02:00

One morning Kendall was heading outside to run when all of the sudden he looked and a swarm of bees were flying around our lime trees. After about 15 minutes of the mayhem they settled into one of the trees. This is not the first time that this has happened in our yard, but the first time that I have had the guts to get this close to get a good picture! I failed to take a picture of Kendall covered up and killing them with fire. Oh that was fun!

Dad Wins!

2010-08-04T16:56:00.000+02:00

Daddy Tractor Pull

2010-08-02T17:10:00.001+02:00

Kendall decided that a good way to workout and hang out with the kids was to push and pull them around our yard!

Galinda

2010-07-26T18:56:00.000+02:00

Last night, we had an unusual and awesome surprise in Nyimba...RAIN! It is quite unusual to have rain this time of year but it was awesome! After the rains stopped, the bugs came out! This morning when we woke up and looked out onto our back porch, we saw the most beautiful moth we had ever seen. "She" was green, purple, and pink! She was still alive, so Lily decided that she needed to adopt her for the day! She carried "Galinda" around all day long. When it was time for school she put her inside a little lamp that we have that is in the shape of a house so that Galinda could take a nap! After school, she took her back outside to "play". As I was working on our newsletter, Lily came and and put Galinda on my arm and I about wigged out! It was hilarious! Oh the joys of having an abundance of random wildlife in our yard and the memories that come with it!

Dress Up...

2010-07-26T18:20:00.000+02:00


After watching "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" they decided to be a prince and princesses and dance around the house!

I love the dirt on Lauren's face it just really adds something to the picture?! No picture is complete in our family without a smudge of something on their faces!

Bus Station Picnic

2010-07-23T13:57:00.000+02:00

Kendall traveled to Mozambique today and I knew that we needed to get out of the house for a little fun! Our town, Nyimba, has a nice new bus station! The kids are always wanting to get out and walk so we took a little "field trip". We got ready and walked to the bus station that is about a kilometer from our house. When we got to the bus station we bought sausage, chicken, french fries, and our favorite "softies" (Apple Max and Hubbly Bubbly a.k.a. "Bubble Gum Flavored") We found a nice bench under a shade tree and had a picnic at the bus station! I am sure people thought that we were nuts because we went to have picnic there instead of waiting for the bus! Who cares, we had a great time and on the way home we got chocolate lollipops!

"PICNIC!!!!", Easton yelled!!

"A Max and Cheetun!", Lauren said!

"Cheese!", Lily said!

What a fun lunch!

On the way home, I looked over and Lauren had her chocolate lolly in her mouth, with Easton's hat on just as happy as a lark! She loved it!

Oh Gee....

2010-07-23T13:38:00.000+02:00

As I am preparing a scrumptious Mexican dinner from scratch with my good friend Kim, I am interupted by the sound of my son saying, "Mama wook what YewWee did to me!" Just then I turned to see a little boy that looked like he had been painted up to join the circus or join the mime troup! As I peer down the hallway I see two more faces and Lily saying, "Mama! We did it to each other!" Was I mad, yes, probably because I had just told them not to go in my room because I had suntan lotion out and old diaper rash cream! I was mad because they disobeyed. I went to the office to inform my sweet husband of the goings on in the den. When Easton came into the office for Kendall to see him, all Kendall could do was cover his face and laugh. His response was, "I am trying not to laugh, but you HAVE to take a picture of that!" Then we both busted out laughing. Some things will be, I guess and we can't win 'em all!

Yeah, that is Desitin (diaper rash cream) all over my little "mimes"!

Easton Braving the Flying Fox

2010-07-12T15:46:00.000+02:00

Lily Braving the Flying Fox

2010-07-12T15:44:00.000+02:00

Lauren and her Sweeties

2010-07-03T10:30:00.000+02:00

"Hot Candee, Mom...Hot Candy!" This was Lauren with her cotton candy at the Last Saturday Market. It was as big as she was!!

Lauren with iced "Toffee" (coffee) in Livingstone!

She LOVES her toffee!!!

Our Amazing Time with Kayla...

2010-07-01T15:44:00.001+02:00

We are so blessed to have had 10 days to spend with Kayla in Zambia! We did so many things that I could blog for a day about all of our adventures! The pictures below will tell the story of Kayla's first trip to Africa and what an awesome time we had! We are so blessed to have a cousin that loves the Lord and feels called to serve Him as a missionary one day! Praise the Lord for the blessing of family and GREAT times together!

She cooked a traditional Zambian meal of nshima and Chinese rape!

And she baked cinnamon rolls complete with icing!

She ate sugar cane with Mr. Henry Chipanga.

She ate nshima and pork at Daisy and Henry Chipanga's house!

After lunch, we picked cotton in the Chipanga's field.

Then we helped the Chipanga's shuck corn!

We said goodbye to the Chipanga's and they sent her away with groundnuts!

Our next stop on our day in the village was to visit Kawere Village where our dear friend, Bertha lives! Kayla wanted to carry water on her head, and I knew that Bertha was the perfect teacher, because she taught me!

Kayla was awesome and didn't spill one drop!

We said goodbye to Bertha and Cynthia and headed back home after a long but fun day in Petauke!

Our kids love Kayla and she was so sweet to spend time reading them their favorite books!

The next day, we visited one of our Peace Corps friends, Tabatha, at her home at Ndake. Tabatha works with the Ndake Basic School. We got to meet the head teacher and visit with a few of the 700 students.

We went to Tabatha's home and met her Zambian family that takes great care of her!

Then we headed to Lusaka where she met several missionary families that live and serve in Zambia! We had a birthday cookout for a missionary kid, Abby!

We went to the Last Saturday Market and ate burritos and other yummy food!

On Sunday, we began our journey to Victoria Falls. We arrived, ate lunch, and went right to the Falls for our Zambezi River Bath!

Ellen, Lily, Kayla, and Lauren explored the scene with David Livingstone!

This was Kayla's face when she first saw the Falls! It was awesome to be with her, she was so excited!

We got really wet!

The next day we had an adrenaline filled day! It began with Abseil...

Then the flying fox...

And the grand finale was the gorge swing!!!

A free fall of 53 meters or 57 yards before ever feeling the jerk of the rope!

We saw animals, like this crocodile named "Brainless". He has eaten three people and was brought to this crocodile farm!

And she held a crocodile!

A mama giraffe washing her baby!

Impala

And the sun beginning to set over the Zambezi River.

Lauren was Kayla's buddy the whole time!

Before she left we had to see the Falls one more time! This time we had a beautiful rainbow and awesome views of the river and the falls!

We all enjoyed having Kayla here, especially her second cousin, Kendall!

COME BACK REALLY SOON, KAYLA!!!

Catchin' Up with the Kiddos

2010-07-01T14:13:00.000+02:00

Easton always finds way to entertain himself with the simplest of things!

And he knows where to find the food! He was caught in the act!

Lauren sitting with Zeria at church on Sunday morning at the Nyimba Youth Meeting.

Lily loves to play!

The little boys wanted to play with Easton, and he wasn't so sure!

While we went to baptism, Zeria stayed behind to feed the kids a lunch of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Easton told us, "MREs are my FAVORITE food!" The Zambian children were entertained by their lunch.

Easton taught Tiffany how to hand wash her clothes!

Tada! All done and my socks are white again!

Lily washed too!

Easton found another "road" for his cars!

Lauren loved the see-saw at Protea in Lusaka! She laughed the whole time!

Waitin' for church to start!

Easton's photography!

The Free Fall of a Lifetime!!!

2010-06-29T20:56:00.003+02:00

On our vacation to Victoria Falls, Kayla and I took on the Gorge Swing. I said all day long that I would not do it, but after abseil, and the flying fox, I was ready for the swing! It took a bit to get my heart and my mind in sync before this "swing" but it was awesome! The ride is like nothing I have experienced before! We free fell for 53 meters/58 yards/174 feet before we felt the jerk of the rope! We then enjoyed the swing across the gorge, it was awesome! So awesome that we did it AGAIN! Later that night, we had a hard time going to sleep because we always felt like we were falling. Our bodies were tingling and our hearts would race. This is an experience that I will NEVER forget!

Fun with Friends

2010-06-25T09:22:00.000+02:00

When we were in Lusaka to pick up Kayla, we had a great time with the Bowman Family. Josh, Amy, Caleb, Abby, Anna, and Luke. God has blessed us immensely with their friendship over the past three years. We are so thankful for the love and laughter that we have shared with one another. God has called the Bowman's to another place in the world to serve Him! We are going to miss them tremendously but SO happy that we got to visit and play one more time before they leave in July!

The kids playing Toilet Tag at the Guest House in Lusaka!

Abby, Lauren, Easton, Anna, Lily, and Caleb

Abby and Lily are sweet friends, we are going to miss the Bowman's!

Anna and Lily are so much alike and just laugh the whole time that they are together!

Look at the extremes of emotion in this picture of all of the Helgren and Bowman kiddos! Lauren is clapping and Luke is bawling! We love you, Bowman Family and will miss you in Zambia but you will always be in our prayers!

Back at Plot 418/419 Nyimba

2010-05-30T11:10:00.000+02:00

What's going on at our house? Well, the usual. Having fun enjoying these nice cool days and just enjoying our family!! Here's a peek at what we have been up to since we got home from Johannesburg!

Kendall and Higgins are still playing Hide and Seek to begin their playtime!

Lauren is growing so fast and as Zeria would say, "she is speaking everything now!" After this picture, she looked at me and said, "mwa see, mwa see!" I think that is a mix of Me Want To See! Ha!

I have missed taking pictures of my kids. I love it, I really enjoy the time that I have to capture these precious moments with them.

It is so fun to take silly pictures! Look at the kids! Crazy! Each time we took a picture they wanted to see it, then we just laughed like crazy and did it again. So, I tried to get a picture of us all laughing...priceless.

Summer was not amused at our shenanigans!

THOMAS TIME

Easton got a NEW Thomas train set from his Great Aunt Sissie! He played with it all afternoon and hasn't stopped.

LAUREN AND THE CHICKENS

Lauren still loves the chickens. She and Easton love to take them and put them on the trampoline and jump up and down with them on the trampoline. I guess they want to see if they will lay scrambled eggs. But I wish you could hear Lauren say, "chicken". It sounds more like "cheetun".

Yeah, I know, she is pouring their food on the ground, but you know that with chickens that is where it ends up anyway!

"Here you doe cheetuns!"

Big smile, full of dirt, and full of happiness!

Next project. We had so many mosquitos in our house and yard and we couldn't figure out what was going on. Kendall had been praying that the Lord would show him where the problem was so we could get rid of the mosquitos. He went to the chicken house and sprayed and about 100 mosquitos flew out and 3 huge rats were living in the roof. Needless to say, we burned the roof off. The hens were puzzled and were talking like crazy that day and the next morning. As Zeria said, "the chickens were walking around saying, 'where's our house?'" Ha! Lauren was helping Daddy figure the new arrangement out.

LILY AND THE AVOCADO TREE, HER HAPPY PLACE

OUR "FAMILYCOMING" IN JOHANNESBURG

We were all so excited to be reunited as a family in Jo'burg. It had been 17 since we had all been together. Lauren and I had fun surprises waiting for everyone, including cold weather, grass to play in, and McDonald's!

Lily and Easton missed Lauren and the feeling was mutual! There was no crying or fighting for at least 5 days!

I was a happy Mama!

Lauren and Easton laid in the grass like this talking for a while. Mostly they just laughed at each other and smiled. They are more than brother and sister, they are friends.

A Sweet Easter

2010-04-04T21:17:00.000+02:00

Today was my most favorite Easter's ever. I think it was so amazing because it was so chill and our kids really had a great time having an egg hunt and we had a lovely Easter dinner. The most important part of the day, we had a great time of worship with our family and our kids really began to understand the TRUE meaning of Easter!

Before the egg hunt began!

Lauren's first egg hunt was a success! This is her first bite of the candy she found! Another first come and gone.

Goody gifts from Gramsie!

Who do you think is behind this shirt?!

Pure joy and excitement...she was happy about her chocolate bunny!

In this picture, they were yelling, "HAPPY EASTER!!!"

Precious baby girl...

New Wheels

2010-04-04T20:44:00.001+02:00

All of the kids got some new wheels when we were in Lusaka. Lily got her first bike, Easton got a "rotorcycle", and Lauren, well, she loves watching everyone and playing with the handmade John Deere tractor we got! Another first has come and gone in my kids lives, where does time go?

Easton follows right behind Lily all day long!

Funny Sign

2010-04-01T08:13:00.000+02:00

There are some funny signs here in Africa, but I saw this on a bulletin board at the grocery store and had to laugh. Can you see why this sign made our whole family chuckle?

Boerboels are dogs....

But what about the parents?!

Sunshine, Grass, Beetles, Mice, and FUN!

2010-03-13T15:26:00.000+02:00

We have had a crazy, fun week with loads of excitement! I left the camera out all week because there was just so much going on that I couldn't resist snapping pictures. I took 162 pictures this week! Some of them are priceless, others went right to the trash! Enjoy the collage of our week!

The kids love to play with these red and black beetles! They treat them like pets once they catch them!

The sun came out followed by hot days! I got really sunburned in 1 hour that I was in the sun one morning. All of my kiddos are now a bit "sunkissed" as well!

Summer was happy about the green grass, cool breezes, and the sunshine!

All of nature was "buzzing"!

At about 9 a.m. I was thinking to myself how the day was just going to be a relaxing day and that I would need to find something fun for the kids to do. Just then, Kendall yells, "JOY! Come here!" I ran from the porch to find that Paul had 13 baby mice on a box that had been born a few minutes before. A few minutes later, he found three more, then the two mothers and a daddy. It was a day of hide and seek mice in our yard!

Everyone was intrigued by the baby mice.

After an afternoon of studying and napping, we had a great time in our beautiful green grass under the shade tree.

My four of my most treasured possessions.

I wish you could hear the laugh behind that smile!

Pure joy, happiness, and simple fun.

One Rainy Day

2010-03-06T08:12:00.000+02:00

The day that we were preparing to go to Lusaka, Kendall had several things that he needed to do in order to prepare the truck to travel. The rain poured all day long, but that didn't stop him! He took advantage of the water to wash the truck! When I walked outside to find him, I saw that he was washing the truck in the rain and I had to document this day with some pictures!

He was drenched after washing the truck and quite chilly too!

When it rains our carport and yard flood and it is crazy, once again, some pictures to document.

Our backyard looks a bit like a swamp with the grass and the water!

The storm passed on...

A picture from ground level looking up at our flower garden.

I love rainy days since we don't see many of them in Zambia!

How To Scare A Mom...

2010-03-05T19:20:00.000+02:00

Step One: Leave three kids in a room watching TV alone, while the mother packs the family's luggage.

Step Two: Mom walks into the room to find locks of blond hair on the floor, yet the child with the hair missing is laughing and the guilty child sits quietly on the couch while clutching the scissors.

Step 3: Mom instructs the child to turn around to see the damage. SHOO, at least it was a little straight and it wasn't her bangs!!! After a bit of a touch up, Lauren has a cute bob now! Thanks to her sweet and considerate brother, Easton!

You know what is funny about this whole scenario, two days before I was just thinking to myself how great my kids were being with their craft scissors. I was also thinking that they were doing a great job by not cutting each other's hair. Nice. Well, we had a talk about the fact that Mama and Daddy are the only ones who cut hair in the house, (Kendall was outside in the yard laughing out loud as I gave the "scissor speech".)

Kids, Paint, and Some Fun!!!

2010-02-06T20:52:00.000+02:00

We wanted to have a fun say as a family today and I pulled out one of my books on fun activities to do with kids. We were going to use tempra paint that had been watered down and put it in spray bottles and spray paint an old sheet. There were technical difficulties...read on to see what happened next!!! We had a BLAST and made memories that will never fade today!

Before the fun began!

We started off with the canvas hanging up but the wind began to blow.

Lauren doesn't like for things to be uneven, so for her to paint one foot she had to paint the other one so that things are symmetrical!

Double-dippin'...that's my boy!

Lily wanted to make sure that the paint on her hands was just right before she left her handprints!

Our Mann's Chinese Theater on a sheet!

They smiled the entire time we had the painting fun. My heart was so joyful and filled with love.

Lauren getting colored up to leave her handprints!

Here she goes!!!!

Leaving her handprints and her mark!

TADA!!

Easton paints his feet to leave his footprint!

Painting her name...

Lily loves to paint, she was in heaven! We painted flowers near her name.

The final masterpiece...one of a kind!

We even let the kids paint our doggies. Summer was the prettiest because of her white fur!

Interview with Lily

2010-02-05T11:33:00.000+02:00

Lily is 5 years old...here is my interview with my little princess!
Favorite Food: hamburgers
Favorite Holiday: Thanksgiving because of the turkey and everyone comes and we sing songs! (She is referring to our mission family Thanksgiving gatherings!)
Favorite thing to do: swing and play with the doggies
In the house: Daddy hides and we try to find him, but before we can find him he comes out and scares us.
Favorite clothes: my Minnie Mouse shirt and my light blue jeans
When I grow up: I want to be a big girl and get my own breakfast when I wake up.
Favorite weather: sunny days
Favorite thing about living in Zambia: seeing people and they come to our house and we get to talk to them.
Favorite book: Anna Hibiscus (a book about a little girl who grew up in Africa)
Favorite Movie: Up
**After Lily said this Easton chimed in and said, "my favorite movie is Down!" HA! We laughed so hard!**
Color: pink
Best friends: Anna, Abigail, Isabel, and Lacie
What are you looking forward to about America? Seeing my grandparents
Least Favorite Food: noodles
Bible Story I love: Moses- he found a bush on fire but the bush wasn't on fire it was God talking to him in the bush.
I love being a big sister because: climbing trees with Lauren and Easton, playing games with them and the clothes they wear!
I love being a missionary kid because: everyone know we are missionaries..it is good because they know that we love Jesus and we don't do mean things to people.
If you could write a book what would it be about: our family in the forest
What kind of job do you want to have when you get older? Work in an ice cream factory because I love chocolate ice cream, I would give ice cream to people.
My favorite animals are: giraffes because I could feed him leaves and dolphins because they splash in the water.

Interview with Easton

2010-02-05T10:43:00.000+02:00

In the past week, I have just really had a deeper desire to know my precious kids more. I know what they like and their personalities but I just want to hear what they have to say. So, last night the electricity was off so I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to begin the interviews. Easton was first. Here was the scene...electricity was off, he and I sat on my bed under the mosquito net using the light of my headlamp to light my paper. And here is how it went...

Easton how old are you? "Free" (three)
Favorite color: "wed" (red)
Favorite food: "smashed shatatos" (mashed potatos)
Day of the Week: "wake time" (time to get up)
TV Show: "Schpiderman" (Spiderman)
Favorite Superhero: "Schpiderman and Shuperman" (Spiderman and Superman)
**Now the girls have joined us for the interview.**
Rainy or Sunny Day: "sunny"
Noodles or Rice: "nuudles"
When is your birthday? "next time!"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "strong!"
Where do you want to go on vacation? "in the tar to McDonald's and wide in BIG whitening MTween Tar!" (in the car to McDonald's and ride in a BIG Lightining McQueen Car!"
Favorite Animal: "Zeebwa"
If you could be an animal what would you want to be and why? "wike a zeebwa betaus I want to be in the woad...walk in the woad." (like a zebra because I want to be in the road...walk in the road!)
Favorite place to go and why? "Wusaka betaus my fwiends are in it" (Lusaka because my friends are in it!)
Favorite Holiday: "Tismas, betaus the twee and pwesents!" (Christmas, because the tree and presents!)
Bible Story: "Jesus and Moses betaus he got blood on himself betaus he felled in the wivah." (Jesus and Moses because he got blood on himself because he fell in the river.) He was mixing the stories of the plague of blood and parting of the Red Sea.
What are you looking forward to about America? "aiwpwane and the seats in the aiwpwane" (airplane and the seats)
**Then he decided that he wanted me to draw a circle...now a smiley face..see below what came about!**

I had such a fun time with Easton. He is so precious and I want to cherish each moment with my kids and I hope that this is one way that I can preserve these days with them.

Unleashing Creativity

2010-02-04T16:03:00.000+02:00

As a mother, I have found that I can be quite legalistic when it comes to certain things. In the past several days, the Lord has really begun to work on me about this. My test was the day after I began to realize this about myself. Lily and Easton had a brilliant idea! They wanted to paint Easton’s trucks all different colors, kind of like “Pimp My Ride”! I said no and stuck to my guns. I pulled out the old, “go ask your Daddy”, so they did. They did and his answer was the polar opposite of mine. They proceeded to get the Tempra paint cakes, water, paint brushes, and the trucks that needed a makeover!

I was dreading to look at the table and the floor after this activity had ceased. I told Kendall that I could not look, I was afraid of how bad it was. When I walked over, I found that the floor was clean and that the mess was pretty minor compared to my mental images of a paint shop exploding in my dining room.

The trucks were pretty, Easton was too! I learned a lesson again as a mother, choose my battles wisely. I didn’t want them to have fun because I was afraid of the mess, I didn’t want them to paint because I didn’t want to have to say “no”, “don’t do that” and “stop” 500 times in 30 minutes. I didn’t say any of those things, I just let them be and they had a great time. I had a great time once I chilled out and realized the fun that they had and the joy that I had in seeing the creativity that Lily and Easton had.

The joy of the earth...

2010-01-30T14:59:00.000+02:00

My little princess and prince decided to have a face-to-face encounter with the dirt in our yard. I just had to laugh when they came inside! After bathtime, I had to clean the tub because of the residue they left in their tracks!

What Does the Chicken Say?

2010-01-23T14:56:00.000+02:00

A Milestone for Easton

2010-01-20T14:31:00.000+02:00

A few nights ago, we sat down at the table and held hands to pray and Easton exclaims, “I want to pray Daddy!” This was the first prayer that Easton has prayed out loud. Now each meal he thanks Jesus for the food, for Mama and Daddy, and for Jesus watching over us and keeping us safe. I am so thankful for his heart to lift his voice to His Creator.

Each night at bedtime Kendall and I pray with the children. When we were in Swaziland, Lily and Easton shared a queen size bed and we would pray together. I would ask them who they would like to pray for. We prayed for Lacie, Nathan, and then on the third night Easton said, “I want to pray for Joshua Jacobs.” Josh is a Peace Corps volunteer that lives near us in Nyimba. We have been praying for Josh to come to Christ and he is coming close to a decision. It was so precious that Easton wanted to pray for Josh that night. We pray that our kids can learn to pray for the lost by watching our example.

Hopeful Parenting

2010-01-20T14:26:00.000+02:00

I recently have come upon a book that I am really enjoying called “Hopeful Parenting” by David Jeremiah. There are many books on parenting that are excellent, but I have really loved reading this one in particular. I am having a hard time reading one chapter in one sitting because there is so much “meat” in his writing that I have to put it down and begin to pray about how to begin to apply these things to my life as a mother. God is really challenging me and teaching me through this book. I would highly recommend it to any parent who is overwhelmed, challenged, discouraged, or in need of a word of encouragement from a man who has 4 grown children and 9 grandchildren. Dr. Jeremiah’s words of wisdom are worth taking the time to hear.

Best of Both Worlds

2010-01-20T14:14:00.000+02:00

So our family loves Hannah Montana. We just bought the movie when we were in South Africa and we watched it as a family yesterday. Right when the movie was over Lily ran to her room and came out in a blond wig singing "You get the BEST of both worlds!!" It was hilarious! Then the fun continued when Easton pretended to be Hannah too! Just a little thing that brought a lot of laughter to our house!

Hannah Montana has bed head BIG time!

Swings, Rings, and Little Things

2009-12-23T07:25:00.000+02:00

On Friday, December 18, Lily was outside with Kendall feeding the dogs. As she waited for Kendall to get the cans of dog food open she decided to take a break and swing. As she was swinging, she tipped over off of the swing and cut her head open. I am not a big fan of blood or open wounds, so taking care of this little injury at home was definately with the help of the Lord! We went to Lusaka on Saturday morning to get her Tetanus shot and things were healing well. Praise the Lord for His provision and that He always watches over us!

On Saturday, December 19, after we ran some errands in Lusaka, I was on the phone with my friend, Betty. Lauren was attempting to take a nap but could not get still so I sat with her on the bed as I talked to Betty. In the midst of my conversation I realized that my wedding band was no longer on my finger and Lauren was not breathing! She had swallowed my wedding band! I panicked (naturally) then performed the Heimlich Maneuver and out came the ring! I began thinking, what more can happen?! What else could happen...thankfully, nothing yet!!

Christmas is in 2 days. We have had the gifts wrapped and ready to put under the tree for a few days now. Well, last night I decided that it would be fun to make putting the gifts under the tree a game for the kids. So we huddled together to talk about "the plan". Their eyes were big and their smiles were bigger as I told them about "the plan". I said, "You are going to line up at the _______." They responded, "CLOSET!!!" I said, " And I am going to hand you ONE __________." They yelled, "PRESENT!" Then I said, "Then you will WALK the present and put it under the ________." They yelled and jumped and said, "TREE!!!!" It was so fun and they were precious! When I came out to the tree to see how they put them under the tree, it was a huge stack, guess next year I need to teach them how to arrange gifts under the tree!!!

Recently, Melvin has been coming over to play with Easton. It has been so fun to watch them play together for hours and hours! The greatest thing is listening to them. Easton tells Melvin something in English and Melvin responds in Chinsenga. It is an intriguing social observation, because although they are speaking different languages, they communicate perfectly to one another. I am so thankful for the friendship that Easton has with Melvin!

I am reading this book that my Mom sent me about nurturing boys. Just after reading over half of the book, I have fallen in love with my little boy even more! It has been an awesome book! If you have little boys or even older boys, this book is a great read! I have really enjoyed it and I am trying to implement many of the things that I am learning!

Thanksgiving Smiles

2009-12-02T08:44:00.000+02:00

The food was plenteous and the friends were numerous, but the fellowship was overflowing!Our Thanksgiving festivities this year were a blast! We had a great meal, the men played basketball, and my sweet friend, Amy did a few haircuts while all of the women sat around and chatted about life. It was one of my most favorite Thanksgivings of my life. Here are a few pictures from the day!

Amy was so sweet to cut Lauren's hair, this was her second haircut in her life!

It is tradition that when we have a meeting together, the men always go and play basketball. There were 16 of them that played this time! They love the fellowship with each other!

What a blessing to enjoy time with friends and family here in Zambia!

Mom's Hair Salon

2009-11-09T13:45:00.001+02:00

It was time for another haircut for Lily and we decided that she needed a lot of hair cut off because of the heat here in Nyimba right now!

As I began to cut, I realized that I was not doing a good job because I had not sectioned her hair. Remember, I had never cut hair until we moved to Africa! So needless to say, it took me almost 30 minutes to cut her hair but it was a success because both mother and daughter were happy with the outcome! She looks so cute and grown up!

"I Think I am Big Now..."

2009-11-07T10:11:00.000+02:00

As I was hanging clothes on the line the other afternoon, Lily came over to me and said, "Mama, I think I am big now. So I want to walk to the market." I replied, "Well Lily, the market is a long way away. (about 1-1.5 kilometers/1.6 miles...one way) She had a quick response, "Mama, I can make it because my legs are strong, so can I go?"
"I think we can do that, but we may just start by walking to the bus station, okay?"
Yesterday, we went out for the "I think I am big walk". Zeria, Lily, Lauren, and I set out on our walk at 9:15am by 9:30am we were dripping sweat because of the heat, but Lily kept walking with a spring in her step. We went into the bus station restaurant and bought some drinks and visited our friend Jenny who sells bananas. Lily talked with Jenny about the walk and sang her the praise chorus that she has learned in Chinsenga. Jenny was happy that we visited her. We walked home and on the way we saw chickens, cows, and a giraffe tree (a tall holly tree that was bent over like a giraffe). We arrived home at 11:15am from our journey, we were hot and tired! Lily was so proud of herself and I was too!

Lauren thinks that she is big now because this week she began to brush her teeth on her own. Well, one afternoon as I was finishing up some work, I began to smell bubble gum from the bathroom. Just then, Lauren rounded the corner from the bathroom into the den with PINK BARBIE BUBBLE GUM toothpaste all over her face. It was like she had put a facial mask of toothpaste on her face. I was so tired of chasing after her all morning telling her to stop touching things that I had given up and look what I got for my laziness! (sorry there is no picture of this, I was too lazy to get the camera!)

I Want To Be Like Daddy

2009-10-27T22:04:00.000+02:00

In the past few weeks, Kendall and I have both seen how different it is to raise a boy versus a girl. We have spent many hours in prayer, tried many different things in disciplining Easton and different forms of encouragement. My friend in Texas gave me a book before we came to Zambia, called "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. James Dobson. I sat down last Friday and began reading. I was only into about the 3rd chapter of the book, there was a sentence that said,

"Very young boys bask in their mother's femininity and womanliness during infancy and toddlerhood. Fathers are important then, but mothers are the primary. At about three to five years of age, however, a lad gradually pulls away from his mom and sisters in an effort to formulate a masculine identity." "It is typical for boys during those years, and even earlier, to crave the attention and involvement of their dad and try to emulate his behavior and mannerisms."

I could not wait for Kendall to get home for me to tell him about this profound statement! We then agreed that anytime Easton wanted to go or Kendall could let him go with him to teach or anywhere, Easton could go. He needs that and desires to be away from MOM and the 2 Ls (Lily and Lauren). Sunday was the first BIG Daddy/Son adventure. They went to church...30 kilometers down a dirt road, got into a tree canoe, paddled across the Luangwa River, hiked up a mountain (literally) for 1.6 kilometers (1 mile), went to church, ate nshima, got a chicken as a gift, then came home and arrived in Nyimba at 4:30pm.

Tuesday, Easton went with Daddy to teach at Kambete Baptist Church. This is what walked through my door with a huge smile on his face saying,

"I am a big boy! I was sooo DOOD (good)!!" I looked at Kendall for reassurance and Kendall told me many things that he had done that we have been working on for a long time. I was so happy to see the African soil all over his little face and knees...the grin made it all worthwhile, I knew that finally, Easton was happy! Praise the Lord for little boys! As my friend Amy shared with me recently, "Little boys are the only thing that God can use to make a man." So true, and that quote now hangs on Easton's door, as a reminder to me to be patient and always seeking the Lord's wisdom in rearing a little boy.

A Precious Heart

2009-10-27T21:39:00.000+02:00

Lily went with me to teach at Kambete Baptist last Tuesday. As I was finishing my lesson, I looked over my shoulder to see her sharing her snack with all of the children that were there. My precious Lily with such a loving and thoughtful heart! I was overwhelmed with joy and thanks to the Father!

Then later in the week, I came in from running to find her washing all of the dishes. I asked her why she was doing it and she said, "to help you out mama!" I was humbled.

I am amazed that Lily will be 5 years old in December. Each day, Kendall and I pray that we would be godly examples for our children and lean upon the Lord's wisdom in how to raise them according to His Word.

A Pot of Surprise with a Side of Smiles

2009-10-17T15:33:00.003+02:00

Looky what I found in one of my pots this morning! His name is Tiny Dude. Yes, we name our geckos because they eat mosquitos and other bugs! Last year we had one about this size that came to our lamp and we named him Little Dude, but Tiny Dude is SO small! We were filled with laughter and smiles this morning when we found TD in the pot on the stove!!

The Little Farmer Princess and Her Big Journey

2009-10-16T14:16:00.009+02:00

Once upon a time in a dry and hot land, there was a little blond-headed farmer princess. She loved to help take care of the little red hens. She watched closely as her big sister and big brother fetched the feed and water. After a few moments she thought it would be a good idea to help out. She fetched the watering can (a Nalgene water bottle) and knew that she would be too short to reach the sink to fill the water, so she stood puzzled and figured out that the best source of water (within her reach) would be the doggie water. She kneeled down and filled the bottle as best she could.

She mozied past the flower garden

She mozied past the lazy lion dog, Higgins

She then arrived at the Hen House, where she was greeted by Floppy the Hen and Summer the dog. Just then, Floppy stretched her neck out as far as it would go and began to peck the "watering can". The little blond-headed princess was shocked and let out a high-pitched "DOOT DEET!!". Floppy was persistent until the princess gave her a little tap tap on the head with the watering can.

She was relieved to finally reach the hen house, without spilling the water or being pecked to death by Floppy.

"Here I go!", the Little Farmer Princess thought, but Francis thought differently, "Oh no you don't you little bright-eyed critter!" Francis the LFP a hassle when she tried to get into the house to give them water. The LFP swatted her hand and Francis' beak and squealed as loud as she could to get her to back up!

When she got into the house, she knew that her first obstacle would be the bamboo roosting stick, one leg and then the other, but DON'T drop the water!!

She made it and did not spill one drop of water! The Little Farmer Princess was so proud of her big job! She knew that she could take care of the Little Red Hens too!

The hens were excited to have fresh water and to see that LFP was such a big girl!

When the job was done she was on her way!
Little Farmer Princess with a happy grin because she knew that the hens were happy too!
"Yee, doot, deet" was all the happy little farmer princess could say. She knew she had done a good job and was proud to be a big girl!

Lil' Ernie Els...maybe

2009-10-16T14:10:00.003+02:00

Kendall loves to play golf and Easton is learning how to swing the club and hit the ball pretty well. He had another lesson with Daddy this week and Lauren was his "caddy" and helped him fetch his ball each time that he hit it.

Easton and his caddy

The coach and the caddy

Oldies But Goodies!!

2009-10-04T13:41:00.007+02:00

Saturday was a day of fun and games at our house. I was a Recreation Management major in college and was a recreation director for youth and children camps in the summer, so recreation and games runs THICK in my blood. The kids are finally getting to the age where they can play simple games that are so fun for people of all ages! Friday night, I decided that while Kendall was gone we were going to have a game marathon from breakfast until lunch, if the kids could make it that long. We had so much fun playing games that I used to LOVE when I was a kid! The pictures below tell the stories of our fun time of playing games with each other!

Lauren watched in amazement as Kendall jumped rope. We were playing "Jump The Creek" and the kids wanted to see Daddy jump rope when he got home from teaching. I remember playing "Jump The Creek" every day at recess when I was in the 4th and 5th Grade at Bethesda Elementary! Those were the days!

Easton enjoyed a snack and loved the entertainment as well!

Lily LOVES to jump on our trampoline and she loved it when I asked her to jump so I could take her picture!

Chillin' with an apple and some sweet tea...

Can you tell what goody the kids found in their trunk of treats from their Aunt Theresa?

MR. POTATO HEAD!!!

Lily got a Princess Spud accessory kit and Easton got a Safari Spud! Fun times!

Playing Hi-Ho Cherry O! with Lauren around is not an easy feat. Everytime we would get our trees full of cherries, she would take them off the tree and put them in the bucket without spinning! Needless to say, we had to stop playing and wait for her to take a nap, but Lily really loved playing this game!

What a great game. Loved playing with Lily.

We also played Memory...not easy with Lauren around. We would get it all set up and then she thought we had a mess so she would "clean up" the mess we had made!

We finished our marathon with a good ol' game of hopscotch. Then the wind was blowing pretty good so we decided to blow wind bubbles and have our bubbles race. It was so fun to see all of the bubbles in our yard! The people outside of our wall that saw them probably were wondering what was going on!

It was fun to be a kid with my kids and I am loving each and everyday that they grow up and we are able to communicate more and play together more and more!

Conversations from the Heart

2009-10-04T13:21:00.004+02:00

I love talking to my kids. I am amazed at some of the things that they say and ask. This week was full of awesome conversations. I had to share some of the things that were shared.

Lily's questions and conversations...

Saturday night before we said her bedtime prayers she asked me, "Mama, where are we going to church tomorrow?" I replied, "We are going to Ukhose, the place we went last week." She said, "Why are we going there again?" "Well Lily, the people at Ukhose just now learned about Jesus and invited them into their hearts." "Mama, why did they just NOW know about Jesus?" "Lily, no one had told them about Jesus and Daddy told them and they followed Him." "Why had no one told them before Daddy?" "Well, I guess no one loved them enough to tell them, so we have to show them Jesus' love." "Okay Mama, I want to help them know how to love Jesus."

Mama: Lily if you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?

Lily: giraffe

Mama: Why?

Lily: Because they have beautiful brown spots

Mama: What color would you be?

Lily: Pink

Mama: Why?

Lily: Because I like pink shirts, teddy bears, curtains, and skirts.

The Questions of Easton

He peered around the corner of the house with big brown eyes and freshly buzzed hair and said to me," Mama, where is Amerita?" "Well, it is far away." "How do we get there?" "We get there by airplane." "Mama, can we just drive there now?" "No baby, there is a big ocean we have to cross." "Is there an airplane waiting for us now in Wusaka?" "No baby." "Mama, I want to call Mamie to see what she is doing in Amerita and what the kids in Amerita are doing too." "Okay sweet boy."

(We called my mom and he told her all about how he wants to see Amerita. He does not really have any recollection of it, so next year will be a fun time for him!)

NEW DISCOVERY IN THE HELGREN HOUSEHOLD THIS WEEK

It's brown and white and cold.

You can buy it made or make it yourself.

Kids love it and so do their parents.

Can you guess???

CHOCOLATE MILK!!!

I know my kids are sheltered, but they had chocolate milk for the first time and the love it! It was so much better because we had FRESH milk and American chocolate syrup! What a fun treat for all of us! Easton loves to see his milk turn white to chocolaty!!!

Rooster or a Chicken?

2009-10-01T16:05:00.003+02:00

Our guard, Rabson (his friends call him Rabby), gave us a gift one night. The gift was a chicken! The kids were so happy and so were we! What a great surprise this chicken was! Then the discussion began.

Joy: Well, do you want to eat the chicken or keep it?

Kendall: I don't know, I would like to have some chickens.

Joy: What do you think about the dogs?

Kendall: My dogs got used to our chickens. We can keep it, what do you want to do?

After one night to sleep on it, we decided to keep the chicken. It was fun watching our dogs get used to it running around the yard. Then Lily wanted to give the chicken a name, I thought, "welp, we will never be able to eat this chicken, it is about to have a name." Lily said, "LUCY!!" We thought Lucy was a perfect name since Kendall said that it was a female. I am lacking in the farm animal department and dont know the difference really, I mean if it is big and crows in the morning, then I know but other than that...I don't! So a week went by and I asked Paul if he knew anyone that had a rooster for sale because we would like to have some eggs (because they are expensive here). Paul replied, "mama, that one is a rooster!" I told Kendall that we had a rooster and he couldnt believe it, he ran outside to further inspect the biology of the chicken. When all was said and done we realized that the chicken had to have a name change because it was a boy...so we proudly introduce our newest family member, Jeremy! He roosts in the orange tree to sleep, he likes to eat the dog food, drinks the dog's water, he is not afraid of the dogs, and everytime he is near Lauren says "doot doot!" Can't wait to get a chicken so we can have some eggs! We are slowly turning into the Walton's...or I guess you could say that we are "Little House in the Nyimba Valley"! I am slowly learning about agriculture it is a world I am not too familiar with but like it!

Miss Mischief

2009-10-01T15:37:00.002+02:00

Nothing surprises me anymore...some of Lauren's favorite things are: blowing zerberts on my back to wake me up in the morning, climbing onto tall furniture items when no one is looking, eating the toothpaste, running away with the Sharpie markers, leaving greasy fingerprints on semi-important papers and books, leaving her signature in Bibles and other reading materials, playing in the dogs water, and many other things. Well, these two instances top the favorite things to do list in my opinion.

So I know what you are thinking..."are there knives where she can get hurt?" "how did she get up there?" "were you there watching her?" The answers are no, herself, and yes!

I was in the kitchen eating my breakfast when all of the sudden Miss M (we will keep the names anonymous to protect the guilty) was carrying a stool. She quickly put the stool down in front of the kitchen sink and began to hike her chubby little legs up on the stool. "OH BROTHER!", I thought to myself, "what is she up to now!?" She then grabbed the Palmolive dish soap, sponge, and a dirty bowl and began to wash the dishes. After about 20 seconds of that, she decided that she couldn't really do her job well without getting into the sink. So she hiked that little leg right up onto the counter, sat on the edge, removed the dishes from one side of the sink into the other and sat in the sink in order to "wash" the dishes. Welcome to my life...never a dull moment.

ON ANOTHER DAY....

She decided that the nutritional health of the dogs was lacking fat, so Lauren decided to get them butter for breakfast one morning. Don't worry, she has learned the art of sharing, she distributed the butter evenly between the three dogs allowing them all about 10 seconds of licking per turn.

Catchin' Up

2009-09-14T15:29:00.006+02:00

Its been quite a while since I posted anything about the kids. Here are some random things that just remind me of the fun it is to be a parent of 3 children under the age of 5!

Kids do say very funny things. In the past few days, Lily has said some pretty funny things. Two of them that I will not forget are:

"Mama, how did she get that necklace on? Because her head is too big!"

While we were watching the Brady Bunch, Marsha was digging a hole and Lily said, "Why in the world is she burying the ground?!"

I have finally stepped out of my comfort zone and left the toothbrushes and toothpaste on their sink for them to brush their own teeth! They love it and look forward to brushing 2 times a day...and some times a few more times!

Lauren is a climber. I was in the closet cleaning out some old clothes. I walked out of the closet, leaving Lauren there for approximately 2 minutes, only to return to find her on TOP of our dresser. She had found the stool and pulled the drawers out (5 of them) and used the drawers as a ladder! She is a dare devil...so far in her life she has had 3 black eyes, 4 badly bruised foreheads, and about 10 busted lips.

She loves the swing..can you tell?

Lauren got into our closet and found Kendall's ski mask. I was cracking up when she came into the living room wearing this headdress! Love it!

Easton LOVES to take pictures. It is always fun to turn on the camera and find all of these little surprise pictures that I didnt know existed! His perspective is great...eye level with knees and dogs. He is very sneaky about finding and snatching the camera before I can get a hold of him.

Easton's photography of my flowers

Easton is ready for the rainy season...don'tcha just love the rain boots?!

My little boy...LOVES trains and trucks, he will line up his trucks in a perfect line and pushes them one by one down the "road" that he has created.

Here are some recent pictures of fun and mischief that our little darlings have been a part of!

Easton got mad at me because he got put in time out...next thing I know, he has painted the floor and the containers in the closet...NICE.

Living Life with Lauren

2009-08-01T11:24:00.004+02:00

Lauren loves Zeria so much!

The third child really can get neglected in regards to documentation of growth, fun stories, etc. I have really tried to keep up with little Lauren, but she is growing so fast and the days just fly by! She is Miss Personality to the max! She is always into something...like coloring the walls with Sharpies, taking lids off of sippy cups and dumping them on the floor, etc etc. She is jibber jabbering like crazy now and it is so fun! I cannot even begin to spell the words that she says! She loves Zeria and Paul so much and basically if either of them are here...Mom and Dad are obsolete...I love it and they do to! She loves Easton so much and when he is sad and crying she goes to him and pats him on the back until he is finished being sad. She loves to sit with Lily and color with her in her coloring books. Some Zambian children at a local church named her "Melody", Kendall and I have to agree that it is an excellent name for her because she dances and claps everytime she hears music. I cannot believe that our little girl is 17 months old! Where has the time gone? Praise the Lord for this beautiful little girl that He has blessed us with, may I, as a mother, never fail to cherish these awesome, yet sometime nerve wracking experiences!

When Zeria was away helping at Chilufiya's house, Lauren only wanted to be with Paul. Paul was so kind to carry her on his back as he worked in the yard!

Lauren giving her sassy face...for those of you who know this face...classic.

What a Blustery Day!!

2009-07-20T11:19:00.002+02:00

The wind in Nyimba has been blowing for several days now and a cold front has blown in! It is only 60 degrees outside, but we are very cold! Lauren had to be bundled up in order to play outside today! I thought she was so cute all bundled! I don't quite know why she kept sticking her tounge out!

Third Culture Kids...i.e. friends...

2009-07-12T22:24:00.002+02:00

I "borrowed" this picture from the Vines blog. I love it! It is a great picture of the Schwarz' kids (Tobias, (holding Easton), Heather, (holding Lauren), Lane (on the back of the couch), and Seth (on the arm of the sofa), our kiddos, and sweet Tyler Vines (in the red next to Easton). Kenny took this the day that they all arrived in Zambia.

When You Give a 2-Year Old A Camera

2009-07-12T11:55:00.004+02:00

I allowed Easton to take the camera to the playground in Lusaka. It was quite funny to see the pictures that he took! Here are some of the many pictures! Thank goodness for digital, no wasted film here!

Lauren and I journeyed to the playground together

Easton's first picture

Lauren and Isabel

Isaac, Easton's best buddy

What a self-portrait, eh?

I took this precious picture of the 2 little guys! They love each other so much!

OH BLISS!!!

2009-07-12T11:49:00.003+02:00

Before Kevin and Suzie left for their "holiday" in America, she asked me where she could eat for me! Well, for those of you who know me, know that I LOVE CHICK-FIL-A! I mean, if there was ANY way to put a sandwich on dry ice and bring it to me, it would be WORTH its weight in GOLD for me to have a sandwich! Suzie MADE my day today when she sent me a picture of her eating a sandwich for me! Its the little things in life that can lift the spirits and put a HUGE smile on your face!!!