snowflakes and new teeth, how the two go together.

November 28^th

So last Friday Helena came over just to hang out and speak in Malagasy. We didn't do our normal recording and language learning since she can't pronounce the words correctly due to having all but 5 of her teeth pulled last week! I had decided that we would start to decorate the livingroom to suprise the boys when they got home from school. I strung up green yard (not very festive but the colour we had) from one window curtain to the others and we were going to make snow flakes to hang so it looked like it was snowing in the room! So I said to Helena, let me show you how we make snowflakes. I got out some paper, folded it several times and did some cutting. I opened it up and …. VOILA!, a snowflake. I said to her, “ Now they don't have to look all the same you can cut them differently so they all look different. Do you understand how to do it?” She then shook her head politely, “yes” and took a piece of paper and started folding it differently. “Ok” I thought, “she doesn't get it”. But I just let it go and went on cutting out my own snowflakes. The idea is that each day the boys and I will make a few to hang up and then by Christmas it will look like a blizzard in our livingroom! After a few minutes Helena said (in Malagasy), “What do you think about this”? Jaw drop. There she sits holding a BEAUTIFUL 4D snowflake! And here I am working my little heart out thinking I'm making these beautiful 2D snowflakes! I was quite humbled! We had a good laugh!

As we continued to make our snowflakes we just hung out and chit chatted. I asked her what she normally did for Christmas and New Year's Eve. The conversation went something like this.
Helena: “We get together as a family and celebrate and eat together”

Me: “Family like who? Like your immediate family or like the WHOLE family?”

Helena: “My parents, my siblings, you and Randy and the boys, my cousin....”
Me: “Did you just say, 'Me and Randy and the boys'”?

Helena: “Well, yah, you're family”.

Me: cry like a baby....still crying like a baby “We weren't sure what we were going to do for Christmas. We thought we would just have a quiet day at home. Thank you so much!”

So on Christmas we are having Helena and her family here at the house, and then for New Years Day we will go over to Helena's house. I CAN'T wait! We are SO blessed. We have heard from so many foreigners, “Making friends (heart to heart friends) takes a lot of time here. Don't feel discouraged. Sometimes it takes several years before you're considered a close friend of the family.” Thank you Lord for Helena and her family.

We continued to sip tea, cut snowflakes, and talk.

Helena: “What are you doing this Wednesday?”

Me: “I have the morning free. Just need to pick up the boys from school at 12:15”

Helena: “Want to come with me to get my new teeth?”

Never thought I'd hear a sentence like that! I just cracked up laughing at her! Thankfully she wasn't offended! I just explained that (as an American) that was a funny thing to hear from a friend who was only 24! She has a good sense of humor and said, “Yeah, well, I'm ready to get my teeth and have more teeth than my 1 year old”!

And so, I will go with Helena to get her new teeth this Wednesday. What an honour!

(So we went to get the new teeth. Her husband Haja, mom, and daughter came as well!)

Please note the new beautiful teeth in the picture!