It's Time

Maybe one more sandwich-worth of peanut butter* is all that's left of the 42 lbs that we brought with us last year from the United States. Guess it's time to make another trip!

We (Kim & the girls... Dave will join us sometime) will be in Utah May 24-June 13 (this includes a couple of days in St. George and Nevada), and Wisconsin June 13-29. Each year when we visit the USA our time is packed with visits to the doctors, shopping, renewing international drivers licenses, and the obvious- spending time with friends and family. We're working on our vacation schedules and are trying to fit everyone in. Please post a comment or send me an email to kimberannw@hotmail.com if you're going to be in these areas and want to get together... I'll try to make it happen!

*we can purchase peanut butter in Chile, but it's soooo expensive and not as yummy as Jif. Plus we have yet to find crunchy here.

All is Well

Jinnie's finger looks about the same, but all of her tests have come back normal. She needs to finish her medicines, but when they're gone there's nothing to worry about. Amazingly, she didn't even cry when they took her blood- what a strong girl!

Love/Hate Relationship

Sometimes I love it in Chile, sometimes not so much. I'm going to focus on the hate aspect for today. Like food poisoning. Dave & I had a delicious dinner at the Yacht Club with some of the other managers and their wives. Each couple was from a different country... USA, Chile, Argentina & Brazil. I tried out the few Portuguese words I know on the couple from Brazil... I've been waiting a long time to use them. We came home, went to bed & a few hours later I was puking my guts out for the next couple of hours... major case of food poisoning. Nobody else was sick. Just me. Reminded me of our whole first year in Chile. Anytime I ate a green-leaf salad I would get food poisoning... not Dave. Not the girls. Just me.

Look how swollen Jinnie's finger is around the bite.

Hate spiders. We live in the perfect climate for those yucky creatures. It rains once every 7 years. It never snows. Never freezes. Even though we complain, it's never really cold... just cool. Basically spiders thrive here, and we now know that Antofagasta is the city with the most poisonous spiders in Chile. Good thing we're going to be moving soon (end of July?). So we noticed something on Jinnie's finger tonight. It looked kind of strange. We thought it might be a bite, so I looked up bites for brown recluse's on the internet (that's the worst of the spiders here, and unfortunately very common). Her finger looked similar to the less-serious pictures, so I gave my wonderful neighbors in #1 a call. The wife (the dermatologist) came up right away & was very upset about it. She said it's not from a brown recluse, but it is a spider bite & her finger is infected and it is bad. She has 2 meds for tonight, and first thing in the morning we'll go to the hospital for some kind of scan (I guess if it were from a brown recluse we'd be in the hospital right now). Anyway tomorrow when I get to the hospital I need to call her husbands cell phone (he's the medical director there) & he'll take care of us. Amazing. So I guess this post is also about the love relationship... love my neighbors.

6 Month Anniversary

6 months ago today is one I will never forget. Not only was my adorable niece, Kaylee born, but it is also the day of the earthquake. The 7.7 earthquake. Where I couldn't get to Hailey. When I think back on the day of the biggest quake and the weeks of large aftershocks, so many emotions come flooding in.

I am...

so grateful for the safety my family, and just about everybody

so grateful that it's over

so grateful for the prayers that were offered for our family

hopeful that we never experience a similar situation again

(especially if Dave is going to be out of town again)

It has been quite humbling watching and reading about the earthquake in China that occurred on Monday. The devastation has been so much worse than it was with our earthquake. The one in China was a 7.9, ours a 7.7. But only 2 people died in Chile. So far 15,000 people have died in China, and numbers are expected to rise significantly. I think there are three major factors in this, the biggest being the ground. Northern Chile is very solid rock. Although we are prone to quakes, it holds up well. Another factor is that the cities and towns in northern Chile are few and far between, unlike this densely populated area of China. The 3rd factor is that we have earthquakes all the time here, and the buildings are built to handle it. The earthquake building codes are strict, and Chileans take pride in the quality of their buildings.

Today, as I look back 6 months ago, I do feel blessed. Hailey and Ava are home today because of colds, and I couldn't be happier... just want to keep them close to me today. My heart and prayers are with those who have lost family, friends, homes and lives in China. It was bad enough not being able to get to Hailey at school- can't imagine if she had actually been trapped inside.

The overhang of the Radisson, which is about half-way between our home and the school.

Happy Mothers Day to Me!

This year was the best Mothers Day yet. Rather than Dave planning everything, he decided to let the girls plan it (I am their mother, after all). On Saturday he took them shopping, where they chose the gifts as well as the meals, and on Sunday he supervised the 'cooking'.

They brought me breakfast in bed. Ava made me toast just the way I like it... she knows I love it with peanut butter & raspberry jam. Hailey made me some chocolate milk with Nesquick. Hailey had also picked out my favorite pudding at the store, and Ava picked out our favorite cereal (or as she calls it, "my favorite little cereal") with yogurt. It was wonderful.

Next came presents. The girls each made me some lovely flowers at school, and Dave had helped them make some cards for me earlier in the week. Ava also gave me some chocolate cookie sticks and my favorite Chilean candy bar, Shananuz. Hailey gave me a Spanish book about the human body. At the store Dave suggested many other gifts, but she was positive that was what I wanted. I think it is because recently in school they learned about all of the systems of the body, and so we would study up on the human body in some books we have at home. Apparently Hailey assumed I was loving the learning as much as she was; she made sure I looked at each and every page of the book and even informed us that she thinks I'm going to be a doctor when I grow up... love these girls!

Lunch was also planned and prepared by the girls. Hailey made asparagus soup (from a package) and turned it into her special recipe (which she will make for me and Dave when we are old and sick) by adding salt, pepper, and fresh-ground pepper. Ava made a salad, which we topped with cheese & strawberries. Dave made guacamole for the chips (too much chopping involved for the girls). They also gave me a personal-sized jello and a drinkable yogurt. For dessert we had pink cake (raspberry cake).

Aren't they amazing?!? I love being a mom. Each day brings new challenges and discoveries... wouldn't trade it for anything.

Happy Mothers Day!

BEST MOM EVER... She taught me to walk, to talk, to read, to love life, to work hard. She encouraged me to play the piano, always waited up for me, and taught me about Jesus. By example, she taught me how to be a mother. She has a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to me and she's a friend to laugh with. I can always count on her for help, understanding, or both. She is one of my best friends. Thank you for always believing in me.

BEST MOTHER-IN-LAW EVER...
She is a woman of faith, who doesn't complain, and doesn't make us feel bad that we are not able to visit more often or live closer. She is one of the most selfless people I know; constantly serving others and making everyone around her feel good. She has raised 12 wonderful children, and I honestly can't thank her enough for the mother she was and is to Dave... he is such an amazing husband and father, and I know that much of who is today is because of her. Thank you with all of my heart.

Games

Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions. I have done a lot of them in the past (for the same group), and I'll definitely save some for the future. As I've mentioned in the past, games are really big at the showers here... kind of the cheesier the better. We played:

• Deliver Your Baby (little plastic babies frozen in ice cubes... 1st to 'deliver' their baby out of the ice, without biting, wins)
• Unique Baby Names (everyone writes a name for each letter of both parents names... then it turns into Scategories & the person with the highest number of unique names wins... too bad they don't know that while they are writing down the names)
• The Price is Right (just like the game show, but only with baby items... plus you have to tell them what store the items are from because that makes a big difference in price)

The prizes were bottles & sippies filled with hot chocolate mix & marshmallows (yes, we are getting colder by the day... too sad).

HELP!

This past year there have been a ton of baby showers and I always seem to be the one in charge of the games. I've just been asked to do the games for another shower on TUESDAY night, and I am 100% out of ideas... any suggestions? Favorites? TIA