tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17570502020714269752024-02-07T13:31:55.272-05:00Speaking of the Cabrera'sThis is a blog about the life of our family. I'm originally from South Carolina, my husband David is originally from Santiago, Chile. We have two sons, 4 yr. old Nicolas and a 1 yr. old, Tyler. We live real life, with real faith, with real struggles, and real joys. These are just some tidbits of living in our bilingual, bicultural mix of things.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-41586433061328948842011-11-25T21:12:00.001-05:002011-11-25T21:53:14.769-05:002.5 Month UpdateI´ve realized that it is really bad when you think about blogging all the time, but never actually do it. As I´m walking down the road (which I do a lot), I think about what I can say or share, but when 10pm comes, I´m just not up for it anymore. Right now it´s 11:15 and I don´t know how long I´ll last, but I´m going to try to get some thoughts down tonight. <br />
We have been here for 2.5 months now and rubber has definitely met the road! Let´s see.....<br />
One month ago, David started working for a Commercial Builder here in Santiago as a Superintendent. He was invited to do a ride-along one day to see what projects the company was working on and to learn a little about how they do things here in Chile, and by the end of the day, they had hired him. He started that same day on a project that was behind, over budget, and at risk of a lawsuit. Within 5 days he resolved all of the major problems and within 2-3 weeks the upscale restaurant was ready to prepare to open up to the public. The restaurant owner only wants to deal with David and he basically saved the day!...He´s always been a hero by nature. By week 3 with them, they promoted him to Project Manager and now he oversees all aspects of the project at hand. <br />
I have been praying for many years for David to have the opportunity to use his skills and to have the chance to let others see how great he is at directing people, seeing the big picture of a project, and getting the job done. Although I´ve wanted that to happen in the States, and still hold out hope for it to happen in the future, I´m happy to see him have the chance while we´re here. At the company here, they are now all calling on him to take over projects in their final stages to resolve all of the problems at hand and to ensure that all of the details are taken care of before turning the project over. He has managed to earn the respect of the company, the owners of the business they´re building, and the laborors.<br />
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In case you are wondering, I do not know how all of this will work out in the long run. I have no idea how we´ll transition out, how we´ll feel, or what it will be like for us when we get back to the states. After much prayer, I´ve just determined that I can not be concerned with that. When we got here, we had no idea how we would transition, how we would feel, or what things would be like for us. We didn´t know where we would live or what we´d be doing, so I can´t pretend to be able to project that for us when we get back. It might not make sense in my mind, but I have no idea what is on the mind of God. I expect that he has things in store that we can not imagine or anticipate, so we just have to wait to see. For now, I hope to enjoy the moment and thank God for his provision. We went almost two months without a pay check here and even then, we were starting out with preliminary salaries. We have not been sure of our outcome since we´ve been here, so there is no way that I can think ahead any further than the here and now. <br />
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One day soon I am going to just upload a lot of pictures. I´ve started taking pictures of what I see everyday when I´m walking around. Although this city is very big and there are many different angles to the city, we are living our life in an area that epitimizes the hustle and bustle of a big city. I ride the metro daily, David drives in traffic daily (a tiny Mazda 2 stick shift), and we have to pay to park every where we go. The buildings are big, the people are antisocial and walk fast to where they´re going, and pedestrians have the right-of-way. <br />
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I´m fading fast and I think I have to turn it in now. I hope to write all of my thoughts down b/c I don´t want this time to come and go without sharing it with others and documenting it for ourselves. <br />
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Good night!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-81831535239161633492011-10-14T22:07:00.001-04:002011-10-14T22:07:53.913-04:00What Are We Doing?Well, we've been in Chile for over a month, and in a few days we'll reach the one month mark in our apartment. The boys are now settled in a preschool/daycare that is right across the street from our apartment. I love both of their teachers! They are so sweet and affectionate with both boys and I can tell that they really do care about them.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>Tyler</u></strong></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uNMxbRojMa0_X0MmbNLYB9Uao4zriR0_SSkEHYAS1aorFn5McYgbNjfIpdwdvoLvl1LTWF52bNi2aVXro8Pdvevwvfz53K8TWnvONqXJlD_4yZG9UdBhyllWmY2HyI1btATSMAcuYWLG/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uNMxbRojMa0_X0MmbNLYB9Uao4zriR0_SSkEHYAS1aorFn5McYgbNjfIpdwdvoLvl1LTWF52bNi2aVXro8Pdvevwvfz53K8TWnvONqXJlD_4yZG9UdBhyllWmY2HyI1btATSMAcuYWLG/s200/IMG_0731.JPG" width="149" /></a>Ty is now saying hello and goodbye with a kiss on the cheek and he is also saying "hola" and "chao" in addition to "hi" and "bye bye". That paired with his dance moves indicates that he is well on his way to embracing the Chilean side of himself. It is too cute! He has started saying a lot of his words in both languages (water/agua, juice/jugo, shoes/zapatos) but he also is saying new English words that he doesn't say in Spanish, like "book", and I'm sure he's saying Spanish words at school that he doesn't say in English, but I just haven't heard him say it yet at home. His favorite thing to do at the park is run up to the birds and scare them so that they fly away, and he gets the most upset when we don't let him push the button to open the elevator door. God forbid Nico pushes the button before he does!!!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nicolas</span></u></strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXLBFmSvfO6q0Z66bEL3DDi0fuBs2qbq0tBka_V0Xfe4FZdfBI5KWq3rbdDAabQ7MGkSgwt9qOL3qOJqAAcK1MQ5UKG_vdL6s1zX0IxJ7uVK3bAdLxbOp9RNurfMkfGnjPCyg-_tA-nZn/s1600/IMG_0608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXLBFmSvfO6q0Z66bEL3DDi0fuBs2qbq0tBka_V0Xfe4FZdfBI5KWq3rbdDAabQ7MGkSgwt9qOL3qOJqAAcK1MQ5UKG_vdL6s1zX0IxJ7uVK3bAdLxbOp9RNurfMkfGnjPCyg-_tA-nZn/s200/IMG_0608.JPG" width="149" /></a>Nico is also doing really well. It has been harder for him to embrace some things because he gets really shy, but when you catch him in the moment and he doesn't know that anyone is watching, he follows suit with everyone else. He's hysterical because although he is advancing with Spanish and already producing more than ever before, he still thinks and plays in English. Therefore, he'll be playing in the park with his new school friends and he just talks to them non-stop in English, and when they speak to him in Spanish, he just looks at them and says, "I don't understand Spanish, so I don't know what you're saying" and they just keep on playing like nothing happened. Then, he'll walk up to his friend's mom or dad and start talking to them non-stop in English. He's being super polite (in English), but no one has any idea what he's saying, but they smile and nod and he just moves on to playing some more with his friends. The funny thing is that his entire day is in Spanish. His class, teachers, friends, everything! So...I'm just waiting for the day that he busts out in full conversation in Spanish! haha!<br />
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In Nico's class, he's learning to write his numbers and letters. He's also learning to identify words that start with certain letters. He has had homework two weekends in a row, but we don't call it homework; I've just called it craft time because he is excited to do all of the activities. I don't want it to seem like a chore. Since all of his letters, numbers, and words at school are in Spanish, I've been doing activities at home in English. Tonight he asked me if we could spell some words and make some sentences. It's so interesting because he is doing that at school in Spanish, it is obviously interesting to him, and then at home he is asking for more, so I just do it in English to reinforce both languages. Tonight he read the sentence "The dog is fun". And he read the words "Dog", "Cat", "Yes" and "Man"....which are all words that he picked out to spell and read. I have no idea what is age-appropriate, but I'm excited because this is new for him! I'm so proud of him! <br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Jessica</u></span></strong><br />
On my end, I am teaching English classes for a company that offers private personalized English classes. I have a pretty full schedule now, so that is good. I just finished my 2nd full week of working for them and I think I'm about to take on my last class before my schedule is full. I currently teach a neo-natal doctor, an endocrinologist, a non-profit agency director, a physical therapist, a technical engineer, the Syrian consulate, his wife and son. I meet with the consulate's wife and son every day and I meet with the other people two times a week. It has been very interesting so far and I'm happy that I was able to start working so quickly. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>David</u></strong></span><br />
In many aspects, David is still in a holding zone as far as work is concerned, so I won't go into much of that right now. But, last week we had a big scare with David's health. It turns out that he has a kidney stone in his left kidney and he's been on medication all week to help him pass it. Last Thursday night some severe pain set in and traveled up his back. Unfortunately the pain was so intense that it caused his body to tense up and restricted his breathing and mobility. It was very scarey at first because we did not know what was wrong and he went to the emergency room at 11:30 at night. Thank God we had a friend that could stay at the apartment with the kids so that I could go with him. Once the pain subsided, then he could better identify where it was originating from and a MRI confirmed the kidney stones. Since he was discharged, he has been doing really well and we believe he's passed some of the stone without any pain. <br />
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David got his Chilean driver's license (the one from the States is only good for 3 months) today, and he got our Chilean bank account (checks and debit card) a few days ago. We are also in the process of doing the kids' citizenship paperwork for them to have dual citizenship. Since we will be here longer than 3 months, we have to do legal paperwork to stay here. Once the kids' paperwork is submitted, we will file my paperwork to get a visa or residency. In addition to taking care of all of our "business", David has also been working with him brother who just bought out the business next to him and expanded his small business. It's been great for David to be a part of that with him. <br />
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This past Tuesday David's mom came to Santiago to stay with us for the first time since we've been here (She lives 2 hours away). She sayed Tuesday night and David and I went to a 10pm movie, which was a lot of fun. We are looking forward to visiting her at the end of the month and also in November because she has a big garden and Nico is going to go to her house when they pick all of the vegetables from the garden. He will also help them plant the new vegetables for the next season. He is so excited! I'm anxious to spend more time with her because I want her to teach me how to cook some of the traditional Chilean meals. One of my goals while we are here is to learn certain parts of the traditional culture so that I can help carry on some of those things in our home in the States as our children grow up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-43343274463004654772011-10-14T21:10:00.002-04:002011-10-14T21:10:28.425-04:00Our View<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPi4qb-VdnrouRdnaFNHJkZH-Dh5kIcxt_MPYee0FLqjTMX-tzLdt1B-99PhBYWnPXsAZP6Zpxg4Sw6f9DmPyP0bvLY36gnjenUKm_x3ISJjbgraQa6cI6B1d_SbDADMPZuR3oRZqYDlPG/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPi4qb-VdnrouRdnaFNHJkZH-Dh5kIcxt_MPYee0FLqjTMX-tzLdt1B-99PhBYWnPXsAZP6Zpxg4Sw6f9DmPyP0bvLY36gnjenUKm_x3ISJjbgraQa6cI6B1d_SbDADMPZuR3oRZqYDlPG/s320/IMG_0720.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJr31Ugb8e0TeDwH2L6gGwJExiSbUswPTzlm1ycYFTN8bLnWAcxOnKRV4En2rRbt1GQNSGmIylbgTjOKYizfhiPiGiJKdxgefkhd7dS6VpNLSzZ0TClPeotAKVlir_OvMFcfiCtiIcEDR/s1600/IMG_0719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJr31Ugb8e0TeDwH2L6gGwJExiSbUswPTzlm1ycYFTN8bLnWAcxOnKRV4En2rRbt1GQNSGmIylbgTjOKYizfhiPiGiJKdxgefkhd7dS6VpNLSzZ0TClPeotAKVlir_OvMFcfiCtiIcEDR/s320/IMG_0719.JPG" width="238" /></a>
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One of the perks to this apartment is that we have a great view of the Andes
mountain range. If it weren’t for the apartment directly between us and the
view of the mountains, our view would be panoramic. Although the building
interrupts our panoramic view, it also blocks the rising sun for the first 6
hours of the day, which keeps our apartment much cooler on a hot day, and we
like the building obstruction for that reason. Anyway......each day when I wake
up, I pull back the curtain to see what the view looks like on that day. It's
really a treat because when we were in the states I thought, "Could you
imagine if we ended up in an apartment with a view of the mountains?! That'd be
amazing!" And here we are with this view!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I always say that my favorite part of being in Santiago is that you're
always surrounded by enormous mountains. In such a big city with so much
commotion all of the time, the mountains offer such a comforting and peaceful
backdrop. I told Nico before we came to Chile this time that one of my favorite
things about Chile is the view of the mountains. Then I told him, "The
reason I love the view of the mountains is because it is a constant reminder of
how big God is and how small I am." Since we've been here, he also has
been fascinated by the mountains and he always gets excited about a beautiful
view. I'm so happy to see him appreciate creation and to begin to understand
how big the world is around him.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I have taken pics of some of the breathtaking views that we've come across
so far. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4aTR0AT0reXPKuq7Jh8TFPMgx-4NV2UTreGRi0FAnWNTSrdn93Vy2yzl_nFYfdQW4B8JvNZUjdFSuPtCL2zC8soUTSoTF4BmVYWgUG907rG8Bb4VgPnHGGwF9vyDC0tPa9nzc3F54EQI/s1600/IMG_0714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4aTR0AT0reXPKuq7Jh8TFPMgx-4NV2UTreGRi0FAnWNTSrdn93Vy2yzl_nFYfdQW4B8JvNZUjdFSuPtCL2zC8soUTSoTF4BmVYWgUG907rG8Bb4VgPnHGGwF9vyDC0tPa9nzc3F54EQI/s320/IMG_0714.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-45600505026671600542011-09-29T22:16:00.002-04:002011-09-29T22:25:50.430-04:00Our new apartment!I'll go ahead and tell the story of how we got into this apartment in this post because it really was a blessing that God had in store for us at just the right moment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTJT-rXieTUsS1wUGviWwDL9R0Ado4pfZO7nyt-0afp9yQgW9ksrvuBbS8TXDbi5BWngIusqiHtUAey7wBpVM86iJvrtx6VDvkvP44KeMgxjarTSVahbwT4wUCpp7lEh8b6FXLWGuGij8/s1600/IMG_0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTJT-rXieTUsS1wUGviWwDL9R0Ado4pfZO7nyt-0afp9yQgW9ksrvuBbS8TXDbi5BWngIusqiHtUAey7wBpVM86iJvrtx6VDvkvP44KeMgxjarTSVahbwT4wUCpp7lEh8b6FXLWGuGij8/s200/IMG_0613.JPG" width="149" /></a>When we arrived in Chile, we decided to go straight to Vina del Mar, which is a coastal city about 1.5 hours away from Santiago, but only about 20 minutes away from David's sister and mom. We had some leads that there may be work there for David and we felt like we had to give it a shot. We spent 4 days in a temporary apartment that was spacious but sub standard in it's amenities. During those 4 days we searched for an apartment to rent and for a school for the kids. Right when we found a school and a potential apartment, David had a meeting that indicated that he'd need to be in Santiago to pursue the work he was interested in. That same day, we packed a few bags and headed to Santiago to figure things out there. We left most of our luggage behind at David's sister's house. We arrived in Santiago without a plan, or a place to stay for that matter. After sitting in the upstairs of McDonald's (which happens to be the nicest fast food chain in town and all stores have 2-3 levels and an espresso/ice cream cafe attached) for a few hours, we eventually found a temporary apartment that was very comfortable, but not in the best part of town. That apartment was available for 3 nights, which was our time frame to find a place to live in Santiago. Thursday night would be our last night in that apartment and by Wed night we still had no potential apartments. We found that an apartment in the area of town that interested us and that we felt safe in would be way over budget for us....not to mention we were hoping to find a furnished apartment. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DKIjAnqZAGHtyJcmHvf6LpCwXyTaAKDlUAomhSFD-r2Ut6xRnoy0pTWuzkh0WfCt0clQQKnWmWYztP6aEuTVUkI7_P53IEwEYG-6XhLAhht9lHEo3npu1X4RHwoVOpn4GKxK2Q8hECro/s1600/IMG_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DKIjAnqZAGHtyJcmHvf6LpCwXyTaAKDlUAomhSFD-r2Ut6xRnoy0pTWuzkh0WfCt0clQQKnWmWYztP6aEuTVUkI7_P53IEwEYG-6XhLAhht9lHEo3npu1X4RHwoVOpn4GKxK2Q8hECro/s200/IMG_0628.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbZeeP6IvspE4akL39xYaxlL4d4fNXT8D07FTvec0WRXEtcfBi25ydMjhCslMHZdhFV8IiiLcPa-xoW-Itd4ge3Jb8lV__CVnGhVeyuByEQzGhbsKhAOW0kNFrg6qagA3blkv_husK2LZ/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbZeeP6IvspE4akL39xYaxlL4d4fNXT8D07FTvec0WRXEtcfBi25ydMjhCslMHZdhFV8IiiLcPa-xoW-Itd4ge3Jb8lV__CVnGhVeyuByEQzGhbsKhAOW0kNFrg6qagA3blkv_husK2LZ/s200/IMG_0629.JPG" width="149" /></a>There were no apartments that even came close to our wish list: certain part of town, close to the metro but not on a main street, furnished, with a parking spot, preferribly with a storage space, safe for the kids, and it had to be within budget. Thursday morning was difficult for us because we were down to the wire with no direction yet. We had been praying and believing that God was going to open the doors and provide a place for us, but by Thursday morning doubt crept in and we started to feel desperate and discouraged. I believed still, but was starting to doubt and fear that we might not find anything that we could move into the next day. It seemed somewhat impossible at that point. The good thing is that God is a God of the impossible. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqxwZHP1cmeD3-Tcxf0hyphenhypheniXWeJ6aH2GiVxricBr_2jDrp87wdCtFwuASquPIO1MRekNvcZMxpVQ9QjaJ10ZalnyPCT8U5tstjNFjagWikwVSvAxM6A9eBbMOZYvAuMy3zpd1v_flcCTaw/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqxwZHP1cmeD3-Tcxf0hyphenhypheniXWeJ6aH2GiVxricBr_2jDrp87wdCtFwuASquPIO1MRekNvcZMxpVQ9QjaJ10ZalnyPCT8U5tstjNFjagWikwVSvAxM6A9eBbMOZYvAuMy3zpd1v_flcCTaw/s200/IMG_0630.JPG" width="149" /></a>David made call after call to agencies that list apartments for rent and then we got a bite! The agent said that she had an owner that was renting her apartment for much more than our budget, but that she said she'd really like to have a family rent her place and maybe she would go down. We set up an appointment with her and found out that the apartment had been rented until the day before, but that the person backed out last minute from moving in. If we had called even one day beforehand they would have never mentioned this apartment, but since we called Thursday morning, we were the first to the punch once it became available. When we arrived at the apartment, we quickly saw what a fabulous location it was in; Residential, but w/in walking distance to the metro, and in the part of town we preferred. The owner agreed to rent the apartment to us for $400 less than what she had intended to rent it for....and furnished! She left everything! And....she agreed to move her stuff out and let us move in the next day! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmwSWN3HZNvCEmf8mqX2tqOYsMb20aVbt54Bn1vVqXk6PdMiRdHqzGSPxy5-d_3pHlMaSlgqttCZs52bEdyJtVof_0-EMOk8BdNBAf1BirhyXCcB5NxkaLUb1JzUDVz80X9ZfbEEJcOuK/s1600/IMG_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmwSWN3HZNvCEmf8mqX2tqOYsMb20aVbt54Bn1vVqXk6PdMiRdHqzGSPxy5-d_3pHlMaSlgqttCZs52bEdyJtVof_0-EMOk8BdNBAf1BirhyXCcB5NxkaLUb1JzUDVz80X9ZfbEEJcOuK/s200/IMG_0625.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTXjDLgFX-nhTYKMxoJVuXKpPDi_YvjVYOrpV1tq5wYz4eXzCGXXzTkI9pxfBTCfcqTxGJKWSVMSW1YnPYbH4ZlZVhDUPL0x4-3xnP7o9_3Ua4Fs-8NcXkfzccPvgrW_7SYSmvb45BhP6/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTXjDLgFX-nhTYKMxoJVuXKpPDi_YvjVYOrpV1tq5wYz4eXzCGXXzTkI9pxfBTCfcqTxGJKWSVMSW1YnPYbH4ZlZVhDUPL0x4-3xnP7o9_3Ua4Fs-8NcXkfzccPvgrW_7SYSmvb45BhP6/s200/IMG_0611.JPG" width="200" /></a>In front of the apartment complex there is a plaza with a playground for the kids. There is a little boy playset and a big boy playset. The apartment complex is gated and has a 24 hour consierge. The owner rented the apartment to us with an assigned parking spot and a storage room!. She left EVERYTHING in the apartment for our use. We have not had to buy anything! It is literally everything that we had on our wish list!<br />
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The space is very small compared to the states, but adequate for big city living. It's probably 300-350 sq.ft. total. There are two bedrooms and two baths with a balcony that overlooks from the 6th floor towards The Andes mountain range. In the kitchen there is a compact washer to wash our clothes. There is actually sufficient closet space, but you just have to close one door to open the other since all of the storage is in a corner behind a door somewhere. There is no central heat/AC, but that is standard. Basically you just open or close the windows. We won't be here during the winter, but during the summer it will be hot on some days. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcruCGmKBc7fUom1_a2_oq0KHAQt6OZQmATAIQxb4uT7hPnNbz-LlrxQG9lu9x0FbE2R0SUoDe5US2YFgCYGj6mSqfIbTXhXY9MTUTejpmNr56RgumMspsg69OTIxjyJhBtAIaLzwMdcCS/s1600/IMG_0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcruCGmKBc7fUom1_a2_oq0KHAQt6OZQmATAIQxb4uT7hPnNbz-LlrxQG9lu9x0FbE2R0SUoDe5US2YFgCYGj6mSqfIbTXhXY9MTUTejpmNr56RgumMspsg69OTIxjyJhBtAIaLzwMdcCS/s200/IMG_0610.JPG" width="200" /></a>We are very thankful for this apartment and we already feel very comfortable here. I will be thankful when we can afford to put up a protective screen on the balcony because then I can leave the sliding doors open and that will give us another 50-75 sq.ft. for the kids to play. Right now the balcony wall is too low and it is not safe to let Ty go out there. We have to have a screen installed to make it safe. Luckily the owner is not opposed to us having it installed eventhough she does not intend to use it. Other than that, we need to figure out a bed/sleeping arrangement for the boys because they will not be able to share a bed the whole time we're here, and I really want a coat/bag rack to put at the door....details. Haha!<br />
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Pretty cool, huh? It's amazing what will come along when we're not in control but God is!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Ke2xgsk3cfwt5WY0Yhq6kuPCUM-8sBAavdt0y_PY1IJgdbD8-FhhpNZTkrOlD26gY-vkZLASb3uHxXIO8r6VQnhz7RHYyk6bObV4gBMVjQn1rMo8fnevTvS9SOnACe8G6U2alLmMIsrX/s1600/IMG_0622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Ke2xgsk3cfwt5WY0Yhq6kuPCUM-8sBAavdt0y_PY1IJgdbD8-FhhpNZTkrOlD26gY-vkZLASb3uHxXIO8r6VQnhz7RHYyk6bObV4gBMVjQn1rMo8fnevTvS9SOnACe8G6U2alLmMIsrX/s320/IMG_0622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
*Note: These are the pics I took the first day. We've since rearranged a little, but you get the idea.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-40281184418595502102011-09-27T18:30:00.009-04:002011-09-29T22:16:25.683-04:00What I Miss The Most<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5GWqM8hQ6Zq6yuSZqvT1i9-Wye6icpalJcSCvEIkTmdIAJEp7y6qMejwIRjOAOyd9mafub2GPKeK1QQZym_Njg_cmUperPUkr0rEpQVbzQLU5WqMx6JsPpLPsOX457ZxEfNEIQyCztB/s1600/IMG_0702.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657177212958130946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5GWqM8hQ6Zq6yuSZqvT1i9-Wye6icpalJcSCvEIkTmdIAJEp7y6qMejwIRjOAOyd9mafub2GPKeK1QQZym_Njg_cmUperPUkr0rEpQVbzQLU5WqMx6JsPpLPsOX457ZxEfNEIQyCztB/s200/IMG_0702.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEPUJ_JZGFXvOnvd9OUex3CNSHErreb867RiUEC8JE1kw-KYNUbsErCBVngsJVd6BwHKa6lgAtVz8DqEuqAJf18rKYDlQ37mD7n0PAIP-hSXoj9HLKeRxhM2n13Ya40kmxU-sSP54kOm-/s1600/IMG_0700.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 150px; height: 200px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657176963751076610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEPUJ_JZGFXvOnvd9OUex3CNSHErreb867RiUEC8JE1kw-KYNUbsErCBVngsJVd6BwHKa6lgAtVz8DqEuqAJf18rKYDlQ37mD7n0PAIP-hSXoj9HLKeRxhM2n13Ya40kmxU-sSP54kOm-/s200/IMG_0700.JPG" /></a><br /><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdU4zOJ34aL_H1XIxYLFNJ0L7lt4f2pudZt-uyqmV1gs4qjXZptSfl_wT95VtWyANySN5eDRK8gLYKvDe_akwMs1_X5NWt_SCL75q_d2v6dx_JELO64T11nbI6IFYmun5ZG2v_rBF54U4/s1600/IMG_0700.JPG"></a><br /><div>Apart from my family, friends, and the space in our house, what I miss the most is our dryer and our dishwasher. </div><div>Luckily we have a washer for our clothes (it's in the kitchen under the sink), but we don't have a dryer. The clothes dry within about two hours hanging outside and it's not even that hot outside.</div><div> </div><div>We're having serious issues with keeping up with our dishes. We have to figure out another system! Ideally we'd each have a glass and a plate and that's all we'd use, but with kids that gets difficult. Especially because the kitchen is a seperate room with a door, so it doesn't lend itself to washing dishes while you watch the kids or while you talk about the day. You have to be close din the kitchen to get the job done. </div><div> </div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-26569400219738409802011-09-25T23:00:00.004-04:002011-09-25T23:26:52.527-04:00Chile Adventure 2011<div>Well, I have been an utter disappointment to the blogging world. I was pretty sure that I would not be very successful before I even started, and my inclination has proven to be true. Once again, I am going to give it a shot. The Cabrera family has embarked on a new adventure that I would love to document and maybe blogging is the way to go. We'll see!</div><div> </div><div>Two weeks and two days ago, on September 9, 2011, we arrived to Chile for an 8 month stint. How we got to this point is another post, but here we are. We are now in a two bedroom apartment in Santiago, we're driving a 4-door Mazda 2, and we're ready to see what God has in store for our next 7.5 months. </div><div> </div><div>Although I do want to document the really important stuff, I also just want a place to put the funny things that I come across on a daily basis.</div><div> </div><div>What has impressed me the most so far?</div><div>ANSWER: Parking garages!</div><div>These people have parking garages down to a science! </div><ul><li>They are all under ground. Under the mall, under the city streets, under the hospital, under whatever (I mean, they even have a turnpike that is under a river!) </li><li>Every parking spot has a sensor above it. When there is a car parked in the spot, a light that hangs above the end of the spot turns red. When the car pulls out, the light turns green. </li><li>At each intersection there is a sign that indicates how many available spots you can find in that row. When all the spots on that row are full, the sign turns into an X.</li><li>There are pedestrian walkways in the parking garage: Instersections where you cross, lanes that you walk in, etc. (This makes sense b/c people drive crazy and you could easily get side swiped if you're not standing in the right spot)</li><li>There are car washes in the parking garage. If you need a car wash, oh...just park in the car wash corner! For an extra $4 you can get your car washed while you shop!</li></ul><p>Not to metion other cool things like the magnetic grocery carts that you take up an down the moving sidewalk ramp. Or the grocery store/wal-mart entrance that you have via the mall. Talk about a one-stop-shop! The mall, dinner at a restaurant, the grocery store, oh...and a car wash....all in one!</p><p>I'll take pics and post!</p><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-55130465196582899802010-04-01T00:45:00.002-04:002010-04-01T00:49:55.759-04:00Chile Next Week!David is going on a mission trip to Chile! Our friend that works for American Airlines has offered David a very cheap stand-by ticket and he is going to fly out at the beginning of next week. David will be taking the funds that have been collected thus far with him, evaluating the needs, and allocating the funds over the week. He's also hoping to get his hands dirty and get some projects started in some homes while he's there. A friend has offered him a place to stay and a car to drive. Before he leaves Chile, he'll be able to evaluate what the most urgent needs are so that we know how to allocate any funds collected between now and then. The rainy season is right around the corner and we hope to help our family make the necessary repairs so that their roofs aren't leaking when the rain comes. A few weekends after David's return, we are going to host a backyard dinner at our house to show pictures of the work being done in Chile due to the generosity of our friends and family. I will be in touch about the date and time of that dinner soon.<br /><br />We still need support! David leaves next week, so now is the best time! If you would like to contribute towards the stand-by ticket or towards the repairs that need to be done in Chile, you can go to the button below or you can mail a contribution to 5728 Sylvan Drive Columbia, SC 29206. Please make checks payable to Cabrera's Chile Relief Fund. If you would like to make a sizeable contribution ($500+), make checks payable to "Radius Church" and mail it to the address above. They can then issue you a tax-deductible receipt.<br /><input value="_s-xclick" type="hidden" name="cmd"><br /><input value="D54MWQ6TNUM6U" type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id"><br /><input border="0" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" type="image" name="submit"><br /><img border="0" alt="" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1" /><br />We will be collecting funds to help out friends and family in Chile until the backyard dinner. Any funds collected after David's departure will be wired to Chile after his return. Please pray for him as he travels and pray for me as the boys and I miss him very much!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-18300539515480944812010-03-10T22:17:00.012-05:002010-03-10T23:42:02.246-05:00Chile: 10 days later<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeG0tjKq_Ru7Ml5wbu_yuY0UThXj8vB3OWa43pD2V7ZdCvLqiKYioa9IiHmAXaF1ASZ-pD6z-Bq-W2ikPChMEenhGBmOu3qJ0R2pwsI0hS-z-Vhg7lnvFhEFH5G26BPhEiRwxB8YOmQCn/s1600-h/Santiago+apartment.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 253px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 149px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447225211129891570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeG0tjKq_Ru7Ml5wbu_yuY0UThXj8vB3OWa43pD2V7ZdCvLqiKYioa9IiHmAXaF1ASZ-pD6z-Bq-W2ikPChMEenhGBmOu3qJ0R2pwsI0hS-z-Vhg7lnvFhEFH5G26BPhEiRwxB8YOmQCn/s320/Santiago+apartment.jpg" /></a> I don't know who has heard what from the media's perspective, but I can say that the reality is settling in and now everyone in Chile is having to evaluate how to move forward at this time. Before I mention details about our friends and family, I want to say that many people south of where my family lives have lost everything. In addition to major destruction due to the earthquake, a huge tsunami leveled coastal towns and took the lives of many many people that live south of Santiago. Fortunately, our family does not live in that region (Concepcion and surrounding towns), and I do not want to ignore the harsh reality that others are experiencing, but on this blog I will be focusing primarily on our friends and family in Santiago & Valparaiso and the needs that they face. If we were to pull together a large sum of money that exceeded our family's needs, then we would be excited to be able to support efforts to care for those in the south. If you are interested in helping us help our family and friends, please click on the link below:<br /><input value="_s-xclick" type="hidden" name="cmd"><br /><input value="D54MWQ6TNUM6U" type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id"><br /><input border="0" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" type="image" name="submit"><br />Please understand that any money sent to the above account is not tax-deductible and is simply a gift. If you would like to send a donation via snail mail, you can make checks payable to "Cabrera's Chile Relief Fund" and mail them to us at 5728 Sylvan Drive Columbia, SC 29206. Also, if you'd like to make a tax-deductible sizable donation ($500+), make checks out to "Radius Church" and mail to us at the above-mentioned address.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lwQIr02M5qV9yaDdwnf8VkSDj_rE2_Nqmf84U0qmseKi0lbbe3-C6ctPG9mQKTv4ajx1jGssJyqUSZwoSznm-vjXSBnkXVzhTuFhvYRS4h52K1CGan5_8Dd6Dnkgi7x6oQS99sZ-etXS/s1600-h/winston+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 98px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447225759441161362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lwQIr02M5qV9yaDdwnf8VkSDj_rE2_Nqmf84U0qmseKi0lbbe3-C6ctPG9mQKTv4ajx1jGssJyqUSZwoSznm-vjXSBnkXVzhTuFhvYRS4h52K1CGan5_8Dd6Dnkgi7x6oQS99sZ-etXS/s320/winston+1.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p><p><strong>Santiago and Valparaiso:</strong></p><p><em>This is a picture of our cousin's apartment building.</em></p><p>You know, I thought that the first two days were hard because of the fear and shock of what had happened. It turns out that about 7 days out was when I was feeling the worst about it all. That is when we started getting desperate phone calls. In one week, my mother-in-law's two month supply of bread, milk, and produce had been distributed to everyone in their neighborhood that had no way of getting food or drink. As thankful as we were that they had the food to hand out, the reality hits that those products were their income for the next two months. Their small business now has no product to do business with and there is no money to invest in more products to sell. Even their ice cream machine broke in the quake (it's summer there now and they sell ice cream in the summer).</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGi3J3HobSJDb7_MMMditol52i3FJdOjvfxdC8epo0oCBlpHJ5Mq0NNoEJyNXp1NJgzZptTQ-zK4209y-jwvk41Dft6BuTuJPurqBsLfcTiSMHnnN9em-Z-_W1j2xcPll5JSJdKLnx86-/s1600-h/vina+store.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 197px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447223227648746322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGi3J3HobSJDb7_MMMditol52i3FJdOjvfxdC8epo0oCBlpHJ5Mq0NNoEJyNXp1NJgzZptTQ-zK4209y-jwvk41Dft6BuTuJPurqBsLfcTiSMHnnN9em-Z-_W1j2xcPll5JSJdKLnx86-/s320/vina+store.jpg" /></a><br /><p>My brother-in-law operates two Internet cafes for his family's income and due to the damaged computers, loss of grocery products (looting), and intermittent electricity/Internet service, he has been nearly unable to open shop. As any small business owner knows, when you don't work, you don't make money, and pretty soon you're wondering how you're going to buy groceries. <em>Picture of a local store.</em></p><p>In another situation, we have some close friends that were sleeping outside because their neighborhood was roped off due to unsafe conditions and risk of homes collapsing. On one hand, the city is picking up the pieces and Santiago looks like it's well on it's way to "life as normal", but although stores may be open and people may start to go back to work, life is far from normal.<br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2vJOXTmjdtoua-fcG2B0mxdyvhS4mapmmojMcjDq__wbdLKKilbCVfH2wXJTgrPbzrKDXiYGnRRiRpq856TlfV88-VKm9Kg-PBxzaZl0QPh8D_eUoFx9cOPOZl47kOKcCR00DtHNkEo2/s1600-h/winston+6.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 98px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447226557476770114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2vJOXTmjdtoua-fcG2B0mxdyvhS4mapmmojMcjDq__wbdLKKilbCVfH2wXJTgrPbzrKDXiYGnRRiRpq856TlfV88-VKm9Kg-PBxzaZl0QPh8D_eUoFx9cOPOZl47kOKcCR00DtHNkEo2/s320/winston+6.jpg" /></a>In Chile, homeowners insurance and small business insurance are pretty non-existent. All of our family and friends have cracked roofs and cracks in their walls. Many had debris fall on their cars (auto insurance also not common), and small-business owners can't just file a claim for their loss like they could here. We hope to be able to help them make some repairs to their homes. David has hopes of being able to help them repair roofs and patch walls with the money that people give as a gift to help us help our family and friends. Summer is ending in Chile and Spring and Winter, the rainy seasons, are around the corner. We hope to be able to help with their roofs before the rain comes. <em>Picture of our cousin's wall.<br /></em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-27597802230319314142010-03-04T21:06:00.010-05:002010-03-04T23:54:54.363-05:00Helping our Family and Friends<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUgaH1DS9XlS5aEyeTIk_pTfBeUV2wkB6X4-ry2vtaUjTZhAmXGWG8Vd5CSetGDrU8R9oxqI1jicHCYC2hljd0Ngz9c7B83oCSjYIDJtzOJjw6QNqx3TCdVrStpbPpZP5RWECEf6SGVva/s1600-h/Earthquake+2010.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444992483126055314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUgaH1DS9XlS5aEyeTIk_pTfBeUV2wkB6X4-ry2vtaUjTZhAmXGWG8Vd5CSetGDrU8R9oxqI1jicHCYC2hljd0Ngz9c7B83oCSjYIDJtzOJjw6QNqx3TCdVrStpbPpZP5RWECEf6SGVva/s400/Earthquake+2010.jpg" /></a>Well, I've been a stranger to blogging, but this is a good time for a come back. I want to take a minute to comment on the recent earthquake(s) and tsunami(s) in Chile and how it has affected our family. We're also on a quest to find a way to help our family, which I'll talk about in this post as well if you are interested in helping in any way (see below). I will be posting more over the next few days. With a newborn at home, I can only post in short intervals. <div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>On Saturday, February 27, 2010, a massive earthquake registering 8.8 on the Richter scale hit Chile. The epicenter was in the south of Chile, but Santiago (the capital where all of our family lives) registered 8.0 on the Richter scale. In addition, the south and the coastal area where my mother-in-law and sister-in-law live have experienced tsunami's and ocean surges that have devastated those areas even more. Since the earthquake, they have experienced over 130 aftershocks, many of which have been the size of a average earthquake, ranging from 4.0-6.9, which have done additional damage to the already weakened structures.</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>Fortunately, we were able to get in touch with our family within 24 hours of the quake and everyone is okay. Unfortunately, they have lost many material possessions and their homes have structural damage. Everyone has lost all things breakable: kitchen dishes, TVs, pictures, light fixtures/lamps, computers, wooden & glass furniture, etc. In addition, my brother-in-law, who runs two internet cafes (his family's income), lost some computers during the quake and others due to looting after the quake. He also lost merchandise from the stores in front of the internet cafes. Unfortunately, he can not do other work right now because he is in need of knee surgery. In a different, coastal town, where my mother-in-law lives, they also have suffered greatly. My mother-in-law's home is leaning and they are literally propping it up with boards to ensure that it doesn't collapse. Although many of my mother-in-law's things shattered and broke, there is fortunately a lot of water, milk, bread, and produce available because this is the season that she and her friend, Anthony, sell these items to people in the community. Since my mother-in-law is here with us, Anthony has been handling their little business. After the quake, Anthony has been driving down to the lower coastal areas affected by the tsunamis and surges and bringing them up the hill to get out of harm's way. He is also delivering milk to families with babies/children that haven't had milk for days, and distributing bread and produce to people without food. Many people who are misplaced are staying at my mother-in-law's house at this time. </div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>My mother-in-law is here with us and had plans to go home this month after Tyler turns 6 weeks old. At this point, due to the severe damage at the airport, there is no hope of getting a flight back any time soon. We are grateful that she is here, out of harm's way, but it is also extremely difficult to be far away from your home and family at such a difficult time. </div><br /><div></div><div>David and I want so badly to help our family and friends in Chile. David is crawling out of his skin to go to Chile and help in whatever way possible. Unfortunately we do not have the finances to be able to send money, so we have been working to come up with some other way to help them. So far, we have established an account called "Cabrera's Chile Relief Fund" at Bank of America, and we've also established a Pay Pal account for anyone who would like to make a donation to help us help our family and friends. In addition, our church is partnering with us by providing tax deduction receipts for anyone who is interested in making a sizable donation ($500+). </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>If you are interested in making a donation towards Cabrera's Chile Relief Fund to help us help our family and friends, you can click on the link below:<br /><form method="post" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr"><p><input value="_s-xclick" type="hidden" name="cmd"><br /><input value="D54MWQ6TNUM6U" type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id"><br /><input border="0" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" type="image" name="submit"><br /></p><p>Any donations made to this account will not be tax-deductible, but simply a gift. If you are interested in making a sizable donation, and would like a tax-deductible receipt, please make checks payable to "Radius Church" and mail them to us at: 5728 Sylvan Drive Columbia, SC 29206. If you have any questions or comments about making a donation, please email <a href="mailto:cabreraschilerelief@yahoo.com">cabreraschilerelief@yahoo.com</a>. We genuinely appreciate the love and support of all of our family and friends here in the United States. </p></form></div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-37695829509926223262009-08-09T17:44:00.004-04:002009-08-11T22:47:56.765-04:00Cute Things Kids Say & DoI've been wanting to write down some of the cute things Nico has said or done over the past few months, so here it goes....<br /><strong>Compliments:</strong><br />Just before Nico turned 2 1/2 he won me over with compliments all in one week. We were riding in the car one day and out of the blue he said, "Mommy, you're my best friend." Ding ding ding! He won treats for an entire day! Then, the next morning I was getting ready for work. I was finally done and I said to him, "How do I look?" He looked up at me and said slowly, "Beau-ti-ful". Ding ding ding! He won treats for an entire week! Man....this kid is really learning how to play his cards right. He officially won me over!<br /><br /><strong>Generosity:</strong><br />One day Nico got a little blue ring out of one of those 25 cent candy machines. He played with it for days and then one morning before he went to preschool he said, "Mommy, I want to give this ring to Libby" (his favorite little girl friend at school). I was surprised b/c it was his treasured item & I was worried that he would want it back after giving it away, but I encouraged him b/c I didn't want to shoot down his generous spirit. That day he gave the ring to Libby and she loved it!!! She kept it for weeks! DANGER....note to self.....first gift my son gave to a girl was a ring....AHHH!<br />Since giving Libby the ring, Nico frequently asks if he can give his toys or snacks to his friends at school. I've encouraged him to do it (only when he brings it up) and it is so cute to watch him walk into class with his matchbox cars, bouncy balls, or watermelon in hand excited to give them away to his friends. What innocent generosity! I envy it!<br /><br /><strong>Little Helper:</strong><br />Since I'm pregnant (yes..I'll post about that later) I have not been the ball of energy recently. Nico totally understands the pregnancy so far and is so considerate of the fact that I don't always feel great. In the mornings I'll lay back down after he gets up. After playing by himslef for a little while he will come in the room and say "Mommy, do you feel better? Did you rest? Can I give you a hug to make you feel better? Are you ready to get up? Do you need to rest more?" How sweet is that???? I feel sooo well taken care of by my 2-year old!!! haha!<br /><br />The other day I came in the room and exhaled really loud (the way you do when you're exhausted). He said, "Mommy, are you tired?" I said, "yes" and he said, "Mommy, lay down here (pointing to the couch). I'll get you a pillow (and he put a pillow at the end). Here mommy, you can put your feet up." I said, "Nico, if I lay down I'll fall asleep." He said, "It's okay. I'll get you a blanket." Hahaha!<br /><br /><strong>Funny Assimilations:</strong><br />Today we drove by a place that sells boats. Nico asked, "What are those boats doing there?" I said, "People who want a boat take money there and they buy the boat at that store." He said, "and they put it in a really really big bag??" hahaha!<br /><br />This week we were pulling out of our carport and Nico asked, "Is this a garage?" At first I said yes, but then I thought, why lie? I should just tell him it's a carport. So, I decided to explain to him the difference between a garage and a carport. He actually got it (which I couldn't believe), so I drove past a house with a garage to quiz him, and he got it right. Then I drove past a house with a carport where a car and truck were parked inside. I said, "What is that?" He said, "A carport! ....and....a truckport!" Hahaha!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-69773964475470318392009-07-13T22:37:00.003-04:002009-07-13T23:12:58.629-04:00Why have escapee dogs?So, last Wednesday, our 2 dogs (Tank & Dakota) got out and were seen near a major road. How'd they get out???? Well....the day before, I locked my keys in the house (not the best week so far) and was stranded outside. I opened the gate to the back yard and did not tie the gate back up with the level 4 boyscout knot that David uses.....evidently the dogs picked up on my lack of skill and escaped. Although they have gotten out before, they've never gone far and have always come back on their own. I was worried when I heard that they were near a major road, so I rushed out to look for them. Of course within minutes it started to pour down rain! Great! A few hours later I get a call from someone who found Tank on the other side of Trenholm Rd. and Dakota was no where in sight. As relieved as I was to see Tank, I was so sad that Dakota was MIA. I've never seen them apart! We were heading back with Tank when my neighbor called and said that Dakota just walked back into our yard. She came back!!!<br /><br />Here's the funny thing about the whole "missing dog" drama......these dogs drive me crazy!!!! I mean, they bark while I'm sleeping, they wake up my child mid-nap at times, they act like attack dogs when the neighbor's lawn guy comes, they got fleas and we had to spend money to treat them and the yard, and their dog food bill is often more expensive than my grocery bill (after coupons). They jump, they lick, and they have no street smarts! So....none of this was that big of a deal while they were just minding their own business. But now, they are escaping!!! Are you kidding me.....after all that I put up with, you escape! So now, I'm out chasing down dogs that drive me crazy, just so that they can come back and figure out another way to escape.<br /><br />We believe that our dogs have been addicted to this negative behavior after we fostered an 8-week old black lab 4 months ago that escaped about 3 times in one week. Our dogs followed suit and haven't laid off since (even thought little Onyx has a new home). Ignorance is bliss! It was so much nicer when they didn't realize that they could dig or escape....I want those days back!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-50608013361851762962009-06-29T22:23:00.004-04:002009-06-29T22:50:10.609-04:00Why buy expensive toys?<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7818uPecBEcxOzfLTz3rhkRdolPXJNno4Q0JXu_fBZ6L_tbGWOBksC7vZjgnz6BHRhqHrc4qjqL9pwEI0OsGRmySECpk6chWFP-LvZ-N_N1T_OZEzWgoGtPYVXAZu5H4pNTPagFET0u3/s1600-h/IMG00455.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352944127407717890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7818uPecBEcxOzfLTz3rhkRdolPXJNno4Q0JXu_fBZ6L_tbGWOBksC7vZjgnz6BHRhqHrc4qjqL9pwEI0OsGRmySECpk6chWFP-LvZ-N_N1T_OZEzWgoGtPYVXAZu5H4pNTPagFET0u3/s320/IMG00455.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Anyone who has EVER met Nicolas has noticed that he bounces all the time. Ever since he was 9 months old in his bounce seat, that has been his way of getting out his energy. Now, he just bounces on the tips of his toes anywhere and everywhere. Of course we've battled with him jumping on the beds, couches, and other furniture. A while ago David and I started searching for a trampoline or something that he could jump on. A month ago I found the perfect toy! We call it his "jump toy". It is safe, easy to move, and just what he needed. This toy has remedied any problems we had with him jumping on the furniture and it also helps him get out his energy before he goes to bed. Here's a picture of him on the toy after a bath. </div><br /><div>Well, yesterday, I walk into the living room to find that Nico has picked up one of David's screw drivers that he had just taken out and poked it right through the jump toy. Yes...that's right....a hole...right through the only half-way decent toy that I've spent any kind of money on in the past year! The beloved jump toy slowly, but surely began to deflate. By the time that we let Nico out of time out, the outer ring was completely deflated. So...tell me....why spend money on toys again?</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352946971913092898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UZGzODudQgv8CBj1Uf57vX6j3KLozCCopepgw0BHZu6y9IDm5RYZ0CDFSV_lsQEq62n1eQafwoMFtx1XFLvOX2h4mZeFO_T2WQQgHC8tWrVdsivrS17Id_0xbQrHuAsCDidahUG5sZxy/s320/P1030457.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-34277493264522506722009-06-29T21:34:00.006-04:002009-06-29T23:23:08.175-04:00Why Coupon Shop?<div>Now, just as I never thought I would be a "blogger", I also never thought I would be a "couponer". It's amazing what life and the economy can change about our lives. So....a few months ago, I started to pick my friend's brain about couponing b/c I desperately needed to save money. Things were really tight and I had little to no money for groceries, so I had to do what I could. After working on it for a few months, I'm down to a couple of hours a week and I've been able to reduce my grocery budget to 1/3 of what it used to be.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Today I spent $31 and saved $76!!!</strong></div><br /><div align="center"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZl2Jpoqg_7azJaXyf5MVdw41AlLBCwnehvJpOIcJuKIq8NBG8b0JQNv8cnuvJdenWIP8T6Q4QgMu5g-3LYNtMwjaKLwcYVATYf5hpcUnlRipeZz6XtY1CfvyJtTl0R_4pLJ89giRy7wg6/s1600-h/P1030464.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352955652004347170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 155px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZl2Jpoqg_7azJaXyf5MVdw41AlLBCwnehvJpOIcJuKIq8NBG8b0JQNv8cnuvJdenWIP8T6Q4QgMu5g-3LYNtMwjaKLwcYVATYf5hpcUnlRipeZz6XtY1CfvyJtTl0R_4pLJ89giRy7wg6/s320/P1030464.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><strong></strong></div>For those of you that have heard of people being crazy coupon freaks, no worries, I'm not one of those (yet). I don't go dumpster diving for newspapers to get coupons that people have thrown away, but I have hit up my parents and my grandparents for their coupons. They both get the Sunday paper and don't use their coupons. This is another money-saving method b/c I'm not paying any money for the paper (or coupons) to start with.<br /><br /><strong>For any of you who don't have a clue about couponing, here's the 1-2-3 of saving money at the grocery store:</strong><br />1) clip all coupons that come in coupon booklets in the Sunday paper<br />2) check out what all of the Buy One Get One Free deals are at your grocery store of choice<br />3) Use coupons that match up with those items (sometimes only buy 1 item instead of 2 b/c it's 1/2 price with the deal)<br /><br />I wish that it really was just a 3-step process, but there's is definitely more to it. For example, you need to <u>organize the coupons</u> if you're going to do this more than once. It takes a few weeks of doing it to <u>build up your coupon selection</u> and to come across the deals that you want. You need to be prepared to <u>stock up a little</u>...when you can get something really cheep, buy a few of them and then you won't have to buy it for a while. And lastly, be willing to <u>try new things</u>. I have become a better cook since I started couponing b/c I've bought things that before I would have never thought to buy.<br /><br />Is it worth it? That's your call. It is for me.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757050202071426975.post-27045843156320372922009-06-22T23:25:00.000-04:002009-06-22T23:47:17.787-04:00Why Blog?Well, I never considered myself to be a blogger, but I have also never been a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">scrapbooker</span>, album creator, or one to do anything creative with any of the cool things that have happened in our life. For all of you really creative people out there, you will cringe when I admit that my way of keeping up with my son's baby memories consist of a file folder in a file cabinet, right beside the "important receipts" folder.....and that's if I'm lucky enough to put the "treasured item" in there. Seriously....I have a lock of my baby's hair in a file folder!!! Hey...the way I look at it....at least I have the lock of hair! (although it is still in a business envelope, completely unlabeled). For all of this time I have basically just accepted this about myself and only <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">occasionally</span> felt a little guilty for not keeping up with any memories for my family, friends, or son to look back on in the future. Although I don't start this blog out of guilt, I do start it with a glimmer of hope. My hope is that blogging will help me balance my lack of creativity and my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">plethora</span> of interesting experiences, to create some sort of archive that otherwise would not exist. Follow along if you'd like.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1