6 Month Catch Up

I love her chubby hands!

Playing with Grandma!

Grandma's Girl

Toes in the grass.

Oh what an exciting and stressful past two weeks this has been! My last two weeks at work were hectic trying to finish up projects and train my replacement. The reality still hasn't set in that I am not working there any more. I'm trying to let it sink in slow so it doesn't hit me so hard. I really liked my boss Gary. We worked together perfectly and were so comfortable with each other and loved to joke around. Gary is the only reason I stuck around that drama-inflicted law firm for so long. Three years is a long time to hang in there through all that stress, but hard to let go of at the same time. To sum up my relationship with Gary, here is what he wrote in my farewell card: "Krysta, I will never forgive you for leaving me after all the training I have given you and all the time I have spent debating the proper use of commas! I can't believe you would choose your baby over me. I am deeply hurt! However, best of luck in your new role, I hope you can enjoy lots of quality time with your family."

Speaking of quality time with family, this weekend we drove up to Oakley in the Bay Area and stayed the night at Art's grandparents' house on his mom's side. Let me tell you, you will never come across more good-natured and sweet-hearted people than his grandparents, Kathy and George. By the time you leave, you feel like you have been their family all your life. They were gracious enough to let my mom stay there with us and she wholeheartedly agreed. This is how cool Grandpa is- he has caught fish taller than himself. And Grandma is so cool that she has a MySpace and reads and comments on my blog. We had an awesome visit with them and the rest of the family, complete with a barbecue, homemade lemon cake, and breakfast burritos.

The next morning we drove to San Francisco for Keira's appointment at UCSF. On the way there we saw a bum passed out on the side of the street with one leg out in the middle of the road and his head all bent against the wall behind him. It was crazy. I am always amazed at how crazy it is there. We met with the surgeon and the news seems very good thus far. To rewind just a little bit, last week was Keira's 6 month checkup with Dr. Jones and he was shocked at how strong her legs are now. Where before she couldn't support her weight, she is standing quite well now- assisted of course. And she is rolling across the room like crazy and managing to crawl a little, although mostly backward at this point. He said he didn't note any weakness at all, which is miraculous based on the fact that just 3 months ago she was way behind schedule. She now weighs 15 lbs. 2 oz. (25th percentile) and is 25.5 inches long (50th percentile). She is just about to pop out a couple teeth too. The surgeon at UCSF said that her progress is a really good sign that the cyst could be clearing up on its own. When he reviewed the MRI images, he didn't note any solid matter in the cyst which would be indicative of a problematic cyst. He said it's fine if the cyst doesn't clear up as long as it doesn't get bigger and cause problems such as the leg weakness. The other good news is that there is not any likelihood of recurrence so she is definitely not looking at a lifetime of trouble and probably won't recall any of this.

They are going to have us come back to UCSF in 6 months to examine her again and make sure she is still making her milestones then schedule another MRI is 12 months to check on the status of the cyst itself. I am just in awe at how blessed we have been despite our obstacles. All of the prayers, fasting, and blessings did not fall on deaf ears. I had faith that she would be healed and that faith was not ill spent.

Today was my first day at London Properties. I haven't had enough time there to form any solid opinion yet, but I enjoy my bosses Cliff and Laura thus far. The office is intimidatingly large with a maze of desks and offices. The office is so large, in fact, that they have their own STORE smack dab in the middle wherein you can buy drinks, snacks, gifts, London Property logo items, you can have keys made, etc. It is pretty crazy. The only real work I did today was typing up a letter and making a few phone calls to follow up on offers. I also opened a new escrow. Nothing major. It looks like I will have to take a couple of their training programs on some of the software they use though. It's been challenging trying to recall my real estate knowledge that is stashed in the back of my mind from over three years ago, but I have been doing quite well.

On an entirely different subject, remember all that complaining I did last summer about not having air conditioning in my car because we saved up all that money then owed over $3,000 on our taxes and had to suffer all summer- pregnant- in a black car with no air conditioning in FRESNO??? Well, once again we had saved up enough money to have it installed, and got to making some phone calls to find someone to do the work, when we learned that Mazda does not sell an ac kit for that car any more and aftermarket hasn't started selling ac kits for that car. Now, I endured the entire summer in my pregnant state, and Art managed to survive, but I was not about to put my poor baby in that car in the heat. And Art gets SOOOO grumpy when he is hot, that we would surely end up divorced by the end of the year if we didn't get a car with cooling capabilities. The only logical solution, in my opinion, was to check blue book and see if my car is worth anything close to what I paid for it and trade that sucker in. Sure enough, it was still worth what we paid for it so we began our search. Our predicament was further enhanced by the fact that we incurred a large sum of negative equity on our auto loan when our Jetta "blew up" on us and we had to trade it in at far below our loan amount. The difference, about $7,000, was rolled over on our new auto loan. So even though our car was only worth about $10,000, we were paying on it like it was a $20,000 car.

I swore I would never return to Selma Auto mall again after our negative experience with them, so my brother suggested we go to the Fresno Chevy dealership and talk to a guy who treated him well. Since one of the cars we were interested in was the Chevy Equinox, we decided that was a good idea. They explained to us that the loan industry these days is not fond of making negative loans any more and that it would be wise for us to get a year-end 2008 with over $4,000 incentive discount to close the gap on the negative equity. Another $2,000 out of pocket and there is only a thousand dollars of negative equity remaining which is much easier to get a loan for. It also helped that somehow in the past year my credit went from ok to awesome. And I do mean awesome. They said my score is up to 788 which qualifies me for the lowest interest rate which is 4.45% instead of the 9% I was paying before. I am also happy because my insurance is going down $100 a month, which more that counteracts the fact that our payment will be $60 higher.

I am just so happy that we will be driving something that is worth the crazy loan amount we are paying for it, that is HAS air conditioning, and that the negative equity is almost gone now. An added bonus is that it's a crossover SUV and has WAY more room than our tiny Mazda 3 and we can actually fit the car seat in without having to move the front seat all the way forward and can fit more that just the stroller in the back. I know I will miss my awesome gas mileage, tight turns, and zippiness, but most of all I will miss the happy horn (see my old story entitled "The Happy Horn"). What I don't understand though, is why no one suggested that we get a year-end with an incentive when we initially incurred the negative equity. It would have saved us a lot of trouble and a lot of days of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Jerks...

Anyway, I do apologize for the lengthy nature of this entry, but I had a lot to catch up on. My life has been full of stress and happiness, and twists and turns, and I am looking forward to everything calming down soon and especially looking forward to all the time I can spend with my family now that I will be working part time. I can't wait to get rid of this constant feeling of failure and be the mother that I need to be.

Two Week Notice

I had my interview with the husband and wife Realtor team, Cliff and Laura, at London Properties this morning. I walked in their office and they said they wanted to hire me already. Laura, said she had been thinking about getting a part time assistant and thought about the qualities she wanted which included having a real estate license, notary commission, real estate background, some Spanish speaking abilities, and who could work from about 9 to 1 Monday through Friday. She went into their recruiter's office and told her that she was looking for an assistant, and it happened to be the very day I sent them an e-mail fishing for a job. Laura told me how impressed she was with my resume and how happy she was that I met all of their specifications.

They went on to talk about how they believe in putting family first and that everything else comes second. They told me that my schedule is flexible and that I can even put in hours at home in addition to working in the office or in lieu of working in the office if I need to stay home that day for any reason. I can also pick up more money by hosting open houses on the weekends if I need to, but it's completely optional. Everything they said was exactly what I was looking for, and everything about me was exactly what they needed. Everything just fell in line perfectly. I had prayed that the spirit would confirm in my heart that this was the right job for me and I had an overwhelming feeling of warmth in my chest the whole time.

I gave my verbal two week notice to my bosses this morning. When I talked to my boss Gary about my experience, even he knew it was no coincidence that the moment I decided to put my family first, all the doors were opened for me, but for some reason I am still having to muster up some courage to hand them my actual letter of resignation. Even though I am sure I am making the right decision, I am still taking a big leap into new territory. I will be working as an independent contractor, monitoring my own income, taxes, and expenses- which I have no experience doing. This experience has definitely been a test of my faith and a strength to my testimony.

New Life

The Empty Easter Egg

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students." Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."

Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him."I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She stammered... "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically... all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly... "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away. Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket... all of them empty.

Fishing

Oh... where to begin? My last post was just before my birthday so I will pick up the pieces from there. My birthday was very enjoyable, especially the cheesecake- I mean, especially my friends and family. Somehow I managed to have my camera with me the entire time and didn't take one picture. However, I took some adorable pictures of Keira the next day after church in a cute dress that Grandma bought her.









Keira's MRI was last Thursday. Knowing she would have to skip her morning bottle, I dressed her in her clothes containing to snaps or buttons the night before as to not disturb her more than necessary in the morning. Then when we got ready to go in the morning, I changed her diaper in the dark, very carefully, and without waking her, put her in her car seat and departed. I just have to mention the amazing fact that I then saw a skunk of all creatures running down the sidewalk by my apartments! It was crazy. So we got to Valley Children's Hospital about 6:30 and she started to wake up wondering where her breakfast was, but she was distracted enough by her strange new surroundings that she made very little complaint about her morning fast. In fact, she was playing with the nurses and smiling right up to her MRI.

They used a gas mask to put her to sleep, then put in a breathing tube and an IV. The scan was supposed to last about an hour and near the end, the technician came out and told us that they found a cyst on her spinal cord but that the cord itself didn't appear to be tied down abnormally low as in cases of tethered cord syndrome. He told us that they wanted to inject her with contrast dye to get better images of the cyst to save us from having to come back for a separate scan to investigate it.

When Keira woke up from the anesthesia, she was not a happy camper. The staff informed us that babies go through a strong neurological response when they come out of anesthesia that makes them freak out for a while. As soon as we got her in the car and started driving she calmed right down and was fine the rest of the day. Later that day when I was on my way home from work, I got a call from the pediatrician who had the results from the MRI already! I was amazed at how quickly they came in. He said that she doesn't appear to have actual tethered cord syndrome, but that she does have a cyst and possibly some connective tissue surrounding the cyst. He said NOT TO WORRY, that it is correctable. He put us in contact with UCSF, the children's hospital in San Francisco, and we made an appointment for April 27th to visit with a surgeon to discuss our options.

On another subject, I finally got an answer from my office as to whether I could work out a part time schedule and the answer in more or less words was, "Hell no." I told them I mentally/physically can't pull full time hours anymore and be a full time mom, so I have no choice but to find a part time job somewhere else. I started job searching this Monday and my prospects looked quite grim. With jobs being as scarce as they are, it is hard enough to get any job, let alone a part time mornings job in a field of my desire. I unenthusiastically applied for a few random jobs and attempted to wrap my head around the fact that likely I would not be able to find a job in law or real estate. Yesterday, the idea came to me that I should e-mail some local real estate companies and ask them if they have need of an hourly part time assistant. I really didn't expect to get any bites by fishing for jobs, but sure enough my phone rang that very afternoon. It was London Properties' recruiter who informed me that they have an agent in need of an assistant. I have an interview this afternoon at 4:30! I am hoping it will be a substantial hourly pay plus commission, but I'm not sure of the details yet.

It gets even better- right after I told my bosses, Gary and Liz, about my interview they told me that they heard from a girl named Becky who used to be a secretary at our firm long before I ever came along, who has been working part time for an attorney who also used to work here long ago. Becky is looking for a full time job, and since I need a part time job, it only makes sense that we could trade secretaries. So that is another opportunity in my line of work that emerged from the woods yesterday. I went from thinking it would take a year to get a job to thinking I'm going to have to make a decision this week!

Wish me luck at my interview today and keep praying for my little baby.