I have a Blog?

Well, who'd have known...I have a blog! I can't believe how incredibly long it's been since my last post! So, in case any one still checks....here's a lil update!

KILY. Kily is such a cutie! She cracks me up everyday with the ideas and words that come out of her mouth! Everything is "Awesome" to her. She loves dance and swimming class. She thinks the word bridge is "fridge" and dizzy is "busy." She thinks the deep end of the pool is "deepy."

She loves loves loves reading (or pretending to read at least :). At meal time she tells her foster brother to say the prayer because "Jesus loves you." I just wish I could follow her around with a camera everday and capture the excitement she has for life.

Our foster-son "Hector" is still with us. He's about to start 3rd grade! It's crazy to think he's been with us so long (since middle of 1st grade). He loves Kily and Chance, and they all play really well together. This year he's participated in Boy Scouts. I didn't know a boy could be so proud to wear around his Scout shirt around!

CHANCE. Chance will be 1 this month! I can't believe it. He is such a joy to me. The way his big blue eyes smile at me still melts my heart every day. He's into EVERYTHING. Climbing up on the fireplace, walking around furniture, crawling down the hallway as fast as he can to make it into any open door. He has such a fun personality already. He crawls up on Kily every opportunity he gets. I didn't know lil siblings could love each other so much so quickly.

Jose is working for the Child Protective Services. It takes so much heart, work, and wisdom, and he is doing a great job. It breaks my heart to hear the things children are put through. It's also reassuring to see how many people are in place trying their best to take care of these kids. Jose is swamped with responsibilities at work, church, and home but he always puts us first :)

I've enjoyed this summer doing things with my kids that I did with my mom every summer:) From dance classes to swim classes, to library summer reading programs...my appreciation for all my Mom (and Dad) did for us grows on a regular basis! My health is doing just fine and I'm continually reminded of how fortunate I am...how trivial my physical needs are compared to SO many other people. I am an advisor to the young women in my ward, and I love being able to interact with them.

Hopefully, I'll be on here more and able to keep better touch with you all.

The Miracle of (our) Mother's Day

Kily and "Jane"

Kily and "Hector"

Kily and her little Chance

Kily, "Hector", and Krystal hunting Easter Eggs

What a difference a year makes. Last year on Mother’s Day, Krystal was in the hospital—after waking up a few days earlier paralyzed by a spinal cord injury of unknown etiology. She couldn’t walk, bathe, or feed herself without the help of someone holding, grasping, or steadying her uncooperative body into doing the things that up until a few days earlier we had taken for granted. That mother’s day came and went without the usual, if not ordinary observation of the extraordinary ways Krystal was mothering not just our own child, but also the two foster children who had come into our lives.

This mother’s day however, was different, if not outright miraculous. Yesterday was spent simply, but enthusiastically enjoying the simplest of pleasures. We went to the mall and walked around enjoying the best shops, eateries, and people that suburban America has to offer. To help Krystal celebrate her special day, we took her on a no limit shopping spree—which for those of you who know Krystal, know this was a safe and frugal proposition. She limited herself to the latest fashions of JC Penny, and kept it all under $100. Just as we were about to leave, the kids took Krystal to her surprise appointment at Gigi Spa, where she had a chance to take a break from her various responsibilities as a mother. While I took the kids and made them disappear, she was well cared for and received a leg message, pedicure, and other unmanly things that I don’t even want to pretend to understand. Unlike last year however, Krystal was able to walk under her own power, feed herself (though she still got food on her face, which, it should be noted, is completely normal for her : ), and was pampered by others for reasons other than her not being able to physically care for herself. This morning, the kids made her breakfast in bed—waffles, milk, and enough syrup to wash it all down. Apparently breakfast in bed takes on a whole new meaning when it’s your own bed rather than a hospital bed.

In many ways, I cannot help but think that Krystal’s miraculous recovery is connected, if not absolutely bound to her sacred role as a mother. In the past year, she has been a mother not just to our own children, but has also taken the responsibility of being a mother to the motherless. As we have been foster parents, I have come to truly appreciate the sacredness of the title of Mother, as Krystal has become the only mother our foster children have ever had—children who come with their own unique set of joys, and challenges. As I have seen the humility and compassion that she, and the various mothers, foster mothers, and adoptive mothers that I work with on a daily basis have towards the children in their care, I have come to better understand the extent of the joys, and head-scratching challenges of motherhood. Through the course of my work in the field of child abuse, I have seen the good and the bad, the miraculous and the despicable. I have seen “mothers” commit some of the most inhumane acts towards their children (with the pictures to prove it), as well as the unspoken heroines who voluntarily step in and become what biology and evolution failed to give the broken children who at times end up in foster care; a loving selfless soul to call Mother.

To all the mothers out there who have stepped up, stepped in, and done what you do best so well, thank you. To my darling wife who selflessly gives despite the life changing challenges that have come her way, I, and our children, and the children who’ve called you mother thank you. We love you. Happy Mother’s Day.

-Jose

A Date With Chance, Part II

A Date With Chance

So, last Tuesday morning, August 31, we woke up to quite the surprise. My water broke at 5 am! I think I was completely shocked. Jose had to convince me that a trip to the hospital was necessary. I called the on-call nurse and she told me I would most likely be having a baby that day! I was 35 weeks and 5 days along.... so we quickly packed the "hospital bag" and loaded up the kids.

A few hours later, I still hadn't started having contractions so after much consultation, we felt it time to start inducing the labor. We started the potosin and I began to have contractions...we had a very vigilant nurse who noted that the baby's heart rate would drop with almost every contraction. She was very concerned about this being too much stress on him---especially if this was happening before I got to the stage of real labor. So, two different times they had to rush in, stop the Potosin, and try various methods of moving me around to try and change the positioning of the cord.

On the last attempt, they decided to raise my potosin levels one small increment at a time, and wait for 30-45 minutes in between. The baby did better this time and I was able to progress more. However, several hours later, around 10:15 pm, the nurse and Dr. came in urgently after I'd had 3 big contractions and the baby'd had 3 big heart dips.

The Doctor was anxious to check me---possibly I'd dilated to an 8 or 9 I remember the nurse happily saying. However the tone in the room changed quite quickly--yes I'd dilated, but only to a 4 (9 hrs later) but this wasn't the problem. She found the cord being squeezed between the baby's head and my cervix. A problem that could result in the death of the baby within minutes.

What happened next is all quite a blur and took place in probably 3 minutes....I whisked away into the OR, with everyone rushing around, the nurses trying to keep the head off the cord, the OBGYN getting everything ready. The Anesthesiologists had me "out" in a minute--though that minute felt like an eternity! I could hear the metal tools being prepped, the Dr's frantic voice waiting for the anesthesiologist to hurry up.... (Because of my spinal cord stroke, I couldn't have an epidural--which meant that if a C-section were to be needed, they'd have to put me out completely with general anesthesia)...and I was lying there just hoping they'd get me out in time to then get the baby out.

Next thing I knew, and about 45 minutes later, I was with Jose again, staring in a daze at the video camera recording of our precious little boy, Chance.

It turned out that Chance was fighting another battle as well. He was extremely pale---due to a loss of blood. The nurses couldn't even get a drop out of him. Due to either an abruption of the placenta or a blood vessel in labor, he'd lost enough blood to need immediate blood transfusions.

I was able to pass by and see him for a few minutes before they had to continue stabilizing him. He has had a long week--with lots of testings, tubes, etc as he has lived in the NICU...but today we get to bring him home! We can't wait.

Had the Dr. not come into check Chance when she did, we could of lost him. We know God watched over us all during this experience and provided the way for him to be safe and protected. Jose gave me a blessing when they started inducing me---and I was told that thru this experience we would see the love and power of God thru His Priesthood. And so it was.

We thank God for giving us this Chance. Chance Jose Hernandez, born Aug 31, 10:20pm, weighing in at 5.4 lbs and 18.5 inches long!

(pics coming tomorrow)

My most recent "health update" post is several posts below.....

somehow I got "post" happy this weekend.

Trying out video clips for the first time--here's Kily singing

"Popcorn Popping" :)

Visits from Family

Backtracking a little.....We had a fun Spring filled with visits from family members. At the end of April, my brother Erny, his wife Sarah, and daughter Brookelyn flew up for several days. We had SO much fun together. Kily loved playing with her cousin, and we had fun staying up late catching up. We gave them a tour of life in Portland---from Saturday's Market, Biking across the bridges, Visiting Seaside, OMSI.....we packed in as much as we could!

One funny story: We rented a family bike to ride along the riverside in Portland, crossing the major bridges. There is a big hill on one side that gives quite the rush on the way down. We were laughing and screaming from the excitement, but we didn't know that our little 2 yr olds who were sitting in the very very front baskets, were screaming out of terror. Here we thought all the people we passed thought we were all so cute, having fun with the kids---when really they were probably thinking "those poor kids and selfish, fun-seeking adults." :)

All the bike riding was far too exciting for Kily who feel asleep during the ride---as you can see in the pics and video clip below! Proof that she's part of the Myers family...we can fall asleep any time, any place!

Jose's brother Mario came up from CA at the end of May. It was great to see him and Sebastian, Kily's cousin. It'd been 2 years!

In June my mom came up to help us for about a week. Not only did she help with the cooking and cleaning, but she was my physical therapist---keeping me moving and progressing all day long. She was a huge help, great company, and motivational sidekick. Kily loved sharing her room with Grandma and was very sad to see her go back to Oklahoma.

Clip 1: Kily Sound Asleep

Clip 2: The Down Hill Rush

Jose's Birthday--June 18th

Luckily, he had plenty of help blowing out the trick candles!

Kily has captured the vision of birthdays....all she can talk about lately is that she is going to

have a party, get presents, and have ballerina birthday cake (and by ballerina she means Tinkerbell :) You'd think her birthday is next week, the way she talks to everyone about it....

too bad she has to wait til October!

Here is Kily sporting a dress that was mine! Thanks Mom :)

Update

Hi Friends! Sorry for the lack of updates:) I am doing much better---still have numbness from the chest down and am waiting for my hand strength to come back, but that's about it.....just taking things one day, week at a time. I had another set of MRI's done last week and this time it came back showing something. My neurologist is pretty confident I had a stroke of the spinal cord! Crazy, huh?! I didn't even know that was possible! If it's not that, then it is possibly "transverse myelitis." While those two health conditions are completely different, their symptoms are very similar. And the recovery aspect seems to be similar as well. Either way, many people who have what I have have a very slow to little recovery, and comparatively, mine is moving along much faster already. For many people the condition is devastating and life-altering. I know I've been blessed and protected since this all began. I am so grateful for the power and comfort of prayer and Priesthood blessings.

Baby Jorge (no this is not his name, just a "fetus name" that Jose lovingly started calling him hahaha)---is doing great. We can't believe he'll be here in 2 months!!!! Life is so busy at the moment, that 2 months seems waaaaay to close!

Jose just started a new job as an OR DHS Child Welfare Social Worker. He loves it! He'll have to get on here and give you a proper job description but he is working with child protective services and doing case management for foster care children/families. He has a 40 min commute to Oregon City, but it's well worth it.

Kily and our foster son are doing great. With school out, she has enjoyed a playmate during the day. Kily is growing so fast---she is very talkative and is so cute she can get away with anything, if I'm not careful :) She is very excited to see "the baby in mommy's tummy."

Well, I don't have much else to say or any great stories to share...hopefully I'll get back on here soon!

Unsung Hero

I just wanted to take a second to say how blessed I am for such a supportive, loving husband. While in the hospital, Jose was by my side every possible minute. And since returning, he has taken upon himself the role of housekeeper, family chef, family driver, medical transporter, breadwinner, grocery shopper, caregiver, and my "go-to" man for just about everything. From dressing Kily, to helping me brush my hair or cut my food...Jose has done it all, without complaining, without making me feel bad for not being able to help and do my part. He's amazing and I am one lucky girl. I know it's probably been the longest, most draining month for him. You are my hero Jose....I love you!

Thank you friends for ALL your prayers and well-wishes...it has really been empowering and I feel so blessed to have such caring friends and family. We have been blessed and strengthened by so many people. You all are all too kind. I feel like each of you have represented Christ to me through the things you've done. I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply individually to you all.

A brief update...I am walking around just fine now! Not ready to breakout any dance moves or run any races, but walking and getting up and down fine now. I still have numbness/tingling, to varying degrees, over most my body from the chest down, so we'll see when that finally goes away. The main thing we're focusing on is my hands--they are both moving now....we're just trying to find ways for them to regain their strength and functionality. This week we'll do some more testing and see if that gives the neurologists any idea of what really happened!

Thanks again to Jose and to each of you.

Hospital, Sex, and Everything Else

Dear Krystal's blogosphere friends and family,

I wanted to take a moment to do for my wife what she can't do for herself, blog! You see, on May 4th--at about 4:40am Krystal woke up with a sharp pain in her back, and paralysis of the hands and legs. As per the advice nurse's instructions--I was assisting her into the bathroom to give her a warm bath (as she could not walk on her own) when all of a sudden she blacked out for about 15-30 seconds. I scooped her up and plopped her and her baby bump on the bed, got her dressed, and drove her to the emergency room (but not before I was able to give her a priesthood blessing). Fortunately for us, Krystal chose the perfect time to get paralyzed--as most ordinary (and even sick people) were still in bed. Just like Krystal isn't it, always so considerate.

Within 5 minutes of our arrival, an ER doctor was poking and prodding at Krystal's lifeless limbs. Her hands were curled up just as you would expect to see on a paralytic. After several pokes, prods, and squeezes--the confused Doctor decided to call in the big guns. A few hours later--a distinguished looking man in his fifties came in and introduced himself, "Hi, my name is Dr. _______, and I'm a NEUROLOGIST." He spoke and enunciated his words in the same way you would expect a Neurologist to talk if he were addressing a class full of 2nd grade science students---check that, make that 2nd grade ESL students in inner-city Los Angeles. At any rate, he poked, prodded, and left with the same confused look on his face as the first doctor.

To make a long story short(er), Krystal ended up spending 5 nights in the hospital. After consulting 2 Neurologists, getting 3 MRI's, 1 Spinal Tap, and a battery of blood tests, Krystal was released with the vague non-diagnosis of "myopathy of unknown etiology." Through that time, she was able to regain some strength in her legs, and can now feed and clean herself most times. At this point I'm certain she is the fastest person utilizing the walker this side of the Mississippi (no offense to those of you with very agile Grandmothers living out west).

For those of you who know Krystal well, she is bearing this trial just as you might expect, she has been the perfect example to me of patience, hope, and faith in the Lord. It probably helped that she had the best Doctor in the world to call and her and see how she was doing:

Kily Hernandez, M.D.

(She even makes house calls)

The nurses were equally wonderful, and ever so attentive to her every need. There was one nurse however who made the hospitalization ever so, how shall we say, memorable. You see, this nurse was special. She was the most vocal about thinking out loud that Krystal was somehow somatasizing the stress of being pregnant and a new foster mom of a high needs child. She was the same nurse who would constantly forget that Krystal's hands didn't work and would ask Krystal if she wanted to give herself certain shots. Every time she left, Krystal and I would look at each other and just laugh because we knew that she wasn't quite getting what was happening medically with Krystal. However, there is one moment that will remain indelibly marked in our memories. About the 3rd day in Krystal had gained some function of her legs, and was able to walk with a walker. The day before, she was able to move enough to walk to the shower where a CNA was able to help her bathe. Well, on the 3rd day, Krystal wasn't feeling all that well and opted for what she thought was going to be a light cleaning with a hand towel and warm soapy water. The same CNA who had assisted her the day before was there with her protege (i.e. CNA in training), and before she knew it Krystal was flat on her back getting a FULL BODY scrub down by the 2 hospital staff. Just at the moment of greatest compromise, Krystal's unbelieving nurse walked in and with exasperation in her voice exclaimed, "THIS WOMAN CAN WALK." Before there was time for anybody to explain that first, Krystal wasn't feeling well enough to walk to the shower, 2, she didn't expect to get a FULL scrub down by no less than 2 people, and 3, that the CNA's knew full well that she could walk, the nurse turned around and walked out. Just thinking about it still makes us laugh! The awkwardness of it all, this poor nurse thinking Krystal was milking the experience for all it was worth and feigning being paralyzed for a good ol' fashion scrub down.

Anyway, now for the sex part.....IT'S A BOY!!! The day after she was released from the hospital we went for the ultrasound appointment and had confirmed my greatest hope/fear--it's a boy! As you can imagine, there is some good news after all. Don't get me wrong, I didn't care what sex it was, as long as it was a healthy boy.

Krystal continues to improve day by day. It's been a tremendous blessing to have such a strong support system in place--including loving ward members who have been bringing by warm meals without anyone even asking. Or my family who has been willing to drop all to come and be with us in our time of need.

Thanks to all of you who have given us kind reminders that the Lord has not forgotten us, especially in our time of need. God be thanked for his infinite gifts...

-Jose

Photo Update #2

Ahhh....Spring is Finally here! A few of the pics are cropped on here. So to see the whole thing, just click on the picture. For privacy reasons, I can't refer to our foster kids by name, but enjoy the pics :)

Our 2 yr old foster daughter returned to live with a relative last week and we are so happy for her! We miss her cute personality but are very happy for her.

Photo Update #1

Here's a few pics to give a brief update on the past few months....

More to come later!

This slide show has pics from Spring and taking the kids to OMSI Science Museum.

Lost

So after years of never picking of a book for "entertainment" purposes, I finally did it. And I must say I completely enjoyed being lost in a book for a lil while. I devoured "the Host" by Stephenie Meyer (yes i know i probably just misspelled her name) as fast as I could.

All my growing up years, my siblings would always come complaining to me to put my book down. "Come play in the snow." "Come ride bikes with us." I can still remember the complaints--sometimes, they'd even go "tattle" to my mom, so I'd have to go outside with them.

But when I left for college, something changed, and I never found the time (or I should say desire) to pick up a fiction book again. So, why now? Why would I get lost in a book years later, when I am trying to raise 3 children and am pregnant? I really don't know--unless somehow it's helping me keep my sanity! It's definitely not because I have free time all the sudden.

Anyhow, I LOVED the Host. I haven't read her other books--nor am I sure that I want to read the Twilight books, though I loved the movie (I know, weird, huh?). SO, I am now open to suggestions. Have you read a good book lately? If so, let me know what it is!

Oh, also, as I mentioned above "raising 3 kids"-- a week after we got our first foster child, we got a second (just after my last blog post). So for the past month and a half, we've had our 2 1/2 yr old Kily, plus a 2 yr old foster daughter, and a 7 yr old foster son. I think in the next 3 weeks or so we'll be finding out what gender our new baby will be, so we'll keep you posted!

Life Changes

Jose and I have had some great, but kind of surreal changes this past month.....We are happy to announce that Kily is going to be a big sister! This September, we are expecting a new little baby to join us. We are very excited and all is going well so far. If you ask Kily where the baby is, she happily replies, "In Mommy's Tummy!" It's pretty cute, in my opinion.

And in the midst of preparing ourselves mentally for the baby in September, yesterday we officially became foster parents to an adorable little 2 year old! She is tinier than Kily but just as happy, talkative, and outgoing. They're really cute together. It's a bitter-sweet experience for Kily: She LOVES having a constant playmate to run around with, give hugs to, talk to at night, etc, but the concept of sharing toys, Mommy's lap, Daddy time... will take a little getting used to:) But really, after just 24hrs, they both have done an amazing job adapting. I'm about to get a crash course on being a mother of twins :)

We started the application process for Foster Care 6 months ago, and it seemed to take forever to complete. I think I was almost starting to think it never would happen...until I got the phone call yesterday!

Anyhow, it's been a month full of blessings from the Lord, and we are excited to see what happens!

Moments with Our 2 yr. old

Time is passing by all too fast, and I usually fail to stop and record the little things that happen that make life a little happier and fuller. These things of course are usually centered around our crazy little 2 yr old, Kily. So, for my future enjoyment, I'm going to record a few of the funny things Kily does or says:

1. One day I was singing Kily the "clean-up" (Spoon full of Sugar) song from Mary Poppins--one of Kily's favorite movies--and when I came to the part where Mary sings to herself in the mirror and her reflection sings back, Kily chimed in, right on cue with "Cheeky!" (If you love Mary Poppins like we do, you'll know that part).
2. Last night we decided her nickname should be "cheeky" since she loves using her new word so much. When we call her Cheeky, she turns and looks over at us with her hands on her hips.
3. Kily survived Potty Training! Whenever we ask her to "do more", and she can't, she'll say, "It's broken!" and then once she is able to go a little bit more, she exclaims, "i fixed it!
4. Anytime an electronic is "broken," (sometimes the TV or DVDs just won't turn on ;) Kily is quick to remind me that Daddy will fix it. She already knows who to turn to:)
5. She loves to sing, "Elmo's Song" as she plays, changing the words to anything from "twinkle, twinkle" to "mommy sit down with me."
6. Almost daily, Kily asks me to turn on the music so she can dance. She loves to dance and twirl and show off her ballet steps: passe, tendu, plie.
7. At night when I tuck her in, Kily always asks for, "Mommy's Song"
8. When it's time for her prayers, she ALWAYS says, "no, mommy" because she thinks I'm going to help her and she wants to do it herself.
9. She calls her Tio Eddie, Tutu, which has now become an endearing name to him:) Abuela's name is synonymous with "Food." Kily loves her grandma's food so much she used to call her "Abuela Food." She can down any Mexican food you throw at her.
10. Any letter or envelope we get in the mail, Kily assumes is for her from her great "Mama."
11. Kily often cries when Daddy leaves for work, saying "work, work" hoping he'll take her with him:) She also loves to bring him an apple or banana every morning before he walks out the door.
12. Kily loves her new robe (thanks Angie!) And runs after it anytime she sees me in mine.
13. Kily has been able to point out Christ in artwork for well over a year, calling him by name. But recently as her praying abilities are increasing, whenever she sees a picture of Christ she calls him, "Jesus Christ Amen."

That's all I can think of for now....thanks for indulging!