Well, it's been a strange and wonderful Christmas! We began with Christmas Eve on December 22 so Jimmy could be a part of it. He and three friends left for Park City on the 23rd and are having a skiing holiday.
Maria arrived home from Utah and immediately prepared all kinds of Christmas goodies to give away. Maria always makes Christmas fun and festive. We are happy to have her back for a while...she is doing away with the poverty student routine and getting a real job...hopefully, in our mortgage business, she is a real dynamo at getting things done.
John will be joining Jimmy for skiing also. He is continuing his studies at San Diego State, working on his MBA! We're very proud of John's graduation from UCSD with a very high-grade point average this last spring. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History with a Minor in Literature. (When John was once asked what he could do with a History Degree, he said he could make good conversation while standing in the Unemployment Line.)
The most precious Christmas gift of all was delivered December 23 during the Holiday Bowl game (at a hospital) of course). Kristi Marie Pulsipher made her debut into the world with both sets of grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles cheering from the hallway. She is a real beauty and we are all looking forward to lots of baby tending. Linda and Gary did a super job and will somehow jostle parenting, schooling, and earning a living.
Richard is talking seriously about exercising and is continuing to sell all the foreclosure properties his business acquired during the economic slump we have had in San Diego.
Janet lost and gained innumerable pounds this year and decided to go au naturale (grey hair). She continues to be fully enmeshed in the very hectic, pressured world of commissioned loan officer but has managed to survive and even succeed--much to her surprise.
We enjoy hearing from you even though our cards don't go out every year like they used to do...Have a very Happy New Year!
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Note written on Christmas Card to Mom:
We're off to Park City for a few days--never did hear back from Carole--be fun if they could come.
Meagan says, "Grandma is going to Utah for a rest!" I closed 18 escrows on Thursday and Friday I had all my other 8 loans approved! So I am tired and need a rest.
The problem with this business is you're always in the middle of some others, no rest.
Linda's Kristi is a doll and Linda feels really good.
Enclosed is $500 I owe you--thanks so much. We surely needed it.
Jo Anne (my working partner) is so depressed I feel sorry for her. She sees how neat our kids are and what a different life she has led and what problems she has because of that and she's not making it moneywise besides.
But we have been blessed and I appreciate so much our solid beginning from y and Dad. We love you very much! I didn't do well on the Christmas gift, I never do, I'll look for something else!
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Business Update:
Since Richard Jones retired, Bill and Amy and Richard are at logger heads as to how the business is to be run. We have agents doing the A paper loans, a couple in La Mesa office and a couple in La Jolla office and I supervise the whole operation. But Amy and Bill do not understand that side of the business at all and there are and have been a lot of Richard's family involved in the business, which is good, but they are probably concerned about it all. It has become very ugly.