My Dad, My Hero

As a child my dad taught me to work hard, try my best, and never give up.  As an adult he continues to teach me this and so much more.  He is an example of bravery, strength, and endurance.  Nine years ago he was injured while on government assignment in Afghanistan.  Following his injury I was astounded by his courage and conviction.  He wanted to stay and keep fighting for the cause and principles he believed in.  No matter the suffering, he wouldn't give up and let the enemy win.  He would fight on.  Every day of the last nine years he has endured great pain, yet he continues to fight and never gives up.  He is an example to me of strength, courage, and endurance in the face of great trial.  Happy Father's Day to my Hero.                                                              

Aunt Michelle

 

Aunt Michelle and Tanner.  My sister flew in to meet little Tanner and see the girls in Alice in Wonderland.  I was excited for her to be here for these big events for us, but she ended up being a complete life saver in the craziness of that week.  She came with my mom every day and it really took both of them to help us survive those first few crazy days!  She loves little Tanner and kept a pretty close eye on him the whole time she was here!  She helped me with the girls hair and make-up each night before show time (which was no small task with a newborn), as well as entertaining my boys.  It was so fun and we were so grateful for her help!  I sobbed when she left but we did survive, even if I didn't think we would.

Here's Michelle and the girls after we got their hair and make up done for closing night!

With the boys:  She spent a lot of time in Carter's restaurant he set up in the basement.  It's called CARTER'S and there's lot of fun to be had when you make a trip there for lunch. 

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland was awesome and totally worth all  the work.  Kelsie shined as Alice and never missed a line or gesture.  Through these last two school musicals she has discovered that this is something she absolutely loves and has a talent for.  She is completely at home on the stage.  I kept waiting for her to get nervous about performing and singing solos in front of hundreds of people and it never happened.  She was calm as a summers day before every performance.  After the performances many people came up to say how well Kelsie did and that comment that always came up from neighbors/friends that know her well is "I can't believe that shy little Kelsie who hardly even talks, can get up there and sing and perform like that."  We are happy we found something that she loves so much. 

This was Emily's first experience in a musical.  She loved being a flower and is a great at dancing and singing on the stage.  It was especially fun to see them up there together and having this awesome experience together.  Emily told me that she just wished that everyone watching the play could know that she was Alice's sister!  She's a sweetie!

We were so happy to make it to opening night of the play!  We got home from the hospital that afternoon and headed to opening night a few hours later.  Looking back it was super crazy, but I wouldn't have missed seeing them perform for the world!  I cried through most of it in fact.  I was so amazed at my girls who have talents I've never had.

 

Going Home!

 We were thrilled to finally be going home!  I felt like we were being held hostage when they said Tanner couldn't be released.  But, we ended up being released after the normal 48 hours and headed home on Thursday afternoon so we could get the girls ready and be at opening night of Alice in Wonderland that night at 6:30.  It was completely crazy but we were so glad it worked out and we made it!  Here is little Tanner dressed in clothes for the first time.  I almost took this newborn outfit back because I figured he'd never fit in it (it looked tiny) but it drowned him.  He weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces when he was released. 

Here's the cute little guy heading home.  He was just tiny in that huge carseat.  I'd never felt so happy to be going home and bringing Tanner home with us!

Hospital Drama

 

 

Everything was great when Tanner was born, however the night after his birth the nurses got really concerned that he was making a grunting noise when he was breathing.  They rushed him to monitor him and ended up putting an IV in to draw blood.  By morning the pediatrician on call was there and ordered a chest X ray and more tests to check for pneumonia.  We were a bit concerned at first because he was induced two weeks early and our only concern about having him early was that his lungs might not be completely developed.   After the tests came back and after discussing the situation with the neonatal specialist at UVRMC they wanted to start him on antibiotics for pneumonia, just in case.

This didn't sit well with me since none of the tests showed anything concerning.  They were basing it on the fact that he made a grunting sound (which one of my other boys did at birth as well but no one was concerned) and he only made the sound when he was in his crib.  If we held him he didn't make the sound.  I was really upset with all of this going on as they kept whisking him out of our room for more tests but in my heart I knew there was nothing wrong with him.  He was a perfectly healthy baby and we just had to get the doctors to realize this as well.  It was a long stressful 2nd day at the hospital but in the end we explained our concerns to a 2nd pediatrician who confirmed the fact that the test results didn't show anything abnormal.  In the end, they waited on antibiotics, tested his blood cell counts again, and at 8PM that night we got the good news that he was indeed perfectly fine.  It was great news and meant we could go home the next day as originally planned.  We were also finally able to get that IV out of my little guys hand!  I'm so glad we went with our gut when we felt like Tanner was perfectly healthy and that John was able to express his concerns to the pediatrician even though it is not John's personality AT ALL to question or debate with someone. 

Tanner's Blessing Day

 Today was Tanner's blessing day.  John blessed him and Grandpa Durrant, Uncle James, Grandpa Peterson, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Jordan stood in the circle.  It was a special day for us and we were so grateful for the family that came to celebrate this day with us.  I am so grateful for our little Tanner James.  He is so sweet and has brought us much joy. We know that he was meant to come to Earth at and this time and we are blessed to have him in our family.  And I absolutely LOVE this picture of Tanner and Grandpa!  It's perfect!

John, me, and cute little Tanner all tuckered out.

Grandma and Grandpa Durrant with Tanner.

Our family of 7.  That's still crazy to me!  And the craziness of trying to get this picture pretty much sums up life with 5 kids.  Thanks to Vari for some amazing patience in taking this in the midst of madness. :)

Happy Easter!