Tanner James and Kassi Shyann

Today has been a day of celebrations! Two very significant reasons to celebrate this day just happens to be 2 of my favorite kids' birthdays. :) Tanner turned 18 today. Kassi turned 14. Tanner always thought it was so neat that he got a sister for his birthday.

Tanner is another one of my miracle babies. He had some seriousl issues at birth. Breathing issues coming a month early and some pretty serious trauma surrounding his birth, and he also had the strep that they test for now days and is easily treated... but back in the day...18 years ago, they didn't just test for it. I remember after his sister was born less than a year before him and we almost lost her that I had felt strongly that there was another baby but she had scared me to bad. I didn't want to go through that again. But I kept feeling I had another baby and I finally told the Lord, "I WILL NOT go through seeing another baby life flighted out!!!" I think the Lord has a great sense of humor and laughs when we tell Him what we are not going to do. Because less than a year later, the same life flight team that took Kimi was now taking Tanner. But he is such a fighter he was better and home before he was a week old. Tanner is a great joy, and a great trial in my life. He is incredible. I hope someday he sees the incredible man inside the awkward boy he is now. He knows how to push every button I have, and then, just when I am ready to blow, he is the one that can read my moods and lift me out of the blues faster than anyone. I wish he could see what I see in him. I know he will one day, but it sure makes things easier when we figure it out in the first place instead of learning the hard way! He has always been a handful. Before he was a year old he was climbing on the fridge to get to the cereal. We wondered if he was part spider the way he scaled the walls. And for the longest time I thought we had the most talented mice in the world. I would get up in the morning to find a knife in the block of cheese in the mornings. I was determined to figure it out so I sat up one night to watch my little man swing out of his crib like a gymnist and help himself to a knife and open the fridge and get the cheese! He never ceases to amaze me. It blows me away the things he used to do. I am constantly amazed at how much a mother can love their child. I hope that he realizes that I love him more than life! Although the little stinker tonight asked if he and Kassi were both anniversary babies! So WHAT if they are????!!! :)

And Kassi came along 4 years later. She had been breech, but we got her flipped and I attempted a vbac. It was horrible because Thayne was not there, had to work and I was 4 1/2 hours away. I labored all day, doing great and ready to push when the nurse told me I didn't know what I was talking about when I told her that I was ready to push after only being a 3 a contraction earlier. She was not gentle when she attempted to check me and hit Kassi's head. Kassi flipped, I started bleeding and her heart rate dropped and it then became an emergancy c-section. The only good part was that Thayne had raced over and made it in time for the delivery. She is the most incredible young lady. She is a blonde! In the Legally Blonde sort of way! She's beautiful, fun and such a joy to be her mother.

It has been a long day... and I am tired and ready for bed. But I am so blessed and grateful to have them as my children. They teach me far more than I could ever teach them. Happy Birthday and I hope that next year, and all of the years to come we get the traditional 'in front of the fridge holding both of the cakes' photo that we have taken for years!