Merry Christmas from the Tanners 2018

Merry Christmas from the Tanner 2018

We have spent our fifth full year in the Dallas, Texas area and are continually grateful for the many blessings we have received throughout the year.

With love, from the Tanners.

2018 in a nutshell

In early 2018, we were excited to announce that Erica was expecting in July 2018. We were thrilled to have another child, and James was pretty excited to be a big brother. 

Excited to welcome a new sibling to the family.

Then in March, we discovered we had a waterline leak. Well, it turns out the leak was under the concrete slab of our house. The leak had been going on for some time, before we bought our house, but was undetectable as it was hidden by mirrors in our dining room.

Water was coming up from the concrete and wall points. 

A couple of days after we found the leak, our floor to ceiling mirror came crashing down on our dining room table and chandelier.

Right after this happened, Erica had already planned a trip to Idaho with her father Grayson so James could meet his Great Grandmother Gay Child, and Great Great Grandmother Marion Child. They took this sweet photo together in late March. It would be the last time Erica and James would see Marion as she passed away in September, she was 100 years old. It was a blessing to be able to be with her one last time.

Five generations in one shot. (Top Left: Grayson Child, Erica, James. Bottom Left: Marion Child and Gay Child).

Stephen decided to meet up with Erica and James later on in Carlsbad, California during Easter weekend. It was great to be with family, friends and sunshine.

Birch Aquarium

We would come back to celebrate James' birthday in April, only to have a tornado warning in our neighborhood. We literally lit the candle on the cake when we got the emergency alert to seek shelter. We took cover in the central bathroom in the house (no windows). What a way to ring in 2 years with this little guy! 

David and Erica singing Happy Birthday to James.

Birthday cake in the bathtub 

Throughout the rest of the spring/summer months, Erica's father Grayson came up on weekends to help and teach Stephen some home improvement skills to fix the wall and dining room as well as install flooring. It was not easy, but after lots of trial and error, we were able to fix the walls and floors.

Halfway there 

Stephen and Grayson with the finished flooring!

Then in late July, two days before Erica's due date, James had a febrile seizure. It was one of the few terrifying moments in our life where we had no control over a situation. Thankfully, all ended well, and you can read more about it in a separate post.

A couple of days later, Erica went into labor and delivered our new baby girl, Lily. Both Stephen and Erica were very sick during and after the delivery. However, nothing could take away the joy and ecstatic jubilation we felt welcoming Lily to the world. We have been enamored with her ever since.

Stephen made sure to be careful around Lily with his sickness. 

Stephen enjoys his work with the City of Plano, as he manages social media accounts as well as train other Texas municipalities on his work. He continues to take night classes at the University of Texas at Dallas as he seeks to finish his MPA program by this time next year. 

Erica loves parenthood. She enjoys having conversations with James and seeing Lily and James interact on a daily basis. She is Super Women of the family. 

James enjoys being a big brother and is fascinated with all things car related.

Lily just wants to be held.

2018 was a crazy year for our family, and we could not have done it without you! Family and friends that helped us, prayed for us, offered a comforting text message or email during times of stress. You have been great help to our family, and we are forever grateful.
We wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!