Remember when there was just 2?

Okay...I found more in the collection of "lost photos". These are from back in the days when I would (try) to take Mackenzie and Callahan in to have their pictures done every 3/6 months. We kept Sears Portraits in business there for awhile. Heehee! Gotta love my new scanner!



September 2001



December 2001



August 2002


June 2003

REAL oldies

Moving is "sort" of like Christmas. (Come on, trying to stay sane here!) You find a lot of hidden gems you thought you had either thrown out, lost, or just plain forgotten. Here are a few photos we found in our sorting.


Our first car...bought in downtown Brentwood. I think I ate that skinny girl!



Halloween...on our way to "scare" my first graders



At Mark's cousin's wedding...as a married couple




New Year's Eve...2000-2001...pregnant with Callahan

Forgotten UCSF story

I had completely forgotten this funny (now...not then!) story that happened on that Monday before Thanksgiving. Mark mentioned it in our "Thank you" poem...the leaky ceiling. I had arrived back at UCSF for the switch after the weekend to see Mark and Tanner playing the XBOX. So Tanner's new spot was the chair Mark and I had been sleeping/living in and Mark had been sitting on Tanner's bed. So while Tanner was showing me how he played his game...I changed his pillowcases and switched his blankies for Mark to take home and wash. Mark was busy packing things to go home and when I was done, I sat on Tanner's bed (since he was busy "driving McQueen Cars on the XBOX game...go figure...more McQueen stuff...)and leaned back, threw up my arm and it landed on WET PILLOW. Now, at this point, I could have walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper on my shoe and out my pants and never noticed (or cared!) So I questioned myself if I had just brought and then put on a wet pillowcase. Hey, it happens, right? So while I'm questioning my sanity, a nurse comes in to do something "nursey" (I just can't remember...I'm trying to block it all out now! Seriously, I read back and cringe at some of the days we had...) And I'm telling her about the wet pillowcases when she looks up and SEES WATER DRIPPING FROM THE CEILING! We all started laughing because this would ONLY happen to Tanner. One more outrageous experience. We were kind of wondering about the room above us...leaking water? Uh oh! So as Mark headed home to beat traffic and pick up the kids from school, the maintance crew arrived. Apparently, there was a water pipe in the ceiling that had been leaking before and it was only fixed with a "bandaid". So Tanner and I headed to the playroom while it was being repaired...and 90 minutes later, the leak was fixed and we were getting word that we were getting released in 2 days. Only part of the Wieland Adventure!

Thank you, Thank you

OMG...how fun to have the blog linked to Facebook now. It's supposed to notify "fans" with new posts automatically...hopefully it'll work! I tried to sit down yesterday and write my thank you notes to friends and family who have sent food and money to us during the holidays...so overwhelmingly grateful...but it was constant "mom, mom, mom" and Mark yelling, "come see this..." Jeez! And if I didn't run right up to see what Mark was hanging...it might have ended up upside-down or in the wrong room! PLEASE be patient with me...I am sooooo thankful for all the wonderful gifts for our family...and I WILL get those notes out! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continuing to support us!



Summer 2006

Thank You to UCSF Staff

Here is the Thank You we made for the INCREDIBLE staff that took care of Tanner:



It's hard to express the emotions we had as the days turned into weeks.

We felt we were the luckiest family until the ceiling began to leak.

The screaming and crying, and fear of blue gloves when someone came into the room...

Getting out of 7 North would never have come too soon.

After 65 days, Tanner's okay to leave with only one tube,

We finished IV's, popped a few pills, and now we can say THANK YOU!

This Year For Christmas

A Family Poem read at the Wieland Family Christmas Party, December 19, 2009


THIS YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS

This year for Christmas,
Tanner is healthy and fine...
And we are happy to say,
Goodbye 2009!

AND...This year for Christmas,
We reflect and think back...
About families like ours,
WHO GOT TOTALLY 'JACKED!!!!

BUT...This year for Christmas,
Things are a little bit tight...
We did all that we could,
To do everything right.

EVEN THOUGH...This year for Christmas,
We cashed out, begged, and borrowed.
And stole a few things,
We promise to pay back tomorrow.

SO...This year for Christmas,
At Uncle Greg and Aunt Pami's,
ALL WE COULD GIVE...
ARE UGLY HOSPITAL JAMMIES!!!!

Happy, Happy Holiday

Sad to say, this is the first time in 3 weeks I've been able to sit down at the computer to blog. What a fabulous Christmas we had. Tanner being home was the best gift we could have ever asked for. There were some days at UCSF I doubted it would ever happen. It's scary when I think back to all those days in the hospital; the poking, crying (both of us!) and how we made it through. Never an experience I want to repeat. And as hard as we've worked to be back to normal...we all get those flashbacks...for example, Tanner cut his foot yesterday and SCREAMED bloody murder putting on a bandaid because he saw the blood. Not to mention, I got light headed too... But it's the constant reminder of taking things slow, one day at a time and just hoping for the best. He even got a fever night before last...and I panicked thinking we would be back at UCSF...but it broke naturally and Tanner was eating, running, pooping like normal the next day! His own body took care of the germ...hopefully...He still needs to go to the pediatrician for a well check. Our cardiology appointment on the 21st went PERFECT...no drainage, low blood pressure, and 96 O2 levels. PERFECT. Now we don't have to go back for 3 months.

We put away our Christmas tree today, because if you even gave a sideway glance to it...it shed about 800 needles. Time to go. But the house is in nice order. Mark and I spent Christmas Eve hanging decorations and shelves and got the last boxes OUT. We only have family photos left to hang! Yipee! It FINALLY feels like home! Mark's parents bought us the Wii for Christmas and My mom got us the Wii fit, so we've been having LOTS of FUN together as a family bowling, exercising, and laughing. Courtney is amazing at bowling, it's either a strike or spare each turn! And Tanner has a cute throw...and loves doing the down-hill ski slope. So cute to watch. Mackenzie and Callahan are working up a sweat and counting calories...then ask Mark for ice-cream. Gotta love them!