Memorial Day 2008

For Memorial Day we spent the afternoon at Shad's parents house. There were several other families there & we had brisket, hot dogs, swimming, & of course...Blue Bell ice cream. Here are some pictures of the kids swimming. They both had their first swim lessons of the summer from Granny Hanis & they did great.

Hailey Swimming to Granny during her lesson.

Zach playing around after his lesson.

It's Official...Dr. Shad Bingham Hanis

Shad's graduation from dental school was yesterday, May 22, 2008 & was held at the Cullen Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Houston. Amy & the kids, Shad's parents, Tyler, & Amber & Megan were all in attendance. Afterwards, we all went out to Pappasito's to celebrate. This was the culmination of 4 years of hard work & we are excited for this phase of life to be over. We were just glad that we survived last week. Chloe was born on Monday evening & Shad started his Western Regional Exam Board on Wednesday & finished on Saturday afternoon. Luckily all his patients showed up & he feels good about the exam. We will find out in 4 weeks how he did & then he can apply for his Texas state dental license. Although this phase is over, Shad still has 2 more years to go while he does a residency in Orthodontics here in Houston at the University of Texas Dental Branch.

Shad getting "hooded" by Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Ludington.

Shad receiving his D.D.S. diploma from Dr. Flaitz the dental school dean.

Shad walking through the aisle as the processional left the auditorium.

Shad, Amy, Hailey, Zachary, and Chloe after graduation.

1 Week Old: Chloe Eliza Hanis

Chloe is now one week old & doing great. She is a typical girl; she loves to have her hair washed, she eats small servings about a hundred times a day, & she loves to change outfits multiple times a day. She is very cute & is starting to smile a little. She does have one goopy eye that we constantly have to wash but she is a darling.

Chloe's Name: Chloe Eliza Hanis

(Painting by David Grant Dean of Eliza Chapman Gadd crossing the Rocky Ridge with the surviving members of her family.)

On July 25, 1815, Samuel Gadd (Chloe’s 5th great grandfather) was born in Wimpole, England. He married Eliza Chapman (Chloe’s 5th great grandmother) in Croyden, England, on April 13, 1836. This was the same town in which she was born on March 13, 1815. Samuel & Eliza had 8 children who were all born in England; Alfred, Jane, William, Samuel, Mary Ann, Sarah, Daniel, & Isaac. On October 14, 1841 Samuel was baptized. As with others who would form the Willie Handcart Company, they left Liverpool England aboard the vessel, Thornton, on May 4, 1856. The ship arrived at New York on June 14, 1856, & the emigrants, continuing the journey by rail, arrived at Iowa City, June 26th. When they arrived at Iowa City they joined the belated handcart company of Captain James G. Willie to set off to the Salt Lake Valley. While we have few details, they clearly suffered all the hardships that besought so many of the pioneers. On October 9, 1856, Samuel died at the age of 41. Our records simply show as his place of death “On the Plains”. It actually was at the Sweetwater River. He was one of some 16 that died that night & was buried in a communal grave. In addition to burying her husband on the plains, Eliza would also see two of her children lost – Samuel & Daniel. As the Gadd family crossed the Rocky Ridge in a blizzard on October 23, 1856, Eliza became snowblind, in which condition she remained for three days. She became dependent on her 7-year-old daughter, Mary Ann, to hold her hand & lead her up the steep trail as she assisted the older children in pulling the handcart with her other hand. The Gadd family biography states: "Mary Ann, with only rags covering her feet, led her snowblind mother for three days as she pulled the handcart. During this time she carried an ox hoof & at each camp she would roast it & eat the part that was roasted. This was all she had to eat during those three days."Among the children who made it was 6 year old Sara. Shad’s great grandfather while a boy remembered her sitting with her feet in a pan of warm water because they still hurt from the frostbite on the plains.This story is not unlike the many who suffered & persevered. Where the story seems to depart, however, is what happened after arriving in the valley on November 8, 1856. One week later, November 16, 1856, Eliza Chapman Gadd was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Amazingly, she gained her testimony of the church across the plains & that experience brought her into the church instead of away from it. Later, Eliza went to Nephi (by assignment) & there became a midwife. She continued in this capacity until the end of her days. She apparently delivered over 2,000 babies in her service as a midwife. After staying two weeks to help a family where she had delivered a baby, the husband & father said to her: "Sister Gadd, I am sorry I haven't anything I can pay you for all you have done for us. I will try to pay you soon." Grandmother Gadd saw two eggs on the table & picking them up said, "That's all right Brother, I will take these eggs for my breakfast & we will call the bill paid." Eliza died on January 24, 1892 in Nephi, Utah.

Day 2: Chloe Eliza Hanis

This morning Hailey & Zach had their first chance to hold Chloe since they couldn't hold her last night. To our surprise each held Chloe for about the time it took to take a picture & then said they were done. They were both a little nervous about the whole thing. We asked Hailey if she was ready for Chloe to come home & she replied, "Not today Mom, maybe tomorrow." They warmed up a little by the end & took another turn before leaving. Some of Shad's family came & visited at the hospital today (Granny Hanis, Carrie Hanis, Dan & Amber Aird - sister) Chloe is doing great today & has plans to come home tomorrow morning.

Chloe Eliza Hanis

Chloe Eliza Hanis was born yesterday May 12, 2008 at 4:46 PM. We arrived at the hospital to be induced around 7:00 AM. After tons of paper work the oxytocin began around 9:30 AM. Amy got an epidural around 11:30 AM just as her contractions were beginning to be uncomfortable. The doctor broke her water around 2:30 PM & Chloe came about 2 hours later. She weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz & was 20 inches long. She had a lot of fluid in her stomach (which was suctioned) & around 6:30 PM they took her up to the nursery because she was breathing a little too much (80-90 respirations instead of 40-60). The doctors debated whether or not to send her over the the NICU at Texas Childrens but we just continued to watch her. She slowly began to get better & better & around midnight she finally got a bath & was allowed back into our room around 1:30 AM this morning. She is doing great & so is Amy. Hailey & Zach are sure excited & this morning they will finally be able to hold their new little sister.

Marcole Comes to Houston

On Thursday, May 8th, Marcole became our official first guest in our new house. On Thurday night she was so nice to take us to Pappasitos for their world famous fajitas. On Friday we spent the morning at the Galleria, Williams Tower, & the waterwall. We finished our trip off with a trip to Sbarros Pizza & she left on Friday afternoon. Here are a few pictures of her visit.

School's Out!...Almost

Springtime means "end of the school year" stuff is keeping us pretty busy--especially since it is graduation year for Shad. Finally! He has done so well through dental school. SO a few weeks ago he was inducted into the National Dental Honor Society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon. We went to a really nice dinner at Trevisio & enjoyed a nice program where he & a few other classmates were honored.

We also attended the Senior Banquet, which was really nice, even though it lasted about 4 hours!! Shad won the Southwest Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons Award for demonstrating self-discipline, leadership, & dedication in the field of oral surgery. Shad says it just meant he pulled more teeth than anyone else in his class, but I was very proud of him. Too bad there was no cash award on this one!

With dental school wrapping up, Shad is moving on to post-post-graduate school, which will take another 2 years. But we are beginning to see a light at the end of this long, long tunnel.