Carlee said during the moment she knew she needed to call for help but wondered in the back of her mind if her dad was merely having a bad dream.

“I knew something was wrong but there was a part of me that thought maybe I shouldn’t call because he might just be having a nightmare,” Carlee said.

When asked if Caylee ever got worried about her sister’s instructions to stay put, Caylee said no.

“I did what she said because I knew something bad was happening,” Caylee said.

Christy said she has occasionally told both girls things to do in the event of an emergency and made sure they knew the address of their home but was incredibly proud to know Carlee remained calm during the situation.

“I don’t think I would have been able to remain as calm as Carlee did,” Christy said. “She knew she needed to call for help and take care of the situation that was happening. She knew she needed to keep her younger sister from seeing anything that might scare her and she knew to call 911 before calling me.”

Christy said she is counting her blessings that the girls decided to stay at home on Tuesday instead of going to their grandmother’s house.

“In hindsight, that decision saved my husband’s life,” Christy said.

Carlee said she hopes other kids who might be faced with emergency situations will remember to call 911, stay calm and take care of siblings that might be home.

“I am just happy my dad is OK,” Carlee said. “None of the kids are going to believe me when I tell them what happened over spring break.”