A little reminder.....

Last night I watched my oldest boy choke on a piece of steak.....my heart is still a bit heavy when I think of how scary it was! We were all enjoying dinner but a strange sound distracted me....I looked at Branden and proceeded to ask him to stop with the rude noise. He looked at me wide eyed with his neck stretched towards me....gasping. He turned slightly and everything that was in his mouth came out....but he continued to choke. My instant reaction was to call to Jean as he was closer to him than I was. Jean didn't hesitate a second, lifted Branden from his chair and proceeded to give him the Heimlich maneuver. Proving to be my hero again and just like in the training video, the steak came out and Branden collapsed in a heap of tears. Jean and I stopped ourselves from asking him why he didn't chew it better (we were nervous and scared)....I went to Branden to comfort him and Jean walked away to compose himself.

Starting the day they are born, choking is one thing every parent worries most about and though we have been through it when they are babies and usually a quick sweep of the mouth is all that's required, this was a whole new level for us. A reminder of how quickly things can change. His siblings watched in horror, and once we knew he was fine, they tried their best to make him laugh by sharing vomiting stories and telling him how big his eyes were bulging. I love them all so much and found myself appreciating the inappropriate chatter at my dinner table as I listened to them try to comfort him in only a way that siblings can. It was a moment in time that brought them closer...a reminder for us all!


Let's talk about happier things.....

I visited the local flower shop - its actually a little fish market that sells flowers for an amazing price...you can get SCADS of flowers to decorate your house with for next to nothing!

I have to photograph the flowers.....I enjoy looking at them so much that I have to keep them forever somehow and today I'm sharing them here! The tulips are beautiful.....and I really did nothing fancy to capture these. Because I waited until the evening, I had to use my accessory flash and shot them right where they stand on my kitchen table. I would have had even more amazing results if I'd done it during the day in the natural light. I love the 3D affect the light had on them!!

I may actually print one or two of these for my bathroom.....

Enjoy!

~kel~