It was a DIME!!!

Yeah! It was only a dime (honestly it looked much bigger stuck in her little throat!)and now it's out. We're all quite happy about it...what a great birthday present!

9-1-1

Yes, I have, for the first time in my life, called 9-1-1! Last night my precious little Millie choked down a quarter. I saw it in her mouth just when I laid her down to change a diaper. I saw a big silver circle fall to the back of her mouth. I immediately turned her over and said "spit it out!" (She is quite familiar with these words) That's when she made the choking sound. I tried to reach it, I tried hitting on her back, I tried the Heimlich (not only do I not know how to spell it, I really don't know how to do it!) all as I screamed for Jeff to get our neighbor (she used to be a nurse--and I never have been--so it seemed logical at the time!?) while I dialed 9-1-1. Millie wasn't making any noise and I have always heard that's bad...really bad, so I was in full blown panic mode. The conversation went something like this:

"911 how may I help you"

"yes, my 2 year old is choking on a quarter"

"Ok, we will send an ambulance, what is your address"

"5224 Mountain View"

"You said she is 2?

"yes"

"Are you sure it was a quarter?"

"I think so...it all happened so fast...maybe it was a nickle...does that matter?"

"what is your child doing right now"

"well, actually, she seems to be... breathing...?"

"she is breathing?"

"yes, she is. she's just sitting here breathing."

"ok, that's good. (well, now isn't that the understatement of the year!) try to keep her very still. does she seem to be acting normally?"

"she does seem to be acting normal, but I am in a complete panic!"

We continued on the phone for several more minutes (with Jeff back and all of the Sidden Family) while I am wondering how in the world my tiny little 2 year old could physically swallow a quarter---is this possible? and then the EMTs arrived. They checked her out and decided she was fine (breathing normally, vital signs normal and talking) and assured me that I would be getting my quarter back in just a few days. But they said if it would make me feel better we could go to the emergency room and have her x-rayed. They would even take us if we wanted the bill!

We decided to wait and talk to our pediatrician---who also agreed we would see our quarter again soon. Unfortunately I am the one who has to be sure we actually get our deposit back (so to speak). So I am the official poop smoosher--thank goodness for latex gloves. Nothing so far, but I will be sure to keep you all posted on the "out come".

I definitely have never been so scared in my life--although Millie was quite the joke at church this morning, last night it was not remotely funny. I don't know how I would handle it if anything ever happened to one of my precious little babies. I said an little extra prayer of thanksgiving last night. God was with us and we are all a little richer (about .25 cents richer!) for it.

Snow Dance!

We were very excited to hear that there was an 80% chance of snow on Thursday. Could it be!?! We came home from church Wednesday night and Chloe read us all the book Snow Dance. Then Eliott led the family in a snow dance--complete with cotton balls (our symbolic snow balls) flying in the air and wearing his silly elf hat-- as he, Chloe and Millie dance around and chanted "let there be snow...let there be snow!" And in case that wasn't enough we all (yes, Jeff and I did participate in this) wore our pajamas inside out. I am not sure how that is supposed to make it snow, but we were willing to give it a go.

We had so much fun I didn't even care if it snowed the next day!

Well...a little snow would be nice...

And we got it!

We woke up to a beautiful Winter Wonderland. The kids were so proud because felt they were completely responsible for the big snow. Everything was white and snowy, and even though there was still a slushy mix of snow and rain coming down, we bundled up and went out to play in it. (We didn't work this hard to stay inside and look through the window, and who knows if it will all be gone by noon!) Chloe and Eliott threw sad little wet snow balls at each other while Millie ate ice and said "mmmm". They loved every minute of it and I truly enjoyed just watching them. I can remember how much I loved to play in the snow when I was little and I don't think we have had enough of it in the past few years---we still don't even have enough for a snowman, but I will at least be thankful for a few snowballs.

After about 20 minutes in the mess of wet snow we spotted Lukie and Bekah and invited them over for hot chocolate. Millie's little fingers were starting to freeze and we needed to thaw out.

We spent the rest of the day inside with absolutely nothing to do. It really is nice to have a day off from the rest of the world every now and then. Of course I am definitely ready for school to be open tomorrow...PLEASE! Is there such thing as a "no snow dance"?

Wooten Family Christmas

I am a little bit ashamed that I am just now getting back to the blog. These pictures should have been posted weeks ago! I couldn't leave out our fun time in Tennessee with the Wooten side of the family...never a dull moment when there are 17 people sleeping in one house---you definitely have to watch your step at night since a good amount of those bodies were on the floor! Grandpa spent a lot of time reading in the living room since someone was always in his favorite chair in front of the T.V.

We had our Wooten family Christmas in January this year... we have always felt that the best time to celebrate is not December 25th, but whenever we can be together...and this year that was not until the first weekend of January. Regardless of when we get together, we always seem to have a great time eating too much, just being together and laughing at each other.

It was great to have our "Colombian" Wooten's home for the holidays. I can't believe how tall the girls are getting! Chloe, Eliott and Millie had so much fun playing with Kristina and Ulany and we all enjoyed visiting with Bryan and Ubeny too. We missed the "Maine" Wooten's this year and look forward to the next time we get to see them. And of course there was a significant void without Bill there, but I am so thankful for all the past Christmases we had together and for Susan and JR, who are such a special part of our family, being with us this year. And the Murrays made it in from NY after a short visit in Mississippi and helped keep the floor occupied and McKay's in business.

Everyone enjoyed their presents...of course!

the gift that always fits just right...Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Special books assembled by Susan filled with letters we had all written to Bill and even a few pictures...What a great gift we will always treasure!

look at the beautiful runner Ubeny painted for me...Such talent! I have a little creative competition in the family.

and here's the cool gift the Murrays made for JR...pictures of his trip to NYC mounted on a NY subway map. Very creative and special!

and Aunt Susan enjoyed Eliott's new robot boots. They fit her quite well. Unfortunately she had to give them back!

Eliott got an airplane and Grandma and Grandpa got a quilt (probably came in handy with so many house quests!)

And here are some future super models ready for their runway debut. They seem quite comfortable with the camera.

BEAUTIFUL!!!

What a blessing my family is. I am so thankful for my unique, thoughtful, creative, loving, and a little bit crazy family. And here's a little quote I found that sums up my family quite nicely: "Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts." ~Author Unknown :)

and even better than that one is this...

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you."

Now that is truly the best gift of all.

Christmas isn't over yet!

We left for Charleston the day after Christmas to see Jeff's family. It is fun to extend the holiday and the kids were so excited that there were more presents! (As if they didn't already have enough!!!)

We had a great time with Jeff's family eating yummy Vietnamese food, opening presents and visiting downtown Charleston. Oh yeah, and laughing...a lot!

Best Buddies for life!!!

Funny faces....

Eliott looks like he's about to make himself throw up, but Cole--that is about the funniest face I've ever seen!

More presents?!?...These kids are so rotten! Eliott has been shooting that thing ever since he got it and "little miss artist" is loving the super art kit. Millie just wants to take everyone else's toys away, but we're working on that! Jeff's brother and sisters always give the best gifts. I am afraid they have created some very high expectations in my kids!

We had fun in Charleston walking around Riverfront Park (trying to keep the kids out of the fountain), walking through the market and eating at Sticky Fingers.

Sweet little Hannah Rae slept through most of the experience...what a life!

What a great day!

I have such fond memories of growing up and playing with my cousins and I am so glad that our kids have that same opportunity. They love their cousins so much!

..

Merry Christmas...a little late!

Well, it's only one week after Christmas and I am finally posting about our wonderful holiday. We left town right after Christmas, so this is the first chance I have had to get on the blog. We had such a great Christmas this year.

We had fun Christmas Eve dinner at the hacienda del hirst . No, that's not a Mexican restaurant--We ate at Steve and Kay Lynn's house and had a great meal...Texas style! Chicken enchiladas and cheese enchiladas with beans and rice. She even topped it all off with a Mexican chocolate cake...I ate so much I thought I was going to pop! The kids had a blast, but this was the only night we have ever been able to leave without the kids putting up a fight. They knew they got to open a present when they got home. :)

And after we got home the hard part was picking which present to open--there were just too many to choose from

Millie had a really hard time deciding!

We topped off the night with hot chocolate around the fire (we actually had to turn on the air to need a fire, but it did create a nice setting for drinking the hot cocoa!) and a round of the 12 days of Christmas. We set out a few cookies and some milk for Santa and even a little reindeer mix in case the crew needed a snack, and then we headed for bed.

Christmas morning was very exciting. Chloe was the first to notice that there were some green packages around the tree that had not been there the night before

....those had to be from Santa!

So after jumping up and down on Daddy for quite a long time we all finally got out of bed and headed down to check it all out. There were 3 eager little ones waiting very impatiently for Daddy to get the video camera ready!

Hurry up Daddy!!!!

It was only a matter of seconds before they were tearing it all open....

Chloe was very happy to get the Barbie furniture she asked for. Now Barbie actually has a place to eat, sleep, cook and do her laundry!

Eliott got the pirate ship he wanted...Complete with pirates, cannons and a plank! AARG!!!

And sweet Millie actually made the good list. (we were all a little bit worried! just kidding!!!)She got lots of stuff (too much!)--Elmo, aqua doodle mat, computer games and a Baby Einstein book about animals and animal sounds...just in time since I asked her just a few weeks ago what a duck says and she mooed!

Oh...there's a camera...Chhheeeeese!!!

What a fun day! Christmas isn't over yet...We head to Charleston on the 26th!