Behold Your Little Ones...

Today was scary. It was a typical Sunday evening at our house...the girls were playing, Tom was out home teaching, and I was on the computer catching up on emails, etc.... Hayden was playing behind me on the floor. He was quiet. Thankfully, Avery came upstairs, and I heard her say "Hayden, are you ok?" I quickly looked over at him, and saw a beet red face with panic in his eyes, he was obviously trying to cry but no sound was coming out. In that split second, I realized he was choking and with lightening speed pushed Avery out of the way (Sorry sweet Avery) and ran to him. Hayden has had slight choking episodes before, I think most of our kids have, where they can usually clear it themselves with a little gagging and coughing. This was not one of those times. I stuck my finger down his throat as far as it could go to try to scoop out whatever was causing this, and I couldn't feel anything, which meant it was pretty far down. All that kept flashing through my mind was my friend who lost their only baby girl 3 months ago . She choked on an apple at church, and she died. She died! Their family has been through so much, and losing a child has to be the greatest heart ache a parent can experience. I ache for them. With their experience so fresh in my mind, all I could pray out loud was "Please, Please, Please...help!" Poor Madeline and Avery started crying, I think they were so traumatized by what they were seeing. Finally, somehow, I was able to stay calm. I turned Hayden on his stomach, pushed in to his tummy with one hand and smacked his back with the other. I pushed so hard that he finally threw up, and with it out came a penny. A penny. I suddenly realized how something so tiny and insignificant can change a life in an instant. Thankfully, Hayden was ok, but it took him a good 10 minutes to catch his breath and gain composure. It will take me a little longer I think. I am obviously so grateful he is fine, but I am equally grateful that I was reminded how precious my babies are to me. How every moment is a gift with our little ones, and how quickly and easily they can be taken from us. When Tom came home, we literally went through the entire house looking for items Hayden could potentially choke on. We also devised a new system for the girls allowance. They will no longer be receiving money from us, but paper slips stating how much they have earned. They can save their paper slips, but we will hold on to the money until they are ready to spend it at the store. Hence, no more pennies in our house...