Mallory had fun playing peek-a-boo with this gift bag. She enjoyed B's birthday very much because of all the fun grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who were there giving her attention, too. It's such a blessing to be within driving distance of so many family members.
Isn't this pretty? My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, offered to make it for Bethany's birthday. It was so nice of her....and so great that they aren't in Arizona anymore so that we can see them on special occasions like birthdays, now. :)
The yoga mat is the only thing she asked for.....and my mom and dad got it for her. I guess she'll help me do my yoga more often due to her enthusiasm for it. :)
Today, my little Mallory was eating a chicken leg, which she loves to do, and she is not a delicate little eater. She rips into it like a burly man- she'll eat any part of it that hits her mouth. All of a sudden she starts coughing, so I look up at her and watch for her to stop coughing, but I see that she can't catch her breath and her eyes are watering. I stand up and run around the table as fast as my body has ever moved, I think, and stick my finger in her mouth to sweep it out. I was able to sweep out a big chunk of chicken from her mouth, but had to stick my finger further down her throat to get whatever was still choking her. I could feel what seemed to be a bone about an inch or so long, but I couldn't get it out. I knew it- and my finger - was hurting her, but I tried a few times to get it out and was feeling so helpless. I stopped and looked around me and said, "I can't get it out!" My mind was racing, trying to remember what to do next.....then she started crying. Oh, I have never been so relieved in my life to hear someone cry! I knew when I heard her cry that she must have swallowed whatever it was. I grabbed her and held her to me and started crying myself. It all happened so fast, but I don't think my heart settled for at least another 10-15 minutes, though she seemed fully recovered within the first 5 minutes. This was a first for me as a mother......very unpleasant. I do know, however, that she/we were blessed when she stopped choking....I was losing my cool and the Lord helped Mallory for me. Whew!
So, you know it's gotten pretty pathetic when you are proud of yourself for accomplishing a short to-do list for two days in a row. But, I did it. It's been so long since I've felt very productive as a "homemaker", but hooray for me! I even cooked dinner last night - oh, yeah. I know, you're thinking "what? she doesn't normally cook dinner for her family?!" I must confess that I've been very bad about that the past couple of years. I'm working on it. And, I've even stuck to my daily cleaning schedule and still had time to play with my snowed-in kids, read, watch a little TV to relax, and went to bed before midnight (well, I'm a little late tonight). Dishes are not piled high due to my lack of a dishwasher (ugh!)...., and my house and laundry are clean. Yes!
Do you think she stayed warm in this getup? Yep!
My rosy-cheeked baby!
She's a pro at this sledriding thing....always goes the farthest.
Grandpa Ralph pulls the girls on the sled until we get to our hill.
Mallory was so fixated on this snowman that we had to take pictures with him. 
I'm kicking myself for forgetting my camera when the girls and I, and their grandpa, went sled riding the other day, so I'm going to attempt to describe the event. The temperatures were in the teens, but we were surprisingly okay with it. Hats, scarves, puffy coats, gloves, snow bibs, and snow boots....you name it, we were wearing it. So, just picture this......Bethany going down the hill "all by herself" and screaming, "Wahoo!!!" with her arms up in the air as she reached the end of her ride. You see, she had outdone the distance of all the other kids who had sledded that hill earlier in the day...as evidenced by the sled tracks. And, Mallory......oh, it was too cute. She wanted to ride with me just about every time, and because the hill was somewhat steep I would pull the sled back up the hill with one hand, and with my other hand - help her climb the hill. Well, after she had been helped a few times, her little independent self wanted no more assistance. Picture this...little girl with striped hat - with a pompom on top and matching mittens, big puffy and pink-flowered coat, blue Buzz Lightyear boots ( which she insisted on even though she has cute little matching pink boots ), and snow pants that puffed out so far they added a foot to her width - which were only about 6 inches of her height when you add in the long coat and tall boots. She would kind of crouch forward and spread her legs out a little, then take a few steps up the hill, then stop and balance herself, then continue her mountain climb. It was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. I don't know if that that description made it even remotely imaginable, but I tried.
We did get to visit NC this weekend and were so happy to make it happen! Our little-brother-like friend, Logan Mann, got married recently and was having an open house in Fayetteville, so we decided to make the trip -and got to see some other people we love so much while we were there. It's been a year and a half since we've been there, and once we got there we realized even more how much we miss our NC friends. As soon as we greeted good friends like the Ginn family and the Mann family, Jerry, Deon, Tricia, Dana and Dwayne and their sweet new baby girl, the Leadbetters, Therese, the Prasses, the Newcomers, Chris Anderson, and more.......we just felt so loved and at-home again. Our girls had so much fun playing with so many of their sweet little friends. Bethany still regularly says that she misses her "real friends" in North Carolina. We do love living in WV, don't get me wrong, and it's amazing to have our family nearby. I wouldn't want to change that. There was something, though, about having those wonderful friends near us again, you know - who have strong testimonies and have known us through the births of our daughters, through happy times and difficult struggles. We've seen many of them experience life struggles, loss, growing families, empty nests, testimony builders, and memorable events and because we've shared those times in our lives it feels as if we are eternally connected. I love you all! We feel so blessed to have met so many amazing people over the years and to have learned from each of them. Our faith has grown because of our relationships with each of you.
Those of you who are Manns reading this post......it felt so incredible to be amongst your family after all this time apart. Your home felt like an extension of our home - because you've always made us feel so welcome and loved. It was wonderful to meet Becca and catch up with you, Logan. You have married a sweet, amazing young woman. We can't wait to get to know you even better, Becca. Mel, I wish we'd had even more time to just sit and talk. Someday soon, ok? We missed you, Amber and Vaughn, Cory, Stefani, and Sean and Brit -and all of your kiddos! Can't wait to see each of you again.
*I did take my camera, but forgot to even get it out and take any pics. Oops. : )
(Check out all four new posts below!)
Lately, the girls and I have had lots of evenings to watch their new movies for Mommy/Daughters Movie Nights. It's been lots of fun.....we make popcorn and get out some chocolate and drinks. I miss having Brad around in the evenings when he's working or at meetings, but I treasure the time I get with just my girls. :)
