Firemen, but no Fire!

I have a million things to do right now, but just had to share what happened this morning!  Every Wednesday I go to a bible study/small group that meets at our church.  Preston was unusually fussy this morning so I was anxious to get him in the car...knowing he would settle down b/c he likes car rides.  So as I'm strapping him in his car seat he grabs my keys and is playing with the buttons....pressing them all, and listening to the horn honk as he repeatedly locks and unlocks the doors.  I quickly grab the keys, start the car, close the doors, and run inside the house b/c I had forgotten my bag.  I run back out only to find that the door won't open and is LOCKED. with. my. child. inside!  He's strapped in his car seat and is happily waving to me from inside!  My heart sinks.  I immediately called Jason (he always knows what to do) and explain what I've done.  He races home and starts working on getting the door open, but also calls a locksmith-just in case.  The locksmith says that he'll be a while, and in the meantime Preston is starting to wonder why he's the only one in the car...lots of tears follow, and the more he sees me the harder he cries.  So I just sit down by the car.  I called Nat to tell her what happened and that I wouldn't be at bible study, but to please pray that we get him out of the car quickly.  I was not panicking, but feeling very helpless.  I got a text back from her saying to call the fire dept!  Why did I not think of this?

I called the dept and the lady that answered said this was an emergency and she would connect me to 9-1-1.  wow, really?  

I told the 9-1-1 operator what happened and he immediately dispatched a truck.  They arrived within minutes, and had the doors open in no time!  

Thank you Amy for the tip to call the fire dept!  So, if this ever happens to you, now you know what to do!  or maybe you already knew.  

And just so you know Preston was all smiles when the fireman took him out of the car!  But is somewhat traumatized because I did end up going to what was left of b.study and as soon as I put him back in the car he started crying, and did not stop!

A few things to note before you judge too harshly:

*The air was running in the truck.

*Had the air not been running, I would have considered that an emergency and called 9-1-1.

*No, we don't have a spare key to the truck.  I lost it a long time ago in a move.

*I have never locked my keys in my car before...or my child!  This was a first for both!

*I was shocked at how fast they arrived at our house.  Honestly, this has been a concern of mine b/c we live on the edge of where 2 cities meet...so they call the department for the city we live in, but that's def. not the closest.  So after this little trial run today, I am confident that if our house ever caught on fire it might not totally burn down.

*The firemen were working on both doors at the same time, but with different techniques.  One of the techniques was exactly what J was doing earlier before they got there.  I think J would have had the door open given a little more time.  You're still my hero, babe! ;)

*And yes, all this happened on my birthday.  I will remember this birthday for a long time to come!  Plus, I'm not counting anymore birthdays after this one anyway!!

Lambs, Hens, and Chicks!

Here's my jumbled attempt at summarizing my Mother's Day Weekend!  It started off with a trip to Houston on Thursday.  I got to hang out with dear friends.  As you can see we have multiplied since our college days!  I treasure these moments when we get to hang out, even if we're chasing and feeding kids between conversations.

Back row: Natalie

Front row: Kelli and Avery (6 mo.) Mandy and Oliver (3 mo) me and P(1 yr) Ellen and Summer (9 mo) and Ben (almost 3)
Here's a pic of my child trying to get everything within reach.  He managed to spill a water and a coffee, as well as spit-up a couple of times.  No surprises there!  Thank you Kelli for being soooo understanding of all our messes!
Mandy and Oliver!  They were in from Alaska and this was the first time we got to meet Oliver.  You can't see in this picture but he's got some rolls...they are fantastic!
Some of the kiddos playing together.
Mr. P excited about Oliver's groovy moves in the chair!
They're actually sharing...isn't it sweet?!
While I was home I also got to go to this little boy's birthday party!!!  Happy Birthday TEGAN!
I might have given P some cake...there's no evidence though!
It was a really fun party with lots of games of Dodge Ball, and just a few injuries! ;)
and it wouldn't be Tegan's party without some karate moves! Now onto Sunday, Mother's Day!
Here's one of my Mother's Day gifts!  I love all the gifts I got, but these are from Jason and it's a plant called Lamb's Ears!  It's one of my favorite plants, and we had them planted at our old house, and J has probably heard me say 100x how I wanted some where we live now!  They are really fun plants with delicate texture, hence the name.
Love this plant as well.  We've had this for a couple of years, but wanted to share it because it's a favorite of mine.  It's a succulent, called Hens & Chicks.  And if any of you struggle in the green thumb area, this is the plant for you...it's hard to kill.
This is Mother's Day last year.  I think Preston was about 2 weeks old.  And all I knew was that mothering consisted of very little sleep and feeding every 2.5 hours!  My gift from J was the Japanese Maple Tree!

Mother's Day 2008: And here's the Japanese Maple Tree planted and growing!

Preston's Parties!

Here are some pics from Preston's first birthday parties! We had a little one on his actual birthday and then another one with family. I wish I had better pics to share...it was hard to remember to take pictures with all that was going on! But you can see even more pics HERE on Natalie's blog! Thanks Nat!
And special thanks to Dad for catering our party with his delicious BBQ!!