Since becoming involved with the Power of Moms I have formed a Learning Circle. It's a small group of seven of us who get together on the second Thursday of each month and discuss an article centered on motherhood.
I have learned to appreciate and realize how badly I need good women in my life. I need realistic women who have no expectation of me, my home, kids, appearance, etc. And I found them. We come from all backgrounds and phases of life, which only adds to the experience.
Since I love them all so much I decided to give them a little something tonight since I was hosting at my house. I scoured Pinterest, shopped for ideas, racked my brain and finally realized I needed it to be simple. I picked up large Symphony bars, came up with a (cheesy) saying and tied them up with twine. I should have taken a picture, not because they were something special but for memories sake. The saying was "My life may not be a perfect Symphony but I am grateful you're part of the orchestra." I also came up with one word for each of the girls that I feel best describes how I see them as a mom.
Jennifer Brimhall- Wise
Jen is not only common sense smart but book smart. She has five kids and home schools. One quality i love about her is that she is simple. The reason I chose wise for her is because she comes up with clever ways to teach her children and as a result her children are polite, very smart, know every scripture story inside and out (I've learned to be very careful when giving Sharing Time. They can teach your lesson for you!), are all well spoken and fun.
Wylie Johnson- Endurance
I love Wylie for many reasons. She was my Relief Society President and Visiting Teacher at the same time but she was so much more than that. She was a friend. She has three kids, between the ages of about 25-30 or so. Her youngest, Warren, has Cereal Palsy but is a gem in our ward. Everyone loves him. Watching Wylie and her husband (whose name ironically happens to be Wiley) with Warren is amazing. They load him in and out of the car, gently place him in his wheelchair, never act like he is a burden and give him the fullest life possible, considering his circumstances. The reason I chose endurance is because they will be caring for Warren until the day he dies, which will most likely be before them, and they do it all so lovingly.
Andrea Mangum- Gentle
Everything about Andrea is gentle. She speaks, walks, laughs, she does everything gently.
Mindy Hatch- True
I get to see Mindy as a mom a lot and one wonderful quality (although I could have chosen so many) is that when she tells her boys (she has four of them) something, she means it! And she never backs down.
Bobby Hall- Patient
For years I have told Bobby I admire her patience. She has six kids, including twin boys, so things at her house can get a little crazy, not to mention she just started homeschooling this year. Her girls have been my number one babysitters for four or five years now and on a few occasions when they were not available she would insist I drop my kids off at her house for the night. I have taken her up on it a few times and I am always impressed that she is never frazzled.
Anne Palmer- Calm
There are so many reasons to love Anne. Not only does she have a special place in my heart because her husband, Bryce, is Jared's first counselor, but because she is everything a Christlike woman should be. She has such a calming nature and never seems to get worked up about things. I love being in her presence. She also listens to the Spirit and I have been the beneficiary of that. Once when she felt she should come tell me about a health insurance type deal and another time after Colton was born she text me saying she felt like she should ask if I needed anything from the store. And I did! Just some cheese and bread so I could take dinner to someone that night, but I wasn't sure how I was going to find the time to make it to the store.
I love these ladies and what they add to my life. They have such good insight and I always leave feeling inspired, never like a failure or that i don't measure up. My friend Cheryl, who I met at Power of Mom's in Las Vegas, summed it up perfectly, "When you have women who are already phenomenal mothers and are wanting to be better, you can't help but have an amazing experience."
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
Family Traditions
I've been thinking a lot about what makes the Hatch family the Hatch family. What is it that keeps us going day to day and what do we enjoy about life as a family? What little things do we do that set us apart from other families?
Well, I've put some thought into and realized we have quite a few traditions that make our life enjoyable. Some might seem strange to others, but it makes us who we are.
1. Driving through the cemetery
In August 2003 I made my first trip to the Taylor Cemetery for the burial of his Granny Hatch. There was such a special feeling there and the tree lined roads gave it such a neat look. I told Jared I wanted to be buried there. Little did I know that less than two months later I would call Taylor home and in the years to come the cemetery would come to mean much more to me than tree lined roads.
Jared's mom was buried there in January of 2009 and since then we have visited almost daily. It's simple, we simply drive down her lane and everyone says "hi Grandma Hatch!" (When Grandma Miller died 18 months later she was buried on the same row so we have added a hello for her as well.)
Last night as we were driving through Jared and I tried to guesstimate how many miles we put on a year just in visits to the cemetery. It is exactly 1/2 of a mile from our driveway to Marlene's grave and we estimated we visit 365 times a year. We figure that on any given day one of us is there. In nearly five years that equals over 1,800 miles. Rarely do we arrive home from errands or some place and my girls don't say "can we go see Grandma Hatch?" How can you say no to that?
Over the years we have spent many hours decorating, manicuring the grass around her headstone, hanging out (we've held a few family home evenings there) and trying to create more memories that include Grandma Hatch.
3. "Goos Night"
We have a problem in our house. When it's the one of the girls' turn to pray, then often speed through it not concentrating on their words. We've talked about it with them numerous times, had Family Home Evenings on it and even stopped them mid-prayer but there are some signature phrases they just can't let go of. It's almost a guarantee we will get the phrase two or three "help us to have fun tomorrow" times in one prayer. Another one is "help us to all be home." What does that even mean when we are all kneeling together as a family at the end of the day?
But my favorite has to come from Addie. Every night she prays that we will have a "goos nights rest" intend of a "good nights rest." I finally called her out on it one night and asked her what exactly a "goos night" is. We all laughed when she realized she didn't even know what she way saying! And now saying "goos night" instead of "good night" has become part of our nightly routine.
4. The Spinning Song
Before we said goodbye to our first piano the girls would ask me to sit down and play The Spinning Song for them. As I played the song, often by memory, they would dance on the tile in front of the front door. I think they were wishing they had tap shoes on but we settled for high heels or bare feet. Last week we bought a new piano and what do you think the girls' first request was?
Although it's important to me to get dressed and do my hair and makeup everyday, I will let myself wear comfy pants instead of jeans if I know I am not going somewhere but without fail, I get caught every time. No one comes over when I have a complete outfit on. It's normal to catch my girls changing their pants after school to put on some sweats or yoga pants. I've trained them well.
7. The circle picture
We've only done it twice but you could consider it a tradition in the making. Should we ever have more children we'll do it again.
Well, I've put some thought into and realized we have quite a few traditions that make our life enjoyable. Some might seem strange to others, but it makes us who we are.
1. Driving through the cemetery
In August 2003 I made my first trip to the Taylor Cemetery for the burial of his Granny Hatch. There was such a special feeling there and the tree lined roads gave it such a neat look. I told Jared I wanted to be buried there. Little did I know that less than two months later I would call Taylor home and in the years to come the cemetery would come to mean much more to me than tree lined roads.
Jared's mom was buried there in January of 2009 and since then we have visited almost daily. It's simple, we simply drive down her lane and everyone says "hi Grandma Hatch!" (When Grandma Miller died 18 months later she was buried on the same row so we have added a hello for her as well.)
Last night as we were driving through Jared and I tried to guesstimate how many miles we put on a year just in visits to the cemetery. It is exactly 1/2 of a mile from our driveway to Marlene's grave and we estimated we visit 365 times a year. We figure that on any given day one of us is there. In nearly five years that equals over 1,800 miles. Rarely do we arrive home from errands or some place and my girls don't say "can we go see Grandma Hatch?" How can you say no to that?
Over the years we have spent many hours decorating, manicuring the grass around her headstone, hanging out (we've held a few family home evenings there) and trying to create more memories that include Grandma Hatch.
February 2009
February 2009
July 2009
August 2009
Walking to the cemetery. March 2010
The sunset from Marlene's grave. September 2011
2. Popcorn and M&M's
Growing up my mom would rarely (like maybe once a year) buy M&M's and let us add them to our popcorn. It was such a special treat and one that I always wished we could have more of. My kids should consider themselves spoiled! To us, M&M's is a staple. Some people panic if they run low or bread or milk. Not us. We panic if we run low on M&M's. They eat it almost daily (even as I sit here and type this) and it's a guarantee that Friday nights will not only have a babysitter but also popcorn with M&M's. I remember feeding popcorn to Addie (sans the candy…I think) when she was only about a year. I would break the popcorn up into little pieces and feed her.
Addie-July 2006
2013
3. "Goos Night"
We have a problem in our house. When it's the one of the girls' turn to pray, then often speed through it not concentrating on their words. We've talked about it with them numerous times, had Family Home Evenings on it and even stopped them mid-prayer but there are some signature phrases they just can't let go of. It's almost a guarantee we will get the phrase two or three "help us to have fun tomorrow" times in one prayer. Another one is "help us to all be home." What does that even mean when we are all kneeling together as a family at the end of the day?
But my favorite has to come from Addie. Every night she prays that we will have a "goos nights rest" intend of a "good nights rest." I finally called her out on it one night and asked her what exactly a "goos night" is. We all laughed when she realized she didn't even know what she way saying! And now saying "goos night" instead of "good night" has become part of our nightly routine.
4. The Spinning Song
Before we said goodbye to our first piano the girls would ask me to sit down and play The Spinning Song for them. As I played the song, often by memory, they would dance on the tile in front of the front door. I think they were wishing they had tap shoes on but we settled for high heels or bare feet. Last week we bought a new piano and what do you think the girls' first request was?
This whole crazy dancing is new to Colton so he just sits back and observes the craziness.
5. Baths
This seems like a strange thing to consider a tradition but in my eyes it is. They love to squish in together and play. Last week Addie and Kimber tried to set a world record by keeping their bath water as clean as possible. Their idea, not mine.
March 2011
2013
And it almost never fails, while washing their hair we pull it up to the highest point to make a spike. We tried to get a picture but this is what we ended up with.
6. Comfy Pants
I seriously love comfy pants. I don't let myself wear them as much as I wish I would but I look forward to the end of every day when I can take my jeans off and slip on some comfy jammie pants or shorts. And I've love for them has transferred to my girls. Check us out on my 27th birthday, Kimber and I had like minds.
7. The circle picture
We've only done it twice but you could consider it a tradition in the making. Should we ever have more children we'll do it again.
August 2010
October 2013
We are a family full of small traditions that I hope my kids will remember when they get older. Isn't it the little stuff that creates the best memories anyway?
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