I'm {trying to be} baaaaaack!

I've fallen off the wagon but I'd like to get back to writing and updating you on our life.  Instead of trying to backtrack, i'm just going to start today.

Today, I want to list a few of my current favorite things.  As I go throughout daily life, I realize that there are somethings that make it more enjoyable, easier, a fun challenge, etc.  

The 10 minute rule-
I learned this trick from The Fly Lady.  Set the timer for 10 minutes and clean as fast as you can!  When 10 minutes is over, you stop- whether or not it's finished.  But guess what, 99% of the time, the job is done.  I've even done this with my kids when their room is trashed and since their is an end in sight, everyone seems to work together much better.

Urban Decay Naked Palet-

Making a homemade version-
I love solving challenges!  One way I do that is to make my own homemade substitute for things I run out of.  I've made hamburger buns, laundry soap, dishwasher rinse aid, cream of chicken soup (which I can't run out of since I don't actually buy!), wrinkle releaser, hand lotion, dryer sheets (well, if crumpling up a ball of foil counts), and so much more.  Part of it stems from the fact that I like the challenge of solving a problem, but the other part is that I know I can do it cheaper on my own!  I've been making my own laundry soap for years!  I've concocted a version that seems to work great and I only have to make two batches a year!  I generally spend about $22 a year on laundry soap.  How many people can say that!

Here is the version I use:

three bars of fels naphtha soap
one box of borax
one box of washing soda

I let the bars dry out for  few days, throw them in the blender and grind them to a fine powder.  Put them in a bowl with the borax and washing soda, give it a good mix and voila!  I use 2 tbs. per load and I generally do about 8-10 loads per week.

Finish dishwasher booster-
One of my favorite products!  I love what it does to my dishes!  They sparkle and my dishwasher and dishes don't have one single hard water stain.

The flashlight game-
This is a favorite for me and my kids. Everyone assumes a position and we turn off all the lights so it's pitch black.  One the count of three we turn on a flashlight and laugh at the new position everyone is in.  We do it over and over again and have a great time.

Wintergreen Lifesaver Mints-

Podcasts-
I love listening to something good while I work.  A few of my current favorite podcasts are:
Happier with Gretchen Rubin (my current #1)
Tell me something I don't know
Something you should know
How i built this
Grammar Girl
Awesome with Allison

Fluoride-
I found myself obsessed with Crest Pro Health Mouthwash recently but after a caution from my dentist, I dialed back my use to one per day.  In the morning I brush for two minutes and do not rinse, then I immediately use mouthwash.  After that apply I Crest White Strips (another current fav!).  In the evening I brush for another two minutes and again do not rinse, then I immediately rinse with Act Fluoride then go straight to bed.

Pure Protein and Larabars-

Would I be so humble?

On Monday morning I sat on a friend's couch who was looking for some advice.  She had just had her fifth baby (making it five kids ages 8 and under) and was recovering from an emergency c-section.  The advice she wanted was everything from how to know if she should be done having kids, to birth control, to coping with life after a cesarean.  We talked about everything and I did my best to give advice as directed by the spirit, but one thing kept coming back to me: she is overwhelmed and needs help around the house.  In my mind I thought about rallying a few of the girls from our Learning Circle to have them help but when I returned home and the busyness set back in, I forgot about it.

Yesterday I got a call from the compassionate services leader asking if i could help Andrea out a little.  I was so ashamed that I let it get that far...I forgot about the prompting and someone else had to bring it back to my attention.  I told her I could definitely help out.  I sent a text to six other girls and all but one immediately said they would be there to help!  I just love these girls!

When we showed up, one had brought two of her teenage daughters and the other brought her son to help.  Loaded with vacuums, mops and cleaning supplies Andrea opened the door in shock!  I had told her we were coming but I think the sight of NINE of us was a little surprising.  She cried as we offered our help and asked where to start.  All she wanted help with was the laundry.  The nine of us divided up and went to work!  There was laughter and chitchat coming from every room!  Isn't that what service does to people?

We worked hard for almost two solid hours.  There was only one room that went untouched, and that was her sewing room.  Everything else got cleaned and vacuumed.  Jennifer Brimhall took all of the sheets home to wash, myself, Mindy Hatch, Wylie Johnson and Jennifer Contreras each took home one or two more loads of laundry to wash and the house looked and smelled beautiful!  I'm estimating that between all of the laundry that was folded and washed while we were there and what we took home, there was about 20 loads!

I went back a short while ago to take lunch and while I was there Bobby showed up to get dinner going in the crockpot.  Isn't she so great?

By nature Andrea isn't a very tidy person, but what a leg up!  What took nine of us two hours, would have taken her eighteen hours of nonstop work....which we all know is IMPOSSIBLE!

I know it will likely be clean only temporarily, but the opportunity to serve was worth it all!

Now, the whole point of this is: surely it was very hard for Andrea to accept our help.  It's embarrassing to let someone see you at your worst.  And your home is such a personal thing, exposing it to others is very hard!  But the awesome thing is, she let us!  Yes, maybe we were a little intrusive to all show up at her door and push our way in, but she didn't have to accept our help.  Instead, she just sat in the rocker and cared for the baby, which is exactly what we told her to do.

I couldn't help but wonder how I would respond to such a situation.  I hope I never have to worry about it, but what would I do?  It's so easy to give the service, but receiving it can be so humbling and really make you rethink your level of humility.

Should I ever be in her shoes, I will think of her.  She taught me something great today and I hope to never forget it.

Family Day // Woodruff Dam and Cemetery // We spent too much family time in cemeteries :)

A few weeks ago we loaded the kids up and took a ride to the Woodruff Dam.  It's a neat sight with a lot of pioneer history.

Then we made our way to the cemetery.  What would a Hatch family outing be without a trip to the cemetery?

Here are the kids with Jared's great great grandmother, Alice Hanson Hatch.

Please don't every bury me in this ugly and arid cemetery!

Edith makes it to the temple

We took this as we were literally running into the temple!

Thursday, April 14th was one of the best days of my life!  Our Edith worked so hard, overcame many trials and setbacks, defied the odds, exhausted me mentally and physically and finally made it to the temple for herself...on her birthday nonetheless!

After some urging from the sister missionaries to hear the temple prep classes in Spanish, she felt discouraged and questioned her readiness for the temple. I assured her she was ready and that she would be crazy to give into their foolish advice.

Since Edith had been out of work for two months, she had little money to live on. But, with faith in the temple, she set aside $120 for temple clothes and garments.  She crammed six temple prep classes into a very short timeframe and about died of nervousness when it was time to visit with the stake president. She told me she wasn't nervous to meet with Jared however :)

I held her hand every step of the way. It was quite time consuming, but I had promised her that I wild never leave her side. That meant before, during and after her first time through the temple.  I took her to temple prep class, I scheduled her recommend and session appts,  I waited outside the door at the stake offices, I explained garments to her (she had no clue!), I took her to the distribution center, and most importantly, I was able to be her temple escort.

The sweet lady invited EVERYONE to the session. It was cracking me up.  She even had the temple president and matron in her session!  (Who she does know, but c'mon!) She also wore a new skirt, shirt and shoes and got her hair professionally curled for the day.

The day FINALLY came and Edith's nerves were on high alert.   I promised her that I would be right next to her the entire time (except for a few minutes in the beginning but I would be waiting right there when she came out). She is such a timid person and was so scared she was going to be the center of attention- no matter how many times I assured her that wasn't going to happen.  When we entered the ordinance room and she saw the alter, she asked if she would "have to go up there alone."  No Edith, I promise you don't!

As we approached the temple, President and Sister Miller of the temple presidency were waiting for her in the breezeway.  What a cool sight!  And what a neat thing to do for people!

The session was beautiful. She was able to listen in Spanish which was very helpful. The church thinks of everything!  When it was time to enter the celestial room I assured her I would be right on the other side waiting for her.  Jared and I stood at the door waiting. The moment we saw her was one of the most joyous moments of my life and definitely the most joyous moment of our friendship. I'll never forget her face, the tears in her eyes or the spirit we felt. We embraced and enjoyed the moment.

We've been doing baptisms on a regular basis for a year now and each time we are in the temple, I tell Edith how beautiful the celestial room is and that she won't believe it when she sees it.  The moment had arrived and watching Edith take in the beauty of the celestial room was worth all of the effort I had put in.  She even went from person to person hugging everyone in the room. Friend or stranger!  It was so special.

Once it had settled down and everyone had filtered out, we found ourselves alone on the couch talking about the experience. She knew it was true, she knew it was right and she knew it was good. And...she couldn't wait to come back!

Last night she came over again and I asked how she was liking her garments. She said that when she puts them on she feels different. She also said that she feels it in her heart.

What a roller coaster ride of events it has been for her over the last twelve months, but that one night made it all worth it. We love our Edith and are so proud of her.

After we got home, we celebrated her birthday.  In her words, "there is no great birthday gift I could have received than to go to the Temple."

Now that's one special lady.

Addie does Hawaii

This girl was so lucky over Spring Break!  She got to spend a week in Hawaii with Michael, Tara, their kids and Aunt Kathi.

While she was supposed to spend a week there with Poppy Hatch, Aunt Yvette, Brendan, Raife and Rhett, the trip just wasn't coming together.  Uncle Michael graciously invited her to join their family on their vacation as a way of getting her there and freeing up the boys for a much desired trip to Alaska.

We only had ten days to prepare for the trip so we made a quick purchase of shorts and swimming suits online and Addie got to work earning spending money.  She also spent time online oohing over the beach house rental.

The day finally came for her to leave and she was off with no hug or fear of the being so far from her mom.  It was a long day for her to get to Honolulu but it was all worth it when they hit the beach at 9:30pm Arizona time.

They did all kinds of fun stuff: visited the PCC, Pearl Harbor, the Temple, spent lots and lots of time the beach and really, who knows what else!  I only spoke with Addie once (and that is because I finally called her!) so I anxiously awaited the pictures Tara would send at the end of the night.  We sent Addie with Jared's phone so she was also able to take lots of pictures.

The Kiddos

I love my crazy little bunch.  They keep my laughing, guessing, happy, on my toes and stretching.  I thought it would be fun to share a few things about them in their current state.

Addie:
*Is one of my greatest friends.  We love being together!  This morning she returned from a weeklong trip to Hawaii, and I'm just thrilled to have her back.

*Is super duper into baking, and is quite impressive with her creativity.

*Is very tall!  She hits me right under my chin.

Kimber:
*Has done such a wonderful job controlling her anger lately!  I am very proud of her.

*Is an avid reader, self motivated and has all A+'s!

*Hates being away from her mom :)

Lucy:
*Has come so far in Kindergarten!  For being young for her grade, she sure has done a great job!

*Loves to put makeup on.  I actually have to take it away as a consequence for bad actions.

*Calls Colton "Bud."  It melts my heart.

Colton:
*Is talking so well!

*Does NOT want to be potty trained.

*Could live outside if I would let him.

I'm so lucky to have this little crew I call a family.

On Edith

We met Edith in 2010 when she came to take care of Grandpa Miller.  Ben knew of her in Winslow and offered her the job.  At first she turned it down.  She had worked nights at Arby's for 18 years cleaning the restaurant.  A few days after she told Ben no, the manager at Arby's made her mad so she decided she better accept the offer.  She packed up her clothes in her little Toyota Corolla, left everything she owned in her trailer and moved in with Grandpa.

The first few months were very hard.  She would come to my house crying and telling me she was going to quit.  He was mean, he was obscene, he was....well, out of his mind.  And Edith had no experience caring for elderly people.

She stuck it out and eventually she and Grandma became best of friends.  And she became part of our family.  That is where I want to take this post today.

Edith left Mexico about 25 years ago.  She left in hopes that she could get a better paying job in the US, then send money home to her family to help support them.  Her mom is over 90 years old and she has many nieces and nephews there.

During Edith's stay with Grandpa, she became very attached to my kids.  Mexicans just love blonde headed little kiddos!  "Aaaddie, Keember, Lutchie, and Poppi."

We tried our best to be missionaries to her but she didn't show much interest until Grandpa died.  She was very touched at his funeral, which we held in our ward building.  A short time later she started meeting with the missionaries but still wasn't interested in committing.  One day she asked, "Kobie, do I need to give them an answer right now?  They keep asking me if I want to be baptized.  What is the rush?"  I assured her that there was no rush, because really, what difference would a few days, weeks or months make in the eternal picture?

We invited her to Kimber's baptism and the very next day, she called Jared and asked him if he would baptize her!  I guess she just needed to see it for herself.

About five months later she received her Patriarchal Blessing.  I was so honored that she would invite me to join her.  

Two days after that, she went to the temple for the first time to do baptisms.  It was so special.  She is such a humble lady and that was evident in her reaction to the beauty and sacredness of the temple.

On her 61st birthday (April 14th) Edith will become an endowed member of the Church.  I am so thankful for her example, diligence, desire to do good and for the special Aunt she is to our family.

Edith learns to use a selfie stick.  Pretty hilarious.

Edith's 60th birthday.

At the family party she threw for Grandpa Miller in 2014.

Edith and Poppi.