not so gentle reminders from a perfect father

Today I got a call about a loved one whose cancer came back.  The conversation was short.  I moved forward in my day, making sandwiches for children's lunches.  And before I knew what I was doing I was standing in the kitchen arguing with God and spreading way too much peanut butter and jelly on the sandwiches especially to eat in the car.

I felt very justified in my argument (don't we all).  I mean she is old; she has been through cancer already; she has buried 2 husbands and a grandchild; seen most of her grandchildren get married and have children.  She has even seen one of her great-grandchildren get married!  So what is the point of cancer?  Of course I am "smart" enough to not say God is wrong so I didn't say that.

Then it happened.  I wondered if this was how Job felt when God let him have it (Job 40-41).  God might as well have been standing in the kitchen giving audibles:  Its not about you or even  her.  Its about me and my plan.  You have no right to question me.  You don't know the big picture here and I don't have to tell you.  I make many promises to you but to share the depths of my plans I do not.  Ouch!  And then in his kindness he brought an old poem back to my mind...

When God wants to drill a man

And thrill a man

And skill a man, 

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world might be amazed

Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects

Whom He royally elects!

How He hammers and hurts him,

And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which

Only God understands; 

While his tortured heart is crying

And he lifts beseeching hands!

How he bends but never breaks

When His good he undertakes:

How He uses whom He chooses

And with every purpose fuses him; 

But every act induces him

To try His splendor out.

God knows what He's about!

While not the most comforting poem throughout it reminds that me that I may not always enjoy his hand but how I long for his ever present hand.  "Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!  Morning by morning new mercies I see...Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!  Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness..."

1st grade starts...today?

Anna Grace came home for church yesterday and informed us that she would like to go ahead and begin first grade now...not wait another week.  Neal and I gave it a thought and decided:  Why not?  What have we got to lose here?  We are crazy enough to home school this year anyway so might as well begin so we can have a longer spring or more "school holidays."

So, wow!  Here we are.  The 2012-2013 school year has begun for the Hatchett family...well for Anna Grace that is.  Dean declared last night that he was fine to wait another week before starting K4.  I hear ya, Dean.  Let's not get too excited and all start at one time; not sure Mama can handle that.

You may be asking yourself why in the world have we made such a decision.  The answer is simple and complex, for this post we will stick to the simple...I got tired of telling Anna Grace we (more specifically she) could not spend time with our grandparents (specifically grandmothers, sorry guys) because we had to go to school.  In the big scheme of things how long is she going to want to drop her friends to spend time with her family.  Probably not too much longer.  I decided we needed to spend some time making those memories while we could.  So for us we don't think this is a long-term decision.  Dean has actually said that he will have Mrs. Whisenhunt as his Kindergarten teacher next year and Anna Grace has said that 2nd grade is too much fun so she only wants to do this for a year...even though she asked us if she could home school.

Anna Grace has even gone so far as to customize a curriculum she would like to follow (and it is always listed in this order):
1.  Learn to shoot a gun.
2.  Garden with Peanut.
3.  Do fun stuff with Honey and Juju.
4.  Learn about make-up with Aunt Tina.
5.  Use her Hello Kitty folder.

I bet not many 1st graders have such high expectations!  I have much lower expectations...like reading and math.

So here we go.  I will do my best to give a week 1 recap on Friday, that is assuming that I am still functioning.  I will say though that even though I was all organized with my lesson plans and what not I still had to apologize to Anna Grace about half-way through this morning and tell her that I was still learning too and that we would both get better at home schooling as time went on.  Today she loved math (I thought in the past it was her least favorite subject) and recess...a trip to Gold's.  Ha!

a different sort of post

Typically the children around here provide plenty for our little family blog.  (Really I think it is pretty much just the family who reads it anyway...which was the point when we started it 5 or 6 years ago.) However I think this day does not need to go without some recognition....

10 years ago today Neal and I got married.  Actually by this time, 3:19pm, we were married, finished receptioning and were about to step off a plane.

I could go on and on about how great it has been and how special Neal is and blah, blah, blah but those of you who know me best know that is really not my style.  I have had a little different thought process today.  I will share it with you...

Besides marriage what have I stuck with for 10 years or more?
1.  An Education...16 years (counting kindergarten) but the first 13 were not an option.  Technically I only chose 4 years.
2.  Work...7 years.  Doesn't make the list
3.  Exercise...too sporadic to count more than about 2 years.
4.  Child Rearing...if you add the years spent with each child separately, 15 years.  That is cheating though because I don't have 15 years of life experience.
5.  Church Membership...14 years.  I think this counts.
6.  Relationship with Christ...26 years.  However, again technically God started this not me and realizing what I have been saved from and what I have been brought to I would be an idiot to try and terminate this but that is not really even possible so here again not sure this counts.

Unless I am overlooking something great commitment/accomplishment, here that is the list.  Astounding, I think.  Even more astounding, we barely dated 10 weeks before getting engaged!  I think it was more than 10 weeks but not much.  However there is some discrepancy on exactly when we started dating.  Some think it was earlier on and there might have been some "cheating" but seriously after one date you can't say you are dating; you can't say you are dating until the official DTR (Define the Relationship) has taken place...everyone knows that.  Sorry I got off subject a little.  Back on point, we dated a crazy short time, were engaged only 6 months but after about 3 the plans were set and I was bored so we could have made it shorter.

So what has made this marriage last 10 years...and many more to come...God's grace.  As whitty as I would like to be (and I came up with some good ones but not sure I could put them on our "family blog"...already stepped off the ledge last week by putting male body parts on it) that is the real answer.  Same as a personal relationship with him.  He started it.  It is all him; he joined us I mean the ceremony says "what God has joined together..."  So these past 10 years have not been a testimony of our actions, restraints, blah, blah, blah but of his faithfulness to us.

Oh and yes, Neal is wonderful and I am pro-marriage and it has been a blast and I am so thankful, grateful, blessed.....

Motherly Trials/Failures/Comedies...Not exactly sure what to call this

Sorry no pictures today but I think you will understand and thank me by the time you finish reading.  And it is long but this one takes a little time...


Last Tuesday (7/24/2012 is a day that will be hard for me to forget)  Neal was at work and I had the crew here at the house.  We were getting ready for an afternoon rest time.  Dean wanted to go potty first and as he strolled to the bathroom...

Dean: Anna Grace, you want to come and touch the smooth part?  
(As a mom I internally freaked out to say the least but outwardly remained calm.)

Me: WHAT did you just say?

Dean: I asked Anna Grace if she wanted to come touch the smooth part while I went potty.

Me: Have you done this before?

Dean: Anna Grace has a couple of times; she likes it.

Anna Grace: I have never.  I can remember everything and I don't remember that. This line is classic Anna Grace.

Me: That is part of Dean's private part and is never to be touched by anyone other than Dean when he is going potty.

Dean comes out of the bathroom and the typical "private part" conversation appropriate for 3, 5, and 6 year olds begins...again.  We discuss what are our private parts, go back over all of the names, and spend quite some time reminding them that it is NEVER okay for anyone to touch them...unless there is a problem/bo-bo and only then can it be a parent or possibly a doctor.  The conversation concluded with the friendly mom reminder "Your private parts are yours.  No one can ever touch them for any reason.  And remember they are dirty because of their important job of helping us go to the bathroom so we don't touch them either.  Except for boys when they tee-tee and then they have to wash their hands."  I decided that the rest of this conversation can wait until I am ready/willing/prepared to talk about sex...I was not last Tuesday.

I should have been a little leery when Dean responded then and said, "I didn't think the smooth part was dirty."  But I just let it slide by and said again the previous speech harping on the part where no one can touch for any reason EVER.  And the official names to make sure there was no confusion.  I could tell I was losing them so I said one last time, "Dean and Caleb's private parts can only be touched by Dean and Caleb when they are going potty and then they have to wash their hands.  And that is all.  Anna Grace never has a reason to touch hers."

Dean stopped doing what he was doing.  Looked up at me with this devilish grin, started shaking his booty and said, "Except when Anna Grace needs to go potty; then she can touch her virus!"

I turned around as to regain my composure and said, "No girls use toilet paper.  She NEVER, EVER has a reason to touch her private parts."  I wish I could say I corrected his terminology but I didn't; instead I walked away mentally exhausted.

Hours later after dinner...as if the prior events were not enough to do me in...

Dean and Anna Grace were playing at the bottom of the stairs while Caleb, Hudson and I finished eating (Neal still at work of course missing all this parental action).

Dean: Mama!  Anna Grace is touching my smooth part!

Me: WHAT!

Dean: Anna Grace is touching my smooth part.

Me (walking over to the two of them): Dean take your hand and show me exactly what Anna Grace was doing with her hand.  (I mean they were both fully clothed.  How in the world could she be doing something inappropriate?)

Dean walks over beside Anna Grace sits down and begins to stroke the soft, untrafficked part of the carpet. 

Dean (in a teary voice): SEE!  She is touching the smooth part like this and you said it was MINE.  Nobody could touch it but me!

I walked down the stairs and sat down beside him on the floor.  Mainly I needed to buy myself more time to get myself together.  There where so many things going through my head...The carpet!?  All this over the carpet!...Yeah!  We are just touching the carpet around here....Wow!  How am I going to explain this?...I don't remember exactly what I said at that moment it was something very close to: The carpet?  You wanted Anna Grace to come touch the carpet while you were going potty?  Dean, the carpet belongs to our whole family.  Anybody can come over here and touch the smooth part. Earlier I thought you were asking Anna Grace if she wanted to come and touch your penis.  Which would NEVER be okay because that is your private part."

About that time Anna Grace interjects: Oooh!  THAT is grouse I would never do that!  I would NEVER do that!

What was a mom to do...I wrapped up the conversation as fast as I could and walked way relieved, completely shocked and laughing to myself.  When Neal got home I tried to tell him the second half of the story - I called immediately after the first half because I was still freaking out a little - I could not breath from laughing so hard.  He was horrified; concerned that I had the children thinking the carpet was a private part.  Honest mistake on my part.  The boy was walking to the bathroom when he asked her to come touch the smooth part.  Over a week later I am still not sure if that infamous day at this Hatchett house is to be considered a victory, an utter failure, a comedy, or a success.  (Yes, I know saying victory and success separately is redundant but I am trying really hard to convince myself that it was actually a success.)  Wow!  All I know for sure is that will probably never happen again; thank you, Jesus!  Wow!

Art Camp...round 2

We had another very successful art camp this week.  Anna Grace loved her time with Mrs. Belinda and Catherine Hope as always and is already talking about art in the fall.  Anna Grace was in the 1-3rd grade camp this summer which meant she went for 2 hours a day for 4 days and they did more drawing and design on their own.  They began their final project on the first day so all the artists had plenty of time to paint.

Day 1:

(Beach Sunset and Kitty Cat)

Days 2 and 3:

(Moon Watching and Hinre the Hipo)

Day 4:

(Rainbow Fish)

Final Project:

(Butterfly the Great)

Anna Grace and her teachers

And you should know that Anna Grace named all of her pictures herself.  We will be adding the butterfly to her collection she is gathering on the wall in her room of her artwork.  Thanks again Juju and Ottie for this great gift and Mrs. Belinda for being such a wonderful teacher. 

**If anyone is looking for a good teacher for the fall...or a camp for next summer...let me know I would love to pass on Mrs. Belinda's information.**

Art Camp...round 1

This week was art camp for Dean and Caleb with Mrs. Belinda.  It was Caleb's first year and he was fired up.  However due to some unusual circumstances he actually missed his first class.  Mrs. Belinda was kind enough to give us the whale drawing for him to paint at home.  


Both boys' camps were one hour long for four days.  Yes a little bit of a hassle for our family but completely worth it.  Here is what they have to show for it...

Caleb's Artwork

(Day 1: Whale, Day 2: Apple, Day 3: Ladybugs)

This was his final project that he brought home on day 4: The Blue Bird.  

They worked on it for 2 days.  I know what you are thinking...A 3 year old cannot do this.  Don't ask me but from what I saw they were doing the painting but getting LOTS of instruction and some help from Mrs. Belinda and Miss Catherine Hope.  Caleb's favorite part ...the polka dots (aka flowers in the grass).

Dean's Artwork

(Days 1 and 2: Gecko, Day 3: Lion)

 This is Dean's final project: The House with the Sparkling Sun.

  The house was a little more involved because the class worked on this for 3 days.  I think he did really well.  Dean's favorite part of it...the sparkling sun.

 Two very proud artists

Thank you, Mrs. Belinda and Catherine Hope!  I know this is just what Anna Grace needed to see today to get her especially excited about her camp next week.  And a big thank you to Juju and Ottie for giving Art Camp as birthday presents this year.  It was a huge success!

Tune in for round 2 next Friday.

A VBS Thank You

Anna Grace, Dean, Caleb and Hudson wanted to thank everyone who bought their cookies and helped them raise money for Vacation Bible School.  Thanks again and hope you enjoyed their tasty treats.

Another Successful Ballet Camp

This was Anna Grace's 3rd year to do ballet camp and it renewed her fire for ballet.  She loved it.  This year's theme was Sleeping Beauty.  Her first dance was her Fairy dance and her second was her Sleeping Beauty dance.  Neal and I were most excited that she smiled the whole time...first performance in her life that she was not so serious.

Here is the video of her performance...

Dean turned 5!

(I feel as though I have almost caught up since I am now in the current month!)

Dean had a blast having an all things water party...a water gun fight, a water balloon fight, the sprinkler to run around in and Hudson had a pool to stay cool in while chaos insued in every direction.  Our only two rules were...No spraying in the face and no spraying parents UNLESS they have a gun and sprayed you first.  We are so thankful that, being summer, our cousins could come join in the fun as well as a few friends.

Dean Freeman, I don't even know where to begin.  You are such a little heart throb; you don't know it yet and the girls your age don't either but you are.  You're shivarous and charming; you pay attention to detail remembering people's names and noticing if something has changed about them; you offer compliments (your sister and other girls eat that up by the way); you go out of your way to help others especially with little things; and your smile with those dimples is a show stopper!  Yet you are such a boy too.  You love building things (and knocking them down), playing with cars, fighting bad guys, playing baseball, etc.  One of your favorite hobbies is building guns...and naming them.  My personal favorite is "The Bully" and "The Little Bully" (a pistol size version you built for Hudson).  I love that you call a spade a spade - you will admit when you are wrong and not afraid to let someone else know that they are wrong (however we do need to work on your tact a little).  You can run with the crew and blend in seemlessly yet you are not afraid to be your own man and do your own thing.  You have a sensitive affectionate side toward others that melts my heart continually.  I am confident that I have said this before but I most often describe you as steadfast.  Let me keep this letter well-rounded lest you walk away prideful...


You must be a genius because everytime we try and tell/teach you something new or impress you with knowlege you respond, "I know."  Either I am putting you on Jeapordy or we are going to have to work on having a teachable heart.  And like the rest of this family you are head strong, yet in a sly way that often goes under the radar of most but I am on to you, and to top that you have a temper.  You go through life typically calm but when you have reached your limit...Wow!  


Your daddy and I love that you always have some sort of collection (pronounced "c-O-llection") and that you look for opportunites to say the word "tornado" and you will admit that you enjoy saying that word.  I also think it is pretty funny that you like rap music (current personal favorite Don't Waste Your Life) and the more bass present the more you like.  But probably my most favorite apsect of all right now is how you cheerfully walk through life stating the obvious whether it is good or bad.  It often adds such comic relief to my day.


You and I have talked about Proverbs 25:28, "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."  I pray that you will be a tempered man with steadfast self-control.  But there is much more to it than that.  I want you to grow into a Titus 2 man being filled with self-control, a model of good works, showing integrity, dignity and sound speech, not argumentative, showing good faith and adorning doctrine of God our Savior.  To sum it up, one whose opponent has nothing evil to say. 


I love you!

Water Guns Galore

Water Balloon Throw Down

Time for Cake and Gifts  

3 Year Old Monster Party

There are many ways to interpret the title and some days I would suggest that all ways have merit.  For Caleb's 3rd birthday we ended up having a small party and he chose monster cupcakes.  So for the first time in my career as a mother I agreed to call in the bakery.  (Really my mom called the bakery because she was afraid she would be up all night helping me make monsters...I don't have a clue where she ever got that idea!)

Caleb, you may wonder why I chose this picture from your party to put front and center.  It is for good reason I assure you.  I think this picture capsulizes just about every part of you. You are mouth open, dirty-faced, smiling, sweating, a little tattered.  I look at this picture and can hear you squealing over excitement for life.  Tonight I began to think of adjectives that you personify and the first one that came to mind was tenacious.  Immediately I thought that is it; Caleb is tenacious.  But then I second guessed myself so I looked it up...
     1) holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold
     2) highly retentive
     3) persistent, stubborn or obstinate
     4) adhesive or sticky
     5) holding together; cohesive; not easily pulled asunder; tough
I should have never second guessed myself.  Even at the age of three here is what I see...
     1) You are loyal to your self, of what you want and you go after it, and those you love, willing to fight for
         your family if you think necessary.
     2) While some would argue that you are highly retentive I would not.  You are insanely retentive of that
         which you want to be.  Lets be honest you can beat me at any Wii game out there; that may not be
         saying much but the fact that you continually beat your siblings and other older children and adults with
         more skill than me does.
     3) No arguments here.  And just like your sister was and sometimes still is you are blatant about it.
     4) In a matter of speaking you are "adhesive and sticky" too mainly because you are my little sweater.
     5) Tough.  Very tough.  I think you could beat the stew out of any of your siblings or friends if you
         thought we would tolerate such behavior.  You seem to have a plethora of testosterone running through
         you.  You tackle people for no apparent reason for fun...thankfully though we have learned to spot the
         look in your eye beforehand.  You don't cry when you get shots and you didn't when you were two!
        Ottie calls you fearless and I think he is right.
So are you tenacious?  Absolutely!  However, now that I have made you sound like a big brute let me say that you have an extremely gentle side.  Daddy thinks you have the gift of mercy and I think he is right.  At the site of an upset child or baby whether you know them or not you begin to look for ways to make them laugh or comfort them.  You ask me to get babies a pacifier or a lovie or you start making goofy faces or touch their toes.  You also love to sing (and cut up); this past Sunday at church you did not know the words but that did not stop you from singing with all your heart as best you could along with me.  And you love, love, love your family.

It is because of this strong, winsome personality that I pray often that you will walk with the Lord all the days of your life. That you will be like a tree planted by streams of living water and an oak of righteousness.  There is no doubt in my mind that you, like the Caleb of the Old Testament, possess the fire within you to go after that which is before you but oh how I pray that you will have the wisdom to wholly pursue God and his desire for you as well as the patience to wait for the fulfillment of God's blessing.  He waited 45 years before confidently inheriting the land that God promised him and when Joshua blessed him and actually gave him the land he said, "because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel" (Joshua 14).

I love you, my tenacious little man!

Party Pictures

pre-party...from the ball park (Dean's last game) to party

Lesson here...Don't ever trust Ottie to babysit!

 

party time

So proud to be three!

No monster party is complete without a monster appearance

Hudson could have done without the appearance

 post-party...bath time and then the real fun begins

First time playing Mario Kart

They all wanted in on the action