A Blue Ballerina

Anna Grace is finally old enough to be a "blue" ballerina.  She is so excited.  I'm am not sure if her excitement level for her first class of the new year was more over graduating to a blue leotard finally or having her favorite teacher, Ms. Claudia.

"curious" used in a sentence by Anna Grace

Neal was explaining to Caleb what the word curious meant at bedtime last night.  Anna Grace (who was not at all involved in the conversation) sasses out of her room and says....

"I'm curious how Caleb painted that bird so good when all he does is scribble scrabble!"

It is well documented around here that we are all in awe of how a young three year old can paint an almost perfect picture in art camp...A month later we are still talking about it.

our 2nd first day of school

Dean...ready for K4

This morning Dean's summer vacation ended as he began K4.  He was very hesitant to start - odd for him because he loves to learn but great for me because I was able to get Anna Grace well underway - but then he jumped in and flew through his work with passion and pride.  When he had finished his last task and moved on to play I walked over and whispered in his ear that he had done well on his first day.  He beamed from ear to ear.

For the past year when you ask Dean what he wants to learn all his says is:
  To read

As you can see his curriculum choices are a little different from Anna Grace.  However don't think for one second that he doesn't want to shoot a gun and plant a garden (make-up and the like he is not interested) but I think he separates those type things as things all boys/children need to do and not a part of school.

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Caleb...smartest preschooler in the house

Caleb started "preschool" today as well.  The initial conversation this morning went something like this (I started out very concerned)...
me: Time to get out the table, guys, and start doing our school work.
Caleb: Me too?  NO!  I don't want to do school work.
me: (while getting a puzzle out for him) Caleb, want to do these puzzles?
Caleb: YES!!!
From that point on he flew through his work with excitement talking about how he was doing school.  At one point he looked at Dean who was still playing with the Bat Cave and said, "Dean, come over here and do your school work! I'm doing mine and getting smart and you are not!"

Caleb's "preschool" is really just stuff to keep him from feeling left out while Anna Grace and Dean do their work.  Don't get me wrong, he will learn things but we are not taking his work too serious.  In my mind Mother's Day Out is his "real" school but it doesn't start for another 2 weeks and is only 2 days a week so we need a few activities each week to keep him occupied.

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Hudson...no child left behind here

Hudson apparently will not be left out of this adventure either.  He managed to stress out Caleb as he tried to help Caleb do his puzzles.  And then he sat on the floor and read Brown Bear over and over for the whole family to see.

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A quick recap from Anna Grace's first full week last week  Things really went well.  She is having so much fun being at home and doing our normal stuff with us as well as school.  Her longest day was still short.  She has had moments where she complained but they have been scarce.  I am very thankful.  I told someone today that from my end it was a little hard but I felt completely free because I know this is God's best for us...for right now.  I have less time than I did with my commitments at probably an all-time high but I feel free and blessed and a little tired!

  

***And, yes, I am aware that the boys need haircuts.***

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.