Highlights of the Year 2012

(The next entries may seem completely out of place, but this is old news that I have been working on for quite some time to catch up on events of 2012.  I will start with the end of 2011 when I had to find new employment after my previous "boss" closed her business.  Lots of news in 2012!)

December 21, 2011

Merry Christmas to me…

Just before Christmas 2011, I received an email message from Angie Rice, for whom I had done transcription work for the last 11 years.  She had been struggling to make payments the last few months and regretfully sold her transcription company and let us all know that as of December 31, 2011 she would be closing her business.  A day or two later, she sent me an email telling me that there was a company in California who actually wanted to buy her business but she had already agreed to sell to someone else.  They were looking to expand their business and were looking for more subcontractors.  She gave me their contact information and I emailed them.  They asked me if I would be interested in doing some trial work for a urology center to see if I would be a fit for their company.  Things worked out favorably, and within a week I had another job.  I should know by now that Heavenly Father will always take care of my needs and then some.

Coast Transcription Plus owners, Holly and Dana Drake, for whom I work now.

February 11, 2012

Wood Badge Bead Ceremony

February 11, 2012 was the date set for the Bead Ceremony for our May 2011 Wood Badge course.  Every patrol had several participants who had completed their tickets and were ready to receive their beads and certificates of completion.  Six out of seven of my Owl patrol received their beads that evening.  All seven of Ammon's patrol, the Beaver Patrol, received their beads.  I can't remember how many of Brian's patrol were in attendance, but Brian received his beads as well.  Even though I may not see many of these scouters again, I will always cherish the memories of all three Wood Badge courses I was privileged to attend.  I especially appreciate feeling more confident standing in front of a group of people sharing the principles of Scouting that can change people's lives.  I am hopeful that this experience will strengthen me and give me courage to fulfill my long-time desire to serve a mission and share similar principles of the gospel with others.

Ammon's Beaver Patrol at the Wood Badge Bead Ceremony

March 22, 2012

Pre-Easter Family Time

Alex and Laura knew that Alex's summer research for medical school would not allow them to come from Ohio to Utah for the 4th of July, so they came in March instead.  This would allow them to share Reed's blessing day with family.  On Saturday, the 24th, we had a family gathering at the Single Adult Ward's church on 1100 East.  We played games, did crafts, and had an Easter egg hunt.

Easter 2012 Gathering Fun

The grandkids who were in attendance for the "Eastering" activities

On Sunday, the 24th, family from both the Hendersons and the Hatches came to my house, and Alex was able to give Reed his baby blessing.

Reed Clark Hatch

April 2, 2012

Trip to Tracy, California—another grandchild

On April 2nd, I flew to California to spend a few weeks with Anson's family to help out when Lora had their third child.  I thought I was arriving a week early, but Ruby thought otherwise.  She was born on April 5th.  Lora had to have a C-section this time, and post-delivery was a very long, rather frightening wait for Anson as he watched the doctors and nurses scurrying around caring for her.  After many liters of blood and plasma, they got things under control and by late evening, Sydney, Camden, and I were allowed to come for a visit to see their new baby sister.  At this point, we didn't even know what their baby sister's name was.  After almost a week of recovery, Anson, Lora, and baby Ruby Stella Hatch came home on the 11th to the welcoming arms of a very excited brother and sister.

Miss Ruby Stella Hatch

April 7, 2012

Easter Weekend

Since Anson and Lora were at the hospital on Easter weekend, I tried to help the kids have a fun time.  We went out to eat at Panda Express one day and we made sure we colored plenty of Easter eggs.  Keeping with tradition, the kids were able to have a scavenger hunt that led them to their Easter baskets full of goodies.

Lora's mom, Kay Lyn Shaw, arrived a few days later and was able to spend some time with the kids.  She planned fun activities to do while they were not in school.  April 13th was Camden's birthday.  He chose where he wanted the family to go for dinner that night.  We dined at Golden Corral and all had a good time.

April 26, 2012

On to Dallas, Oregon to See my Mom

I stayed with Anson and Lora until April 26th and then I flew to Portland, Oregon to spend a few days with Dick and Trish and my mom.  Trish picked me up at the airport in Portland and we met Denise at Olive Garden for lunch.  I enjoyed my visit and being able to spend a few days with mom.  I helped feed Mom and another lady who sat next to her at the table who also needed to be fed.  Mom is still in pretty good health.  It is so hard though to see her just sitting in her chair all day seeing nothing and remembering nothing.  It makes me wonder about the final part of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness which is to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, make and keep sacred temple covenants, and endure to the end.  That enduring to the end part just might be the hardest for me to comprehend.

On May 1, 2012

Home Again in Time for another Grandchild

Vivian Kylie Hatch

I flew home from Portland, Oregon.  I began my weekly stays with Katrina's girls when I

got home.  Abby had her baby on Father's Day, June 17, 2012.  They chose the name Vivian Kelly Hatch.  Kelly is Abby's mom's name.  But when they prepared to give her a baby blessing, they changed it to Vivian Kylie Hatch, Kylie being the name of Abby's sister who died as an infant.

June 30, 2012

Carter's Baptism

Andrew and Melissa's oldest child, Carter, wanted to be baptized in Utah.  Their family drove here, and Carter was baptized on June 30, 2012 at Grandpa and Grandma Gunderson's Stake baptism.  We went to Gunderson's for lunch afterwards.  Though I was not able to get any pictures of Carter, I am glad that I was able to be a part of this important day for Carter.

Things I watched during the summer

 Summer wild fires along I-15

Rough city streets...

 ...finally repaired

New construction at the High School

Renovation of Mt Timpanogos Temple

Late summer double rainbow along I-15

(The right arc is a little hard to see)

August 2012

Yet Another Grandbaby

Joshua Caleb Poole

Heidi was due to have her baby around the first of September, 2012, but she gave me notice that she didn't think this little guy was going to wait that long.  When she said she was having contractions about one week into August, I begged her to wait until after I had the chance to conduct Roundtable on the 9th.  Joshua had other plans, though and he was born on August 7th.  I went to Clearfield to help out for a couple days and then drove to American Fork to conduct Roundtable and then went back to Heidi's, so everything worked out okay.  On August 12th, I went back to American Fork for Vivian Kylie's baby blessing.

Vivian Kylie Hatch with Grandma Hatch on her blessing day

September 2012

Fourth Grandchild of 2012

Adam Franklin Hardy

One more baby was born in 2012.  This was Teresa's third boy, born on September 19th, 2012 (the same day as my sister Lori Ann's birthday and his cousin, Maddy's birthday as well).  They named him Adam Franklin Hardy.  Why that name?  Well, when they were trying to decide on a name, their oldest boy, 4-year-old Brigham had watched a kids movie about Franklin the turtle.  He felt that would be a great name for his baby brother.  Brian and Teresa said no way, but after they found out that Brian actually had a distant grandfather named Franklin, they decided that it could work as a middle name.  Not too many people hear a person's middle name anyway, right?  I never knew Brian's "grandpa" Franklin, but I do remember the cute little green turtle named Franklin.

Sale of Duchesne Property

Negotiations

In early September, 2012 I received a letter from a representative of Integrated Water Management out in the Uintah Basin.  They were looking for more property near Duchesne that they could use for storage and expansion of their business.  They were curious whether I was interested in selling my 40 acres near Starvation Reservoir.  My first instinct was to say no, my husband said to never sell this place, it is going to be a place of refuge for my family someday.  As I looked at the increased activity in the oil industry and how many wells and oil tanks were situated around my property now, it no longer seemed like such a great place of refuge.  So I told them that I might consider an offer.  When they wondered what I might want to ask for all 40 acres, I said at least $150,000.  So that is the offer I received and accepted.

The Cleanup

Ammon, Alvin, Shane, and Sonia all came out at different times to help me clean up the shop and grounds.  It was an emotional time for me as we went through Verlin's possessions one by one and decided whether they went to the dump, to one of the kids, or would be sold.  It turned out that a few loads went to the dump and a little was sold, but mostly things were just crowded into Ammon's garage.  He said that he would sort through it and see what was worth keeping or selling and get rid of the rest.  It has been a very difficult time for him also.  I really appreciated his help with this endeavor.  It took a couple months but by the closing deadline we had cleaned up everything and locked the doors there for the last time.  The transfer of title was made on December 7, 2012.  The new owners thanked us for doing such a good job of cleaning it up and said I might be interested in knowing that they had named that location "The Stella."  Maybe someday I will go out there again…maybe.

December 2012

Last Roundtable of Silver Lake District

December was my last time to conduct Cub Scout Roundtable for Silver Lake District.  The district was dissolved as of January 1, 2013 and  combined with the east part of Lehi District to form a new district called the Iron Horse District.  I let the District know that this would be the last meeting I would conduct.  It was very stressful each month to plan, prepare, and conduct Roundtable, but I actually kind of miss it.  I especially miss all of my Scouter friends.

Thinking About a Mission and Moving

Now that the property in Duchesne was sold, I started thinking about when I should put in my papers to go on a mission.  On December 12th, 2012—after the American Fork Relief Society Social I met with Bishop Merrill to begin my mission recommendation forms.  About a week later, Brian and Teresa told me that they had found a house to rent and were moving to Lindon.  So when we had our family Christmas party on the 22nd, I told everyone that I had begun my mission recommendation form and was planning on setting a July 1, 2013 availability date.  I would also be selling our house of 27 years.  In the first two weeks of January, 2013 I was able to have my medical and dental checkups and met with the Bishop on January 13, 2013 to turn in my paperwork and physical and dental forms.

Hatch Christmas Gathering 2012

We had our annual Christmas party on December 22nd.  We missed seeing Anson's family, Aaron and Mason, Shane and Kaden, and Bryce, but the rest of the families were there.  We thought Alex and his family would not attend either but they decided to come.  They headed out and were caught in a terrible snowstorm and turned around to go back to Columbus.  When they reached the I-70 junction, they made the choice to try and come after all and turned Westward again on I-70 instead of I-80.  They drove without stopping and arrived a short while before the party was to start.  I was so grateful to see them, and to see them arrive safely.  We had an enjoyable party.  I spent several weeks before the party making Christmas ornaments for everyone as we had decided that each family would make 11 ornaments that represent their family and give each household one.  That way, each family had a set of 11 ornaments to remind them of the Hatch family.

I made two sets of ornaments.  They were round wooden disks that had pictures on each side and a ribbon to hang it on the tree.  For my children the ornaments had pictures of the Logan temple at day and at night to remind us of the blessings of the temple that give us the promise of a forever family and an influence always--day and night.  The other set of ornaments were for the grandchildren.  Each child was given a wooden disk with a picture of the baby blanket I made for them on one side and their baby picture on the other side.

There are just too many pictures to post, but we sure had fun.  We enjoyed good food, fun crafts (making candy sleighs and foam snowmen), the talent show, and the traditional nativity play.

Boy cousins waiting to make their snowmen

 Snowmen in progress

Shelem and Kylie working on their sleighs

 Kadance working on a sleigh

And the finished projects

 Graham

 Brigham, Hyrum, Taylor, and Allie

 Cody

 Allie

 Sleigh

Kasidy's finished sleigh

The Nativity Play--Onstage

Take a Bow--well done!

The Nativity Play--In the Background

What wonderful memories we are making!  I hope the family will continue the Christmas gathering while I am gone.

January 13th, 2013

Submitting my Mission Papers

I met with the Bishop again and submitted my recommendation form and medical forms.  We also began the chore of packing up the house and cleaning it so that we could put it up for sale.  It took quite a few weeks of trips by Heidi and me to go down and pack things, and clean.

On January 29th, I met with Pres. Ivins for my mission interview.  When I got up that morning, I thought I was going to have to cancel because of another snowstorm.  When the weather cleared a little in the afternoon, I decided to go anyway.  If I hurried, I would be able to get home before it got bad again.  When I got to American Fork, I drove by the house and found several inches of snow in the driveway.  Since I was
a bit early, I thought I would work on shoveling snow for a bit before going to the Stake President's office, but I decided that it wouldn't be that great shoveling snow in a dress.  I met with President Ivins, and he told me he would write his recommendation and submit it that same evening and I should receive my call in two to three weeks.  I then went back to the house for something that I wanted to do there.  When I got there, my neighbor, Russ Davis, and my home teacher, Wayne Hunsaker, were shoveling my driveway.  This was after dark, by the way.  I was sure surprised  by their dedication in serving me that night but it was so typical of the kind of men they are.   

February 2013

Beginning To Move

By the 1st of February, we had nearly everything packed up in the house.  On Feb 2nd, Ammon borrowed Wayne Hunsaker's trailer and they helped me load household items, some furniture, and at least a ton of food storage into the trailer to haul to Katrina's.  They were gracious enough to offer me Kylie's room in their basement to store my belongings while I am gone.  I hope they don't regret tying up that space for that long.  Kylie moved upstairs to the room next to Kasidy where I used to stay during the summer.  (See blog entry about moving for more details.)

February 28, 2013

My Call is Here!!

Thursday, February 28th, my call came.  I planned to read my letter when I could share it with the family, and Thursday was not a good night, so we waited until the next day and Heidi and I went to Brian and Teresa's house in Lindon.  Ammon and Abby came over and we set up the television and computer so we could do a "Google Hangout" with the rest of the kids.  Six people were on their computers in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Wellsville, Columbus, and Annabella, and I was on my computer at Teresa's.  Alvin was listening in on his phone since he didn't have access to a computer at the time.  At the designated hour of 9:00 p.m. we all joined the hangout and began chatting.  It was great!  Just as noisy as our Christmas parties.  I opened my letter and began to read, "Dear Sister Hatch.  You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."  My eye involuntarily jumped down to the place, and I stifled a gasp and kept reading…"You are assigned to labor in the Washington DC North Mission."  This, of course, elicited laughter from Heidi, who will be moving with her family back to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC in July of this year.  I will enter the MTC on July 1, 2013.  I will serve for a period of 23 months.  My primary assignment will be as a women's auxiliary specialist, which is basically a full-time visiting teacher.  If my responsibilities are similar to the sisters who have served there before me, I will have the opportunity to serve in the Washington DC Temple one day a week, sometimes in the Family History Center, and do lots of visiting, service, and fellowshipping among the sisters in our mission area.  I won't be serving outside of the U.S. like my children, but I am very excited about this assignment.

March 2013

Cleaning Up the House

March 2013 was spent cleaning my house while at the same time dreaming about my mission.  I did some minor repairs, paint touch up, and basic cleaning and window washing over the next couple of weeks.  By March most of the work was done, and after a few last minute items, we locked up the doors on March 16th.  Now it was time to contact the real estate agent and hope that there is someone out there who likes our house enough to purchase it.

Grandkid-isms

I love spending time with my grandchildren.  I see special spirits in little bodies who are growing and learning at amazing speed.  They seem to be much smarter than kids of my generation.  They have great observation skills.  I wish I could remember all of the clever things they have said that make me smile.

For instance, I was told of a conversation that Taylor had with her mom one day.  Taylor said she would like Grandma Hatch to move to Wellsville.  She wasn't worried about there not being enough room in their house for Grandma to live with them.  She said I could just move my house to Wellsville so I could live next to them.  When Sonia inquired how I could get my house to Wellsville, she said "She can push it here!"  When Sonia reminded her that Aunt Carol might not like another house sitting on her property, Taylor suggested that I could just place it on the other side of their house so Aunt Carol couldn't see it.  Well, that sounds like a great plan, Taylor.  Maybe I should have adopted Taylor's plan instead of selling my house because it was too lonely to live in it by myself.  I am sure I would never be bored living next door to Taylor!

Maybe this is where Taylor got her idea!

Sometimes I get blamed for things I don't do.  It seems that Isaiah somehow feels that I am responsible for his daddy being gone.  That is a very logical assumption since Bryce left right after I moved in with them.  For the last seven months, whenever Isaiah finds that things are not in their usual place, toys cleaned up, something broken, etc., it is apparent to him that "Grandma Hatch did it."  I am happy to take responsibility for the deed if it will keep him happy.  Now if I could somehow just receive credit for bringing Daddy home in a few weeks, everything would be all right.  I fear that his supposition will be clear in his mind when his Daddy arrives home and Grandma Hatch leaves shortly thereafter.

I think sometimes the children think their parents are just hanging out at the airport when they go on trips.  After all, you drop them off at the airport, and a few days or weeks later, you go back and pick them up.  Logical assumption, right?  Well, Isaiah has another theory, although he has not said so in so many words.  He has accompanied Heidi on a regular basis to the post office to send packages to Bryce while he is deployed.  The packages contain items that Bryce has requested, favorite foods that he has been longing for, and sometimes items from Isaiah that he can share with Daddy, like toys identical to his so that they can play with the toys together in a Skype session.  After Bryce had been gone for several months, Isaiah asked Mommy one day if they could go to the post office to get Daddy.  How else could you explain why Mommy takes Daddy's packages to the post office?  And is it a wonder that Isaiah gets very excited to open every package that is delivered lately?

Wouldn't it be awesome if the mailman delivered a package to Isaiah with Daddy inside?!

I really liked Parker's question to his mom after he had waited "a couple seconds" to have a turn on the computer.  He waited patiently for a time and then asked if seconds are longer for girls than they are for boys.  Gotta love that kid!!

The most recent grandkid-ism is from the one who once told me "Grandma, you have lots of wrinkles.  I think you are going to die."  He used a bit more tact today, but only slightly.  I was getting ready for my day when he came searching for me.  I told him I would only be a minute; I just had to put on my makeup.  He responded with a sense of surprise "You wear makeup?!"  Obviously he agrees with Verlin who would have told me, "You look beautiful to me without makeup."  No, not this grandkid.  His addendum:  "I don't think your wrinkles can hide under makeup."  Before you get the wrong idea, he was very sweet to me for my entire visit this weekend.  I am not easily offended by the truthful observations of these my favorite little people, my grandchildren.  I wouldn't trade these encounters for the world.

More Catching Up

It wasn't until I sat down this evening to round out my overview of the year 2011 that I realized just what a busy year it was for the Hatch family, at least the part that I was involved in.  It was another year of many grandbabies added to the clan, five to be exact.  I gave a highlight previously of my visit to Andrew and Melissa's in January 2011 when Asher was born.  He was born January 30, 2011.

Before I could return home, Heidi had her baby, Jeremiah Tyler Poole, who was born on February 9, 2011.  What a difficult two weeks followed as we watched and waited to see if the doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center would be able to perform surgeries that would spare his life.

First hopeful days...                                                              ...then saying goodbye.

                                                 Sweet Jeremiah, such a short earthly sojourn.

On February 22, 2011, after a brief but valiant struggle, he returned to our Heavenly Father's loving arms.  His funeral service was on February 26, 2011...

...and then he was buried in Grandpa Hatch's plot in American Fork Cemetery.

March, April, and May were filled with preparations for Wood Badge, which was the last week of May.
 I began my summer fun at Katrina's in June and then took off a couple of weeks to stay with Sonia and Shane when Braxton Shane Leishman was born, which was June 30, 2011.

Braxton never looked like a newborn.  He has always been a little man.

Spittin' image of his dad!

                                 Braxton's blessing day.




In August, I enjoyed the Sevier County Fair with Katrina's family.  Each year the girls' cakes are better than the year before.  It has been fun watching them learn and grow.  

Kylie's cake

Kadance's cake

Kasidy's cake

I went to Sonia's the end of August to help celebrate Taylor's 3rd birthday.  Sonia made such a cute cake for her.

In September, I went to Lyman, Wyoming to spend some time with Aaron and Sherri's family when Madalyn Ann Hatch was born on September 19, 2011--what a sweet baby girl, Aaron's princess.

This year Anson turned 40 and Lora wanted to help him celebrate this milestone with a little vacation, even though she was pregnant and not feeling the greatest.  I flew to Tracy and spent a few days with Camden and Sydney while Anson and Lora went to Las Vegas with some friends.  When they returned I stayed a couple more days, and on Oct 17th we got to go to the Great Pumpkin Patch (aka Dell'Osso Family Farm).

Sydney and Camden prepare to ride the go-carts.

Sydney on the ropes course.

Anson and Camden ride the safe version of a zip line while Sydney rode the real deal.

Sydney and Camden being silly.

Anson and Sydney shooting the pumpkin cannon.

This was followed by another Halloween celebration at Heidi's in Clearfield on October 19th.

The following week, I went to Sonia's again for a few days and spent the real Halloween with them.  Fun times.

My last visit of the year was a trip to Columbus, Ohio to see Alex and Laura's new baby, Reed Clark Hatch, born December 4, 2011.  I had a great time while I was there.

At Christmastime Andrew and Melissa and their boys came for a visit as well as Anson and Lora.  On Christmas day, everyone got together for our annual Christmas gathering, and we shared food and talents and had another memorable Nativity Play and talent show.  There was the usual sharing of sick bugs also, if I am not mistaken.

After Christmas some of us made a trip to Salt Lake City.  We spent some time at the Hansen Planetarium, ate at the Lion House Pantry, played at the Children's Exhibit at the Church History Museum,  and enjoyed the lights at Temple Square.

It was great to be able to spend so much time with family.  A wonderful year.