Grinches, dogs, and "brodders"

This sorta reminds me of...

THIS!

Christmas pictures?

Wanna know how many pictures Eric & I took Christmas morning?0, Zero, nadda, nich. Ugh! I could kick myself. But I took lotsa cute ones of the secular part of the season...

Christmas 2010

Christmas is full of all the things I love best: family, Jesus, music, kindness, chocolate, purpose.

The two contemporary shepherd boys belong to us. Dear shepherd boys get Luke 2:15-17 in your hearts. Always go with haste to find the Savior and then make the goodness He shares with you known to others just like the shepherds of old.

• Isaac, you were our Shepherd boy. You are acquainted with The Good Shepherd. He will use you to help feed His other sheep. Stay so close to Him and help Him keep his flock safe.
• Seth, you were Joseph. You, naturally, did a fantastic job of loving the baby Jesus. You are full of love, dear Seth. Always always love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.
• Benjamin, you silently played the central roll of the Christ child. Follow His example and be a beacon for others to follow, that they may come to Him whose part you played.

So our creche scene wasn't super duper spiritual. In fact Jospeh got tired of his headdress and left after Mary made him stop petting Jesus' hair, or maybe he just got bored. He came back for a quick picture but couldn't be convinced to put the gear back on.

There has been a truer sense of the meaning of Christmas in our home. It's because of our sweet Baby Benjamin. There is just something about a baby boy this time of year that helps elicite thoughts of the first Christmas and the one who gives it all meaning. I have thought of Mary and wonder how she mothered her sweet baby and perfect Saviour. How she must have loved her baby. Did she kiss his cheek and then kiss it again and then again? I love Joseph. At marvel at the magnitude he must have felt for his responsibility.
For Christmas this year my mom gave us the Little People Nativity. When we opened the box we couldnt find the Baby Jesus ANY WHERE. No Baby Jeus at the Christmas scene? Hmmm. We searched and found the central figure. A day or two later I noticed how Isaac set the scene. Everyone was facing Jesus, even the animals. In that simple act, Isaac , you showed your understanding of the way it should be, not only at Christmas but daily, looking toward the Saviour, making him the focal point of our lives.

Merry Christmas!

HaPpy NeW YeAR ***2011***

New Year traditions included: Fun-do , home made hats, and dancin' "like a rock star." I also love those popper things. I think they are big in Great Brittan. E, could do with out them, but Isaac and Seth are with me.

This little man IS the party. Isaac did a meticulus job on the hat. Seriously careful to make sure all the stickers where evenly spread apart. And his dance moves, well there just aren't words. He rocks the house.

It's about the size of a baseball...and I love it.

E punted the decorating of his hat to Seth. Pre-tty brilliant deco.

Funny little gents

Watching a church video about the nativity, Eric pointed to the shepherds and asked Isaac "Who is that?" "Aa, I dont know." "Yeah you do." "Moses?"

Favorite chant around these parts is "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar." Today it went like this: S: Isaac, say cookie jar. I: Okay. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Seffy stole the cookie from the cookie jar. S: (silence) I: Say, who me? S: Who you?

Later the Cookie Jar chant was in full swing and Isaac was doing both parts, with a change of voice even, the person who "stole the cookie" was: a tree ornament, dad (who was at work), santa, and he concluded with Jesus. Um...

Seth, Isaac, Benjamin, and I were all rocking on the chair together. Isaac said something and Seth repeated it. Isaac said, "Seth, You're a copy cater." Seth replied, "No I not. I a Seffy cater."

Seth did something naughty and apologized, "I-sorry-say-you're-forgiven."

Portraits of Benjamin

Once at a Hatch family reunion, or maybe it was Christmas, someone said something like "It's time to eat again? It feels like we just ate." That is when Katie or Amy or Eric coined the phrase, "Food is a core Hatch family value." This family signature is followed closely by the fact that everyone carries a camera around and uses it. I am a Hatch, so I keep my camera handy. Benjamin is a Hatch, so he eats all the time.

4 weeks into life....and already he is weary of his paparazzi mama.

(content sigh)

I LOVE baby toes. Love them. Today I said, "Mmmmm. I love your toes so much I could eat 'em." Isaac overheard me and quickly came to Benjamin's defense, "Mom, dont eat Benjamin's toes. That could make him cry."

Cowlicks are rampant in our household and Benjamin is no exception. Actually, this is just his hair that dried at an odd angle, but he has two hum-dingers in the back. Oi.

Another LOVE, that little mouth which is "drawn up like a bow." So tiny. It's about the size of an average cherrio.

(can you see the brother's cowlicks) Brotherly love is strong with these little men.

This daddy could not be happier.

Hmmm...I'd like to know what he is thinking about.

Grandma has a special knack for keeping Benjamin happy. They like each other.

Sometimes people say something to you and it resonates with you.  The little lactation specialist with the charming accent, maybe british, said:
"When you hold him against your heart, you reassure him
'You're back home. You're safe.  You're with someone who loves you.'"

She taught me that as a gerneral rule 6 hours from when I eat to when my baby gets what I am eating.

Lastly she recommended a book how to talk so your kids will listen and listen so  kids will talk.

Our family has grown by 2 feet...

Benjamin Maxwell Hatch

9 November 2010

9.17 lbs 21 inches

Little boys are so much fun, we thought we'd have another one. And boy, oh boy, are we feeling blessed that this little tough guy has joined our team. He is absolutely adored.

Our angel (aka Mom, grandma, Cindy) came to help. And help she did: cooked some "delicious" (as per Isaac) food, played football, trains, and cars, walked "on the path with foot prints where the marines let you drink their water in cones", washed a lot of laundry, cleaned AND was wonderful to have around. We LOVE her!
Benjamin is a smiley little gent. Often all it takes is a brush on the cheek, or a finger around the ear.
Shortly after his first cries, Benjamin started to whimper/grunt. The nurse kindly explained that was a sign of distress and that he wasn't getting the oxygen he needed. He sounded sweet, but we understood the need to take him away. He went to the NICU, where he was started on 30% oxygen via a copula. Nurse Judy said it took four of them to get it on him, and she also said he shook the bassinet to let them know he was not pleased "even when he couldn't breathe." She promised him his parents would make up for it on later birthdays as he sure didn't enjoy his original one. Eric would go check on him. I didn't get to see him until the evening of the 10th, after I had received a blood transfusion and could finally stand. He was such a welcomed sight, and a great motivator...I had a mission to mother him. I feel VERY blessed.

One of my favorite memories of this time was when Isaac and Seth got to meet Benjamin for the first time. Judy got the okay to have Isaac and Seth come to the NICU and meet in a special family education room. Eric is a champion daddy and let the boys go to the store and choose a present to give to Benjamin. Seth chose a giraffe and Isaac chose cars. They were both so excited to see him!

We both got to leave the hospital together on Saturday! Benjamin had been off air for almost two days. His CRP was finally in check as well (it had started of as 2.4 and needed to be under 1). Eric, the little men and grandma came to pick us up. I get all gushy just looking at him. I think he is such a handsome little fellow.

Benjamin came home to a party (thanks Jessica and Clayton). Isaac LOVES a celebration and what better reason than to welcome home our newest teammate. I like this picture of all the main men in my life. Boy am I blessed!