There have to be worse things than turning 38 years old...like having the stomach flu the day you turn 38 years old! I have to say there have been worse birthdays. There was the food poisoning birthday when I was 16, the nine months pregnant and turning 30 birthday, the surprise party when I was 13 (I only discovered the surprise party after crying all day about not getting a party!) I really can't complain. It has been kind of a challenging year for our little family but I have so much to be grateful for!
1. I'm 38 years old and can run 5 miles while carrying on a conversation without stopping! (I couldn't do that at 18)
2. I survived 4 pregnancies and have the greatest kids a mom could ever wish for including the cutest 1 year old on the planet!
3. Christopher and I are still married and best of friends after 14 years.
4. I have a huge extended family and I love and feel loved by each and every one of them!
5. I have more friends than I deserve and they all give me far more than I give them.

The list could go on and on, but I am still working on getting over this "birthday flu."
We have had some seemingly insurmountable challenges come up these past two years and I was feeling like there was so little I could do. I have felt pretty overwhelmed but finally got on my knees (what I should have been doing all along.) I found this scripture that has really reminded me that we aren't alone here.
D&C 117:16,17
"You know brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then we may stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God , and for his arm to be revealed."
I am mostly thankful for a Heavenly Father that loves us and knows each and every one of us personally and can only imagine how much our older brother loves us to have suffered for all the mistakes I make on a daily basis!
I hope this year that I can have a little more faith and be a lot more worthy of the many blessings that await all of us, if we just ask :)
I'm a lucky girl!
Thanks so much to all the well wishers today! I couldn't have felt more loved!

Happy Birthday!

Her tummy says "Happy Birthday, Mom!" Courtesy of Ellyse.

-Lauren

When do I get a vacation?!

Vacations always SEEM like a good idea when you are sitting in your comfy little house, but actually pulling it off is oh so tricky sometimes. Mom, Christy and I spent countless days planning our simple little trip up to utah. We put so much into the details, what could possibly go wrong? We sent the girls off with Mom and Dad on the flight and headed to Utah in our packed tight mini-van. We only had three quick errands to run and we were off....We made it all the way to Phoenix with out any incidents....Our little Jake suddenly came down with the stomach flu, (this is the boy who almost never throws up!) That's the bad news, the good news is that it was only a 12 hour flu and he was actually over it by the time we made the seemingly endless trip. Christy got the short end of the stick by having to sit in the way back and catch the throw up. I felt like the lucky one that only had to drive most of the way!
Once we made it there we were sure it would be smooth sailing. We forgot how great it is to come up with 3 meals and 4 plus snacks every day for 15 people. Atleast the kids got along, if you call getting along trashing everything in their sight, bless you Bruce and Becca!
The trip was cut short for us because Christopher needed his family more than we needed a vacation. It's good to be loved!
We had the time of our lives and can't wait to be rich and build a summer home in Utah!
Love you Hatches! You're the best hosts ever!
xoxo

Milan's Sign

Hey People-

It's Lauren, and this picture is a re-creation of a sign Milan had on his door (since our camera doesn't work).

-Lauren

A little piece of Heaven

A conversation with my oh so adorable nephews on the way home today....

Cheryl: "Hey guys, look at this picture I found of Lauren and Ellyse when they were little. It was 2 years before you were even born!"

Jake: We were still in Heaven?! Cheryl, can we walk on water in Heaven?!

Cheryl: I'm not sure Jake, but sounds reasonable to me.

Dylan: Jesus can walk on water, even without bricks stacked up!

Cheryl: Wow, Jesus can do anything!

Jake: Cheryl, is Heavenly Father your Dad too?

Cheryl: Yes, in fact, everybody in the whole world is Heavenly Father's child!

Jake: Even Shaq (yes, of the NBA)

Cheryl: Even Shaq

I told Christy that I could have gone on talking to them for hours and she reminded me that I will have that chance in a few days when we all pile into the same car (thank you gas prices) and head to Utah. We were trying to figure out how to survive the long trip with the kids, bribes, candy, video games, toys, and then it suddenly dawned on us that all we need is a small 5 dollar bottle of dramamine!
Pray for us :)

Hilarious

The River

Property of Christophe Haws

The sticker says "Property of Christophe Haws". Lani loves her Dad and he would move mountains for her...He has so much tolerance for her "babiness." I get up at 5 am every morning and attempt to run. This leaves Dad to to handle Lani until I get back. It's usually uneventful, but today was a little different. Lani climbed up on the fireplace in our bedroom, stripped off her jamis, ripped off her diaper, danced around a bit and then pooped all over the fireplace. Christopher wasn't sure what to do about her little skit. I asked if she seemed a little embarassed and he assured me that she was not the least bit ashamed of what she had done! We're so proud. It takes some pretty good parenting to raise kids like ours :) It continues to amaze us how much you can love such a naughty little person, but sometimes we feel like our hearts are going to explode when we look at her!

Lani

And the Mother of the Year is........

I have never been nominated for Mother of the Year, but I also have never been turned into CPS...yet. My mothering has been called into question this past week. It all started when I went left my 1 year old in the locked car with her 11 year old sister and my sister parked right behind me. When I came out with my Milan, a woman stood at my car door with the look of the devil in her eyes! She proceded to scream at me. "Did I have any idea how dangerous it is to leave a baby in the car by herself?!" I made the mistake of responding to her question. "Yes, crazy lady, that would be crazy! She isn't in the car by herself. Her sister is in there, the car is locked and she has a cell phone in her hand. Also, my sister is right behind me watching my car!" She heard none of this and told me that what I had done was illegal and that she should call the cops! I offered to call for her, (my bro. in law is a cop) and this did not amuse her at all. I finally ended up getting in my car and shutting the door while she continued to scream at me! I am sure she took my license plate and called the police.
My day just got better from there. I went to the store after dropping off my kids and thought I would pick up a few treats since I have 12-15 kids at my house at any given time. Mind you, I make homemade bread and 3 healthy meals from scratch nearly every day. I really don't feed my kids junk nonstop. Well the lady checking me out decided that I had picked up a little too much junk and says "Wow, my kids wish they lived at your house!" I snapped out of my grocery store trance and said "What was that?...I was so not in the mood!" She says "You know, obesity is at an all time high. I just can't feed my kids stuff like this. It is so bad for them!" Did she not see the bananas, lettuce, strawberries, etc.? Am I on cadid camera or that Boiling Point show.
Thankfully I am confident that I am at the very least a mediocre Mom and that all you can do it try, right?!
Hang in there you Mom's and don't let the crazy ladies get you down!