And the Count is...

21 days!! That's only 3 weeks! We're pretty excited at our house :)

Thanksgiving Hymns

In church on Sunday I was so glad to see that we were singing Thanksgiving hymns. Here are the songs I fully enjoyed singing that day:

Come Ye Thankful People Come (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)  Lyrics here 
Favorite line: God, our Maker, doth provide for our wants to be supplied
(Note that it says "our wants"--I have been so blessed to never not have my needs met, but also that I've had so many wants given to me and my family.)

Prayer of Thanksgiving (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)  Lyrics here 
Favorite line: Beside us to guide us
(Because who doesn't feel the need to have heavenly guidance?)

Now Thank We All Our God (small group on lds.org)
Favorite line: With countless gifts of love
(It doesn't say a few, or even lots, it says countless. So true, so true.)

Sometimes this holiday gets squeezed out, with Christmas stuff in the stores even before Halloween. It's such a great thing to take time to think about all we've been blessed with and to offer thanks to our Father who provides it all for us, just because he loves us and wants us to be happy. I hope you have a wonderful day on Thursday!

Scouting

I spent a large part of Friday night and Saturday looking through thousands (yes, thousands!) of pictures to find ones for Carson's Eagle Court of Honor. I was able to narrow it down to a mere 260. However, I still need to get photos from the Jamboree, 2011 Timberline, and 2011 High Adenture, so I'm going to have a few more. Don't worry, I won't put all of them in the scrapbook I'm making, or even all of them in the slide show, but just knowing that I have so many scouting pictures got me to thinking. It was important to Gary, it's important to my boys, and it's important to me. I couldn't always say that about myself, but I have learned over the years how much it can influence boys for good. I think about how many boys Gary worked with in his 20+ years of Scouting. I think about how my young 8-year-old boys made their way to become Eagle Scouts. I think about how many boys my sons have taught and influenced through Timberline. It's overwhelming to consider. I'm so grateful to all my sons' leaders through the years. I'm so grateful that Gary was able to participate in so many positions in the Scouting program. I'm grateful for the time I spent as Cub Scout Committee Chair.  

Scouting is important in our family.

Halloween at the Hatches

I'm a bit behind in posting our Halloween pictures, but I finally have some time to do it. (If you're a facebook friend, you've already been treated to this year's offerings.) We each did one pumpkin--Maren carved Walt Disney, Carson did Homer Simpson, and I attempted a tribute to my favorite beverage, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. 

 

I didn't get a picture of Maren in the red M&M costume. That's one I made way back when Aubrey was in kindergarten (we had different ones for each child, plus one for me) and it has served us well over the years! Who would've thought? Carson dressed up as what he calls a hipster. NOT a nerd, as many thought. Maybe I would get it if I was in high school...

My costume consisted of a long sleeved t-shirt that says Happy Halloween--Carson told me it was a lame costume. He's right, but it's what I had time for (and it was comfy for work, so that's really why I wore it!)

JSYK, those sideburns he's sporting are real. He's trying to grow them as long and full as possible before he has to shave them off to attend BYU next fall.

How Many Days?

39, jsyk  :)

Limbo

So lately there have been a few good days and a few bad days, but mostly I feel like I'm in limbo. Not really having a "good" or "bad" day, I usually reply to the inevitable question, "How are you?" with "I'm OK." Some of this feeling has got to be hormone-based (because what in a woman's life isn't?) and some of it is probably how utterly tired I am all the time. Never would I have imagined how exhausting it is to be a single parent. But I think that for now it's all right to be "OK."

Food Storage Confessions

To make a long story short enough to be interesting...
I found evidence of a mouse in my food storage room. I don't know how recent the visitor was, but I wasn't happy--about the mouse OR the timing of having to clean out the food storage room. Finally got it done after about 6 days (bits of time here and there, not constantly working in there).

Now the confession part...
I haven't been very good at food storage the past few years--rotating it or using it at all really. I did a bunch of research about how long canned food can be kept. Needless to say I had to get rid of A LOT of canned goods and really old jam. More confessions: the cans are so heavy that I couldn't put them all in the trash at once--it's going to take at least three different weeks, maybe four. I feel badly about the waste--wasted food, time and money. Hopefully I can get better now that I have cleaned up the room and reorganized.

Oh, and everything that's not in a can is now in plastic buckets or storage containers. No mice allowed.

Two President Monson Quotes

From last conference's Sunday Morning Session:

"My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service."

"Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth. I so testify."

So powerful to read and ponder.

Miss You

Love you and miss you on your birthday

10 Years--a Different View

As most people today, I am reflecting on the events of September 11, 2001. I remember details of that day, but not too much about the days following.  Just a few short weeks after 9/11, the country's tragedy was completely eclipsed by my own personal tragedy. My mom had been living with multiple myloma for 8 years and finally succumbed to that disease on October 3, 2001. My life would never be the same, not just because of the horrific events of September 11, but because my mom was gone.  I am still moved to tears by the thoughts and images of 9/11. My travels have been affected because of the choices of others. Our country is at war because of that day. I don't diminish the pain and suffering of those who were directly affected from the attacks, but my own suffering was, and still is, for a different loss. I honor those whose lives were taken and given that fateful day and those who heroically served in so many ways.

And I honor the life and memory of my mother
Karen Kay Wright Henrichsen

January 3, 1943 - October 3, 2001

Visit to Oregon

This is a much belated post about our quick visit to the Oregon coast. My dad and his wife have recently returned from their mission in South Africa. I was looking forward to them coming to Utah to visit, but when their plans changed and it was going to be a while longer before we could see them, I was really sad. I had an overwhelming feeling that I just needed to see my dad. So I figured out a few days that we could go visit them. It wasn't ideal, too short of a trip for that (they live 3 hours from the Portland airport--lots of driving as well as flying), on top of the fact that we would be coming home the night before school started. I was just hoping there weren't any problems with our flight. But it all turned out wonderful! It was great to see them, hear stories from their experiences in the mission, see some of the cool African stuff they brought back, and just be around them again. Since school was about to start I asked Dad to give us blessings and that was a great experience as well.

So our trip was short and sweet and I'm so glad we went. Here are some of our pictures (okay, lots of our pictures)

We stopped at Burgerville between the airport and Waldport. The sandwiches were pretty good, but the shakes were not-to-be missed! We started off with one marionberry and then went back for a raspberry and strawberry one too!

We went to the bike shop to pick up Georgia's bike--Maren found one she wanted to buy

Carson really wanted to eat at ORIGINAL Mo's...so we did. Yum!

Yaquina Bay Bridge

Carson's thoughtful pose

Cute kids with their grandparents

We took a morning walk to the beach--it was a beautiful day!

These are Carson's footprints--I don't know how he made them look 3-D, but it's pretty cool!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Yaquina Head

Carson snuck a picture of my dad & me while we weren't looking, he's so sneaky...

The only picture of all five of us that weekend

We'd gone to look at the tidepools, but misjudged the time a bit, so the tide was coming in pretty fast while we were there. Even though we didn't get to see too much of the tidepools, it was still a nice place to visit (though I could have done without the flies)

My dad and me

Dad & Georgia

Yaquina Head--there are seals on the rock in the foreground

Gotta eat at Izzy's!

Devil's Churn

Having some fun on the way down to Devil's Churn

It was so cool to sit and watch the waves crash over the rocks

To cap off our day of fun, we went back to Patterson Beach and built a fire to roast marshmallows

Getting the marshmallows ready for roasting

Sunset over Patterson Beach

Heading back to the parking lot

Sunset view from the parking lot above Patterson Beach

It was a great weekend with family!

Put it on Your Calendar

December 18, 2011 is going to be a great day at my house. At 1:00 Aubrey will be speaking in church as a returning missionary and then later that day we will be having Carson's Eagle Court of Honor. All are welcome to both activities--hope to see you there!

Friendship Quote

Read this in a newspaper column (Joseph Walker's "Making Ethel Smile," Deseret News, 7-29-11) the other day and just loved it:

I've heard that phrase before — "just friends" — and I'm not exactly sure what it means. It seems to infer a relationship that somehow lacks something. But my experience has been that a good and trusted friend is more than just … well … "just." Friendship is an extraordinary thing. It can bring depth to your life, comfort to your soul, joy to your heart and a smile to your face.

Thanks to all my friends who do those very things--bring depth to my life, comfort to my soul, joy to my heart, and a smile to my face. I love you guys!

Angels and Miracles

There are angels all around us and miracles happen all the time. I was reminded of this while reading an column in the Deseret News this morning. It was written by Jason Wright (author of Christmas Jars, The Wednesday Letters, and other popular books). I've never read any of his books, but I often read his column in the newspaper. Today's struck a chord with me. He wrote about an experience his mother had while traveling on a train to meet her sister. She was very nervous but sat next to a young man from Puerto Rico who was very kind to her. If you want to read the entire article, it's called "Trains, Angels, and Miracles" and you can find it here. I've copied the conclusion here:

My sweet mother doesn’t remember his name. She only remembers how he well he cared for her. She has no other way to thank him, nowhere to send a plate of cookies or a card; she only has the memory of a young man from Puerto Rico who treated her as if she were his own mother.

Recalling the experience to me, mom knows her nameless friend wasn’t some light and pixie-dust angel. He didn’t have wings and he didn’t cure her arthritis. He was nothing more than a good man living his life with his eyes open and his soul tuned in to the needs and circumstances of people around him.

Her friend from Puerto Rico may never discover this column. But if he does, I hope he knows how grateful that funny little lady on the train was for his gentle kindness. Her children are grateful, too.

Perhaps he doesn't believe in miracles or angels, but he should know a woman in Charlottesville, Va., sure does.

And so do I.

When I read this I was reminded of so many angels and miracles that I've seen. I thought of so many kind people (many of whom I don't even know) that donated money for my kids when Gary passed away last year. I thought of tender-hearted teenagers who anonymously brought my son uplifting thoughts about his talents and what they like about him. I thought of kind people who offered my dad and stepmom places to sleep out of the elements while on their cross-country bike rides. I thought of a kind woman in a restroom who helped my mother clean up her feet and clothes after a bout of vomiting due to her chemotherapy. So many angels and miracles that I can't even recount them all.

I only hope that I can be an angel to others and bless their lives.

Official Release Date

Today I received the official release date for my awesome missionary son! He will be home December 13, 2011.

Thanks to all of you who have listened to me patiently the past several months about this. And for those on my email list and who are my facebook friends, sorry for the double (& possibly triple) repetitions--I'm just SO EXCITED!

I am so grateful to receive this answer to my prayers for Aubrey to have just a little time to adjust to the realities of life without Gary before school starts on January 4. Our Heavenly Father is truly aware of our needs and desires and blesses us as He sees fit.

ps JSYK it's 132 days

Zoo Volunteer

My cute, cute daughter has been volunteering at Utah's Hogle Zoo this summer. She LOVES it! She has always loved animals, and although as a docent she doesn't get to actually work with animals, she certainly knows a lot about them. She does get to prepare their morning diets--including doing things like cutting up fish (yuck!) and scooping up a handful of mealworms (disgusting!!) and preparing other tasty treats (for animals that is). She also gets to interact with the public by showing biofacts and talking about them. Biofacts are things like an elephant tooth (which always "bites" her--you'll have to get the details from her), a jaguar pelt, a gorilla skull, stuff like that. She's a natural at this kind of stuff!Isn't she cute? She was so excited when she got her official badge to wear a few weeks ago (before that it was a temporary button that just didn't look as official). She also loves her zebra-striped bandana.

Here she is interacting with our very own "wildlife," Dexter

She took this picture while washing the windows of the tiger enclosure. Pretty amazing, huh?

Girls Camp 2011

Well, I survived! It was fun, but LOTS of work to be a camp cook. The girls all seemed to have a good experience and they were all grateful for the food, so let's chalk this one up as a winner! We were blessed to be camping at Heber Valley Camp, a very special place.

Here are several pictures, most of which are of Maren. There were lots more with cute cute girls, but they aren't my daughter, so I figured I shouldn't post them to my blog.

This is our official group photo. Maren & I are in the back row--4th & 5th from the left

She's ready for anything!

Here I am waiting "ever so patiently" for the orientation meeting to begin...

and here's Maren with her friend also waiting for the same meeting.

Maren and a couple of friends on the lake

My good friends, the Paulsons, in their paddle boat (I was in one just like this with the photographer, yet somehow I didn't make it into any pictures)

Maren with two of her friends after singing "Edelweiss" for the talent show

Me with one of the other cooks, Donna

and our other cook, Noreen

Maren & I working on the humanitarian project--teddy bears for children in crisis and trauma situations. Our stake finished hundreds of these. It was quite a sight, and brought tears to my eyes.

Aren't we cute?