Adoption

I didn’t give up a baby for adoption.  I probably won’t adopt any kids.  But adoption is such an important part of my life that I can’t imagine where or who I’d be without it.

I know very little about my biological grandmother.  I know her last name.  I know she had red hair.  I know she passed away many years ago.  I know that she was in a mental hospital around the time my dad was adopted.   And I know that she made what I can only imagine was an unspeakably difficult decision: the decision to give my father up for adoption. 

My dad never shared my curiosity about his birth mother.  To him, he has a mom and a dad who both had brown hair, who were (and are) good strong Mormons of pioneer stock, who were poor but gave more love than I can fathom.  My grandmother adored children and took in those who needed her love and care.  My dad was one of those kids and was so blessed to be adopted by Elmer and Tressa Hatch, of Springville Utah.  Grandma and Grandpa Hatch gave my dad the blessing of being a Mormon, of examples of hard work and sacrifice, of love and kindness, of a happy childhood, of unwavering support and confidence, of adoring brothers and sisters, and, later, loving grandparents to his children.   They gave me the blessing of the opportunity to learn about the LDS Church, the blessing of their examples, my pioneer ancestry, and their love.  Because of them my dad is the amazing dad he is.  I can’t imagine what my dad’s life would have been like had he not been adopted.  I thank God for the red-haired woman who let my dad be raised by grandma and grandpa.

My mom did not have such a happy childhood.  When she was nineteen, she found herself pregnant and unmarried, with no chance to marry the father of the child she was carrying.  There was a woman - a kind and loving source of strength to my mother since she was a child -  who was LDS and who suggested my mom give the baby up for adoption through LDS Adoption Services.  My mother should really be telling this story.  Anyway, the point is that my mom started going to church to see how her baby would be raised.  Later, she was baptized.

I am so grateful to be a Mormon.  It is because of my faith that I have everything that is dear to me, and it is because of adoption that I have my faith.  So thank goodness for adoption.  

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Study Music

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The Rules

In our house, we have rules.  They're not too strict, and they're not written in stone - or even written down, until now - but they exist.  And here they are.

The Rules:

1. Hot dogs, canned pasta, and boxed mac and cheese are not consumed here.  But ice cream, cookies, apple crisp, pie, etc. are encouraged.  By Dorothy and Summer.

2. No Disney.  Veggie Tales, Sesame Street, and Teletubbies are acceptable.

3. You may not mix up there, their, and there.  The punishment for breaking this rule is merciless teasing.
UPDATE:  I thought I fixed the theres, but apparently I didn't.  Feel free to tease me.

4.  Back up your argument with sound reasoning.  Logical fallacies, formal or informal are not tolerated. This includes the appeal to emotion.

5.  No eating outside the kitchen if you're under three feet tall.  There is no punishment for breaking this rule.

6.  No legalese or otherwise pretentious language.

7.  You may not exit the shower without drying off first.

8.  Be nice.  To everyone.  (We're working on this, especially in the contexts of driving and nursery.)

9.  Get the amount of sleep appropriate for your age group.

10.  Work hard, unless your name is Summer or you're having a bad day.

It's been so interesting to watch our little family culture develop.  There are so many rules I'd like to be there but are not, like "read lots and lots of books" or "never leave crap out on the kitchen counter."  I want to do a lot of things better and keep improving our family and develop great traditions.  But I like us, as imperfect as we are.  And, as silly as some of our rules are, I like them, too.

I'm curious - what are your family rules?

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Off

Summer read her first word today.  She was sitting on a chair playing with a CD case for Microsoft Home and Office saying "off...off...off...on off, on off."  Dorothy got really excited when she realized that Summer was was pointing at the word "office" while she was saying this.  I wasn't sure if this was for real, so I got out the "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" book (apparently this is where she learned to read the word "off" in the first place) and made Summer point to "off."  She did it!  So, little Summer can read "off."

We reenacted part of the event for you:

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Nathaniel's Weekly Update -- Installment 2 (last one was a year ago)

This was supposed to be the coolest week ever, and it ended up being super poopy.  Let me tell you about it.  

I didn't have any classes this week.  Sweet, right?  Yeah, should have been sweet.  Last Sunday night Dorothy and I, in our "weekly" planning session (that happens more like once every four months), decided that I would spend the whole day at school Monday through Thursday.  This would give me plenty of time to get caught up in my classes and maybe give me a fighting chance to pass my finals.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all going to be spent chilling with some of our favorite friends in California.  Seems like a great plan, doesn't it?  Work really hard for the first half of the week, play really hard for the second half.

Well, Monday I spent pretending to be a research assistant by trying to do some research (I figured that was a pretty good way to pretend).  I figured I had about 10 hours worth of work to get done and that I could be finished with it by the end of Monday.  Well, plot spoiler, it's 8 pm on Saturday night and I'm still sitting in the law library trying to divine a better method for pretending to be a research assistant.  So, what happened in between?

Dorothy got strep throat on Tuesday.  Yeah, I thought only little kids got that.  Turns out (according to the doctor), kids Summer's age almost never get it but adults are fair game.  Unfortunately, Summer, while protected from the awful hell Dorothy has been going through, got something that is apparently not strep throat but that causes a fever, coughing, runny nose, ear infection and tonsil swelling.  So, I spent the bulk of Tuesday through Thursday taking care of my girls.  When I wasn't doing that, I pretended to be a research assistant again.  

We cancelled our would-have-been-awesome trip to California.  Instead, I spent all of Friday in the library playing pretend.  Friday night, Dorothy and I went and watched the Social Network, which I 100%ly recommend.  And today (Saturday), I've been alone with my self in the library.  Over the last couple of hours I've noticed this nagging pain in my throat.  Can't wait to get diagnosed on Monday.  Oh, and not only have I not got caught up on my classes, I haven't done any of the reading for Monday.  

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