cute things kids say, or maybe it's just the way they say them

The other day, Holly and I were discussing Alana's "pooping" problems...she has a tendency to wait to go until the absolute last minute and it tends to plug her up quit severely...anyway, we were standing in the kitchen and Holly said something to the effect of all the starch that Alana eats causes her to get plugged up and that she needed to stop eating so many noodles. At this point Alana pokes her head out of the bathroom where she is trying to go and says, "wait, wait, wait...just a minute, those noodles I was eating were soft. You mean to tell me they don't help my poopies come out?" Holly and I just about lost it...of course, we had to turn away so she wouldn't see us laughing and try to be cute.

Just thought I'd share a laugh.

Patrick Leland Hatch

Well, I should have had a post up a long time ago, but I couldn't afford to hire a photographer to take any pictures of my new son...oh well, I took some snapshots and hope they are good enough.

Patrick Leland Hatch was born February 20, 2008 at the Gold Beach Hospital in Gold Beach, OR. He weighed 10 lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long. He had dark hair and came into the world without any glitches.

Patrick's name is one of interest, Holly and I have actually had the name chosen for the past 4.5 years. When Hol was pregnant with Alana, we didn't know whether we would have a boy or girl and as such picked names for both. We chose Alana Renee of course for a girl and our choice for a boy was Patrick Leland. Both first names were Irish (don't ask why...we just like Irish names) and both middle names were from someone Holly and I both thought embodied the type of person we would have our children emulate.

Renee, of course is from Holly's mom, who is the nicest, most caring, loving and forgiving person I know. (everyone knows that behind every good bishop, there is a GREAT wife.)

Leland is from my grandfather, who dedicated most of his life to building up the kingdom of God, literally. He helped to build the first branch building in Monmouth, he helped to build additions to that building, he helped split wood to raise money for the church, he caught turkeys for the same purpose, and I'm sure that he did a number of things I don't even know about. In short, he is the type of man that I want my son to be.

So Patrick is in the world, and here are some photos of him, his mom and his sisters.

First time for Alana to see her little brother.

We were so grateful to have both Grandmas able to spend time. Renee took the girls under her wing for most of the week, and my mom was able to come up and stay at the hospital with Holly and Patrick and take care of them both. We would have been sunk without you. Thank you both so much!!!

OPG (one proud grandpa)

Always sleeping...

...with one eye openit's been a long day...time for sleep again. "Dad, quit flashing me with that light."

The best place for a popsicle!

Is in the bathtub...no mess no fuss...and they're about to get washed anyway. Rebekah likes to hold hers underwater, as you can tell by the shape of it.

Logan gets Baptized

Hello. We wanted to tell you about our exciting weekend. My Grandparents flew in from Washington to attend Logan's baptism. The Spirit was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Logan's favorite teacher, Sister Throckmorton, whom he had for 3-4 years in nursery and primary gave the talk on baptism. My Grandma Jody gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, Loren baptised him, the primary children sang "I am a Child of God", and my Grandpa Carl Confirmed him. It was a special day, one which we wish you could have shared with us.
We are doing well in other senses also. The pregnancy is going okay. Age really makes it harder or maybe the fact that my body has already gone through 4 pregnancies makes it more difficult. I tried explaining to Denton that I have a baby in my tummy and now he thinks everyone has a baby in their tummy and that big breasts are also babies. That went well I thought.
Mishonne fractured her radius in her arm when she flipped off her scooter a few weeks ago and had to miss her last 2 basketball games. She is doing better now and just got her brace off. She and Logan are looking forward to baseball starting in a few weeks.
Haley is loving life. She is my child that comes home from school eager to do her homework and asks if she can do the next days work as well. She still loves animals and has been promised a turtle since Mom is allergic to most other animals and Dad wont allow them in his home.
We can't wait to see everyone in July. Hope all is well in the mean time.

Johnny's prayers have been answered!

We found out last week (or the week before?) that we are having a boy. All the kids were in the ultrasound room with us, and when the doctor said he saw 'boy parts,' Johnny busted out with a "Woo Hooooo!" Everybody in the family already thought it was going to be a boy, except Olivia. She is pretty disappointed... "I WANT it to be a GIRL!" Maybe next time, if there is one. We have an 'official' due date of June 21, exactly one week after Johnny's, but the ultrasound was measuring me further along, and since I am going somewhere else to deliver, who knows what will happen? Just thought you would like to know!

It's a Girl!

Just wanted to let y'all know we had our 22 week ultrasound today. It revealed that we are indeed following our girl-boy-girl pattern. Our little baby girl Marks will arrive the middle of June. The photo is from the ultrasound. The top left shows her foot, top right shows her face, the bottom left shows it is in fact a girl, and in the bottom right she is giving a thumbs up to Mom for putting up with her.
Hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day. Loren was in Utah but we had fun anyway. OUr good friends are moving to Virginia and while they were house hunting we got to babysit their 11 year old son and 10 year old dog. The child was good but the dog kept digging holes under our fence to escape. Luckily he would come right back to the front door. He also barked all night so we ended up letting him sleep in the back room with Spencer, the boy. Loren could only say, "It's a good thing we like the Fishers (our friends)."
Logan and Mishonne are having a good time playing basketball. Mishonne is quite the player and Logan is still trying to figure out if he wants to use his right or left hand. He is excited for his baptism next month though. Haley loves school, gymnastics, horses, and to read right now. She is a good playmate for Denton who is starting to talk much better now. Hope all is well. We love and miss you all.

Ella is her father's daughter...

... in many ways. I thought I would give everyone the story, for those who haven't heard it yet. She had been thirsty and wet the bed two nights in a row - very unusual. So I thought I would have Jeremy check her blood sugar after he woke up, but she says, "let's check it now!" So we did, and it was too high for the meter to read. I woke Jeremy up and confirmed that wasn't good, so we took her to the urgent care clinic. Her blood sugar was too high for their meter to read, too, so they sent us to the ER. All this time, Ella is just cruising along, feeling fine. We went to the ER, and their meter reads: "Critically High". Yikes. So they drew blood, and admitted her, and tried to start an IV. Through all this, Ella is not complaining, mind you. Not even when they had to put the IV needle in 9 TIMES. Yes, 9 TIMES, all over her arms and hands, because the high blood sugar and dehydration had made her veins so fragile. She didn't say, "I don't want to," or "that hurts" or "how many times do you have to do this?" She didn't even wince!!!! She just watched them, and talked to all the nurses, and was just generally very cute.
They didn't have very much experience treating 4-year-old type 1 diabetics, so they decided to send us to a specialist - the nearest being Dornbecher's Children's Hospital up in Portland. So they didn't treat her, just sent her up there with us. We got there at about 1:00 at night, and they had to poke her finger, get her admitted, etc. Still chipper and peppy. We got to sleep at about 2:00 a.m., and they woke her up at 7 for more finger pokes and some new shots. Still not complaining. We got to watch cartoons for a couple of days, and she got her own meter, and syringes, etc. She was adamant about being able to check her own blood sugar (which the doctors and nurses were amazed at), and would have done everything else on her own if they would have let her. She said she was having a fabulous time, but wanted to go home, because on the way home, we were going to stop at the Newport Aquarium. We got a bunch of diabetes training, which went much faster due to previous experience, and they were saying how unusual it is to catch the diagnosis this early, before the symptoms start to really crash the body. So, we were glad.
They said that they usually don't talk about the patients, but all the doctors were telling the fellows and interns that they had to take turns on checking this patient because she was so cute and VERY grown up, they wanted everyone to meet her. She knows that she has to check her blood sugar 5 times a day... forever. And that this isn't going to go away. We give her shots twice a day, and she has been really good about eating what she has to, and not eating what she can't. Still NO COMPLAINTS!! How is that possible? I would be whining quite a bit about my rotten luck, but not Ella, or I guess Jeremy either, when his time came.
The only trouble she had was remembering the word - "Mom, I'm... detergent. Magnetic. Mom, what am I?" "Diabetic." So, so far, we're doing good, and we are having a family home evening tonight where Ella gets to show off all her new stuff, and educate the kids. Thank you for all your phone calls and prayers, it went so unbelievably well. Only with Heavenly Father's blessings would this have been so trauma-free. On the way home she said it was the best trip ever. Even the shots. What a kid. Definitely her father's daughter.

Happy Mardi Gras and such

It has been a crazy few months for us. I am finally feeling much better. Loren and I got to attend a Mardi Gras Ball for the first time last weekend. Grown adults were doing the human train around the room, throwing beads, and yelling. All of this was in formal dress wear. We left at 10pm and I hate to see what it was like at 12 after the open bar had taken effect. We enjoyed ourselves, especially dince the buffet was free.

I got to take a trip to Washington to attend my Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary party. I had a ball planning the party with my mom and without kids. Bless Loren's heart. He is a good Mr. Mom. He only forgot to sign homework and conduct charts a few times and got ratted on by the kids for not following Mom's schedule or menu and going out to McDonalds every day. THe kids were still alive when I came home though.



When I got back from Wa I decided then would be a good time to tile my kitchen floor. My girlfriend is ms. carpenter lady so her and I did it all by ourselves. It was hard work but I am glad I learned the process.
I am heading with the kids to Tennesse for a few days to visit a good friend that I met in Delaware. Loren is going again up to Navou with the young single adults while we are gone. It should be a fun getaway.
I did not know about Ella and will keep her in our prayers. Hope all is well and good luck to Jef and Holly with their new one coming.

London Trip

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm posting lots of pics on mine and Tommy's blog from the trip I just took to London. Tommy did a 12-days-of-Christmas post as well, so there are lots of pics of us on there you may not have seen before

I visited the Sherlock Holmes Museum while in London and put some trivia questions on, so you all have to come through for me, because I don't think Tommy's family is as . . . uh, well versed in Sherlock Holmes as we are. Just put your answers in the comments! There's a link on Fam's blog page to our blog, but in case it doesn't work, the address is dorisandtommy.blogspot.com.

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, I got to talk to most of you this past week to wish you a Merry Christmas from the Vaterland. Merry Christmas to all of you with whom I didn't get to speak personally. I am now at the Ehlkes and am loving life. I am looking forward to every day of two-week vacation, followed by a what will hopefully be a short four weeks before I get to come back to the States.

There has been some confusion about when I am coming home, but a friend of mine will hopefully be replacing me here and then I will come home (relatively...at least to the States) on the sixth. I will then really be going home for yet another very quick trip from Feb 16-18th, wherein Tommy and I will hopefully be able to cram in engagement pics, Holly making and fitting my dress, ordering the cake and flowers, getting our marriage license, and packing up all(?) of my belongings to drive them all the way back to Utah.

I brought my laptop to Schortens and my webcam, so I will be trying to call Jamie on Christmas. If all goes well, then we'll be able to see and hear each other......for free (please imagine Soup's voice saying that). I'm excited to be able to see anyone who is within the camera's range, which will include Jill, because she's Christmasing with Jamie this year. But don't worry, Jill, I know that you won't even pretend to be excited to see me. It will just be "Hi! Where are the Ehlkes?" :) Merry Christmas to all!

P.S. Please put your orders in now for chocolate and whatever else you may want from Germany. I already have Jill's two-page long list. Anyone else can put their requests on the blog.
White chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, nuts/no nuts...be as specific as possible!

Dear Fam,

Following Jeremy and Heather's lead, we are cyber-announcing the arrival of our fifth child during late June 2008. We are miserable and excited...Sandra is miserable and excited, I am just excited. I still am not certain whether Sandra's horrible morning sickness is pregnancy related or due to my increased cooking. Some mysteries we will just never solve.

Love you all!
Loren

Gratitude ensues...

I am super-grateful for fam. I am glad that some of us live so close, and the rest of us actually like to spend time together - which is not as common as you might think! I am grateful for our chitlins, and the extra one on the way (especially thankful for that). I love my husband, and I am thankful that he puts up with me. I also am grateful that my dad took the kids over to his house for most of the day to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and I get to cook in peace!!!! Hope everyone is great, and have a fabulous holiday!

I'm off to do-si-do the cranberry sauce....

I guess this would be a "thanksgiving dinner country style". (That's a Bing Crosby song reference, for those of you that are confused, or those of you that block out any reference to cranberry sauce whatsoever. ) :)

I am grateful . . .

For a wonderful family, including all of the in-laws (and soon-to-be in-laws).

For the opportunity I have had to have learn so much about running a household and a family, even if it has been a baptism by fire and brimstone.

That I have had such a testimony building experience showing me the power of the Church and testifying of the truthfulness of so many aspects of the gospel.

For friends in Germany who have taken such good care of me, even from far away.

That I made it to the seemingly non-existent half-way mark and that I now have so many fun things to look forward to until I get home.

That I have a home to come back to, even if I don't have a place to live.

I love you all so much! I miss you even more from thousands of miles away. Happy Thanksgiving! I'll see the Brookings and Provo folk in February and the rest of you (hopefully) in April!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner

Let's hear what you are thankful for...

I'm thankful for

A beautiful wife
2 sweet daughters
a third child on the way
and four cheers that it is a boy.

I'm thankful for the chance to do what I love, even when it doesn't seem to feed the family
a second job that gets me up early twice a week
and a third job that takes up my evenings...(only because it is helping to pay the bills)

I'm thankful for good friends both in Brookings and in Monmouth
and a best friend who decided to show his faith and get baptized.

I'm grateful for good food, great weather, and a possible tackle football game on saturday.

and I'm grateful to all of you...(I think someone still reads this thing.)

Now...my challenge is for you to post your thankfulness in your own post so everyone can read it.

Here are the pictures of family members that I got at Halloween

Jer in two incarnations as a Sumo wrestler...of course we had to wait for the suit to "properly inflate." according to Jer.

Perry as a guess what? Soldier? Spec Ops?

Rebekah as Pooh
Rebekah and Alana together
Alana as a princess...Holly made the costume from fabric received from my mom.
Hmmm...Carmen as a "she-devil" fitting isn't it? I think that my Alana needed to have a matching outfit.
Ella as a super cute fairy...and such a happy smile.

My apologies to the rest of the family...I was set up at the church taking pictures of all the little kids for the trunk or treat, and if my nieces and nephews didn't come through...I didn't get pictures of them.

You can see those pictures of all the little kids at: http://www.hatchphoto.smugmug.com/Holidays/408445

Fun Run and Halloween

Hello again. I had a ball at the fun run. I thought I was just going to trot along with my friend but she had to walk before we got to the 1 mile marker and told me to go ahead. Well my competitive juices kicked in and I passed about 30 people. I ended up getting 8th out of the girls and could have gotten at least 3rd if I would have started out quickly, but I didn't know I would be racing at all. I was a bit light headed the rest of the day. I guess that will teach me to curb my drive now that I am not in high school anymore. Anyways, thanks to all of you who pledged me so I could run.






The kids had a great time at the ward trunk-or-treat. THe kids all looked really cute. Denton was baby Frankenstein, Haley a 50's girl, Logan OB one from star wars, and Mishonne a surgeon. They ran around with their friends and got lots of candy which Mom will be monitoring the consumption of closely due to our dental bills over the last year. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall.
Congrats to Jer and Heather. Looks like 2008 will be a huge year with all the babbies, weddings, and hopefully moves. Can't wait to see you all again.

Yikes! Another one!

Yep, to help with our portion of grist for the rumor mill, Jere and I would like to add that we are expecting... again. For some of you who know all that we went through to get back to this point, you know that this has been long-awaited news! We are very excited, though not as much as the kids - they have been telling people we are having a baby for the last 6 months or so, and we've had to 'untell' people so many times, I am going to sound like the boy who cried wolf!

I am due sometime in June, so we have a ways to go yet, but we wanted everyone to hear it from us, not from whoever you happen to sit next to in sacrament meeting. (And for those of you that live far away, we thought you'd be pretty glad to hear it at all, so why not from us?)

I am starting to feel a little sick, but I'm crossing my fingers that this one will be easier than the last four! Hope everyone is doing well, and talk to you soon.

Pumpkin hunting

Well, Hol and I took Alana, Rebekah and Conner to the pumpkin patch out at the Nickel's farm and met up with Heather, Eleanor, and Olivia to pick out some pumpkins for Halloween. We had a grand ol' time running around finding pumpkins to take home, petting the animals and enjoying good company. Here are some pictures from our outing.

We got a Rebekah sized pumpkin,

and Lady Bugs crawling on my arm.

Alana decided to pet the cat,

and then the cat decided to follow her and she didn't care for that very much.

Ella Strutting her stuff across the fields...
Alana and Conner look like they are deciding what house or car to buy not which pumpkin to choose.

Heather with her horde of "bowling" pumpkins...nice round ones to use for the trunk or treat bowling alley at the church on wednesday...

Alana can barely lift hers...but she got it.

Beautiful weather and loads of fun made for a great day.

Family photo and doughnuts

I am truthfully surprised that more of the Marks clan have not updated this blog. I am finally coming around and would like to participate. Each time we come to visit during the summer I realize how much can happen in a year when you aren't around. Hopefully this blog will prevent us from surprizes and information overload next summer. We went to take family photos at the Rural life museum on Saturday. It is always interesting trying to get 6 people to smile and look at the camera at the same time. Our bribe this time was doughnuts, with sprinkles of course. Each of the kids grasped the idea except Denton who had his own ideas. Haley is at the "quick make a face" stage when she sees a camera. Mishonne surprizingly smiled good this time with her new braces on. I think they give her more confidence. Logan is just too cool and has to kind of do the "Jimmy Dean" look every time you ask him to pose. All said and done nobody got killed, nobody cried, and so everyone got a doughnut. Loren usually passes on the doughnut and when I didn't give him one he asked where his maple bar was. I apologized and said maybe Denton would share. Denton didn't like that idea and so Haley offered daddy a bite of hers.
The kids just got there grades for the 1st nine weeks and did very well so they got to go to a buffet after FHE last night. They had free coupons and this is a very rare occassion which Loren hates. He gets major anxiety at the thought of his children acting out in public. Like my 4 lovely children would ever do such a thing. Anyway the kids had a great time and an older couple sitting next to us commented on how well behaved they were. It makes all the difficult times of parenting worth it when you see your kids do well.
Hope all is going well for everyone. I am preparing for Super Saturday in our ward and Loren is working on some grant deadlines so things are pretty hechtic. Have a Happy Halloween. Please write so I can stay updated on you too.

Alana's Birthday

Alana celebrated her 4th birthday yesterday. As the birthday girl she got to do pretty much whatever she wanted all day. She opened her presents and as one of them was to start taking piano lessons, she got her first piano lesson. Of course she kind of misunderstood about piano lessons and today when Rebekah went down for her nap, she jumped up from playing with her train set and ran into where Holly was working in the bedroom and said, "we forgot about my piano lesson today." Holly had to explain to her that her lessons weren't every time that Rebekah went down for a nap but just when it was that day of the week. I just laughed...it is great that Alana is so excited about lessons.

Also for her birthday, I took her out to have an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen (just daddy and daughter.) After our ice cream I took her back to the studio for a 4th birthday portrait session. She sat very well...and I thought I would share one of my favorites with the family. (I sat her on a box and wrapped her in a piece of green velvet. I think it looked best in black and white and so here it is.