Christmas 2007

Be warned...this is a bit of a marathon post.

Hope helped us choose our tree this year. Ron and I have been going out for the past few years to cut down our own, but this year it was just TOO COLD! So we still went to our favorite tree farm, but chose to purchase a pre-cut tree this year. Here are a couple photos from the 15th.


Our family Christmas gatherings began on Dec. 16 with the Hatcher side of my family. We came together to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to surround ourselves with the love that Grandpa Bob imparted on our family. We remembered him with stories, jokes, prayers, hugs, and a cribbage game or two. Knowing that we were all going to be together for the next few days for visitation and funeral purposes, our family was pretty determined to remember Christmas and to celebrate in true Hatcher fashion. That meant lots of games, wine, FOOD (never a shortage), and a reading from Luke before we opened gifts. We had quite a party. Hope had so much fun with her cousins. She just makes people smile "period." We just can't help but grin in her direction when we watch her interact and discover her world, and what a blessing to see her so loved by her new family. It was a wonderful Christmas in Strum!

Bird watching - Hope just spotted one!

Oliver thought Hope might have had a hair out of place.

Hope and Hailey

Fun New Piano

The true picture of chaos...Oliver enjoying the tissue paper...Hope IN the green bag...Smiling onlookers in the background...One Happy Family.

Tired cousins at the end of the afternoon -

Annual "Beth & Laura" shot ~

We continued through a pretty tough week with Grandpa's services. Hope was an absolute gem! We spent over 3 hours at the visitation where she stayed in our laps or at our feet playing. Ron and I took a break from things and took her downstairs for some dinner at the church, but for the most part she was just with us behaving so well. The morning of the funeral, we arrived a bit early for some final family time and a few moments with Grandpa. The night before we'd tried to sort of keep Hope away from the front of the room with the visitation display and everything, but the set-up at church the next morning wasn't so conducive to distance. So Hope got to see Grandpa one more time. She signed and said "I love you." We'd been looking at pictures and she'd been practicing saying "Grandpa Bob." I choose to believe that she absolutely knew what she was doing. It was so precious and an emotional moment I'll never forget. She was well behaved during the service...quite and on my lap the whole time. Then at the cemetery she prayed, said "Amen" at all the appropriate times, and hummed along when Taps was played. There was definitely a holy hand on her that week. There aren't many 18 month olds...well maybe there are, but I'm going to choose to believe that she's a complete angel and that God was holding her hand, knew what we needed, and lead her through those few days. She was remarkable. Grandpa's services were touching, and though we miss him terribly, we know that he has now been united with our Lord and reunited with Grandma. Thank you God for peace.

Bob & Marion on their first anniversary (Jan. 1947)

MORE CHRISTMAS ~ Saturday the 22nd, Mark and Andria arrived and spent a couple of days with us. Hope has so much fun when they're around. It is pretty funny now, too, because almost every man with a beard Hope sees she calls "Mark." Other fun that weekend was supplied by little Stella (Mark and Andria's tiny puppy) and big Ella (our not so tiny dog). They played great together. There were a couple moments of nervousness [for me] when Ella had Stella's whole head in her mouth...but I was assured that they were "just playing." Grandma and Grandpa came over for the afternoon/evening too, and Hope was completely spoiled by everyone. I couldn't believe it as they unpacked their cars and carried in gifts. They just kept coming! Hope's first Christmas in our home was magical. She played and played 'til she could play no more. It was awesome to sit back and watch her experience her first Perry Christmas. It is pretty amazing how much love can be packed into our small little house.


"What Mom? Of course I'm not going to get into the presents before I'm supposed to." :)







Hope, minus the hair bows, ready for sweet dreams.

Sunday afternoon (the 23rd) was spent with the Heutmaker side of our family. We cruised on over to Glenwood to see Grandma and Grandpa and aunts and uncles there. Again...Hope just played until she was worn out! She had a great time with her cousin Mitchell and even had some cuddles for her new baby cousin Nicholas (Niko as Hope says). It is so special when we get all of the family together in one place, something that doesn't happen often enough.

Having a snack with Daddy...notice the crossed legs? :)

Great Grandma, Hope, & Cousin Niko (Nicholas)

Cousins tuning up the engine

Brothers and the Kids

The next couple of days are a bit of a blur. Of all days to get the FLU! I couldn't believe it. We were all dressed up and at church for the 4:30 Christmas Eve service, but guess who had to leave. YUP! ME! Ron was there early to play handbells for the service. Hope and I arrived shortly before 4:00 for the pre-service music. I was there for about 45 minutes and had to leave. I was SICK. Just like that! So, Hope and Daddy stayed. Hope even got to help Daddy play bells. I felt badly
leaving in the middle of the service, but I had no business staying when I felt like I did. It was SO awful. But - that's enough about that.

Christmas day wasn't so great healthwise either. I was pretty sick all day, but we woke up and Hope found her stocking just like every little girl should on Christmas morning. She was so excited. I think she was most excited about the new toothbrush and toothpaste that Santa brought. Our girl likes to brush. :) Santa was sure good to little Hope this year. She likes to say "Ho, Ho, Ho," and is so cute if you say it along with her.



The rest of our day was just spent watching Hope play and sort of unwind after all of the festivities. We can't help but reflect on this past year pondering the events that have taken place in Hope's life to bring her to this place. What experiences she's had! Hope has come 1/2 way around the world. She has left families, aunties/nannies, her homeland, all things that gave her comfort, nurturing, and care in the first year of her life, to come to be in our home, on our living room floor, playing, singing, dancing, and now telling us in her sweet sweet voice "luf oo." There are no words to express the joy in our hearts as we give thanks for this first Christmas with Hope. Christmas 2007 for our family was simply incredible.

Happy New Year

A new year and a new look for the blog. Why not? :)

Before 2007 comes to a close I wanted to share a bit more about our first Christmas with Hope home. She is an absolute miracle and brought so much joy to our celebrations it is difficult to put into words. Holidays in recent years have been clouded with bits of sadness. No matter how hard we tried not to let them, feelings of infertility heartache, questions about our family plans and God's plans for our lives, and struggles with personal feelings of inadequacy and lack of control over our situation, crept into our days. It was completely unavoidable. There were natural questions from curious people about our adoption plans and WHY on earth were things taking so long. At any rate...I won't dwell here. I now have some answers! If we hadn't experienced our tangled emotions, we maybe wouldn't be able to honor and bask in the joy we're experiencing now. If we hadn't faced our fertility issues and been challenged with choices about growing our family, we may not have been open to God's gentle guidance. If we hadn't waited (and waited some more) for such a long time, we may not have learned such a lesson in patience, and we wouldn't have been united with her ~ our daughter. Our Hope.

Our first Christmas holiday as a family of 4, including Ella :), has been amazing. I'll post more about it tomorrow. We are about to have guests for the night. I've started the typing but still need to add photos, so tune in tomorrow for more. For now...HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! We're wishing you many many blessings in 2008.

Beth, Ron, & Hope

Just Photos ~ Merry Christmas Everyone!

There were only two of the letter R...don't mind the spelling. ;)

Favorite shot from Sunday morning ~

Grandpa Bob

Beth & Grandpa - Christmas 2004


Good morning friends and family ~ I am writing today to ask for prayers for peace and comfort for our family. My Grandpa Hatcher (85) passed away early Saturday morning, Dec. 15, with his four daughters at his side. We are in the midst of a very emotion season. Though our family is strong in faith and love and will support each other through this challenge, we could use your prayers.

A few weeks ago we took Hope to meet Grandpa Bob. I didn't write about it then because it was such an emotional visit for us. Now, I'm so thankful we went. Here are a couple photos from that afternoon.




I'll write more about Grandpa soon. I just need some time to collect my thoughts. We'll have our family together today for the visitation and tomorrow for his funeral. Please keep us close at heart.

Blessings everyone -Beth

OK - one more pic - I wish I hadn't been in the middle of talking during this shot, but the look on Hope's face is priceless. She loves her great-grandpa. It looks as if Grandpa has turned his head to look at his new great-granddaughter, too. Such a tender moment.

18 mo. today!

Happy 1/2 birthday Hope! I can't let today slip away without writing about this milestone. It is amazing to think about everything that has happened over these past 18 months in the life of little Lin Ke Xuan to bring her to her current home and her forever family. I wouldn't even know where to begin if I was to attempt to describe her journey. She has seen and experienced more in her short life than many will in a lifetime. As we look to the near future and the birth of God's gift to the world, I can't help but rejoice in His special gift of Hope in our lives as well. I'll forever be in awe of our Lord's amazing works, His plan for our Savior, and the very special miracle of our new daughter.

Here is a fun statistic. We'll have more information after her 18 mo. check-up, but for now (thanks to Grandpa) we have this to share:

When Hope came home and saw her doctor here on June 19, she was 29 inches long.

Thanksgiving week, Hope was 30 1/4 inches tall. You can see here that Hope maybe isn't standing as tall as she could be. She hasn't grown much taller in the last 6 months, but it will be interesting to see what she weighs. She's pretty much in 18 mo. clothes now and when she came home she was wearing a lot of 9 mo. outfits.

This was Lin Ke Xuan on "Gotcha Day."

Here is Hope KeXuan Charlotte now!

What a change in 6 months! Tears to tender smiles. Barrettes to hair bows. Fear and sadness to contentment and curiousity. One of China's "lost daughters" to our daughter. We love you Hope!

Blessings everyone - Beth

Nicholas William

Proud Auntie, Uncle, and Cousin!!!

Thanksgiving Week

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. The masses have spoken...and YES, I realize that I've not posted an update since before we went up north. Sorry 'bout that.

We had a great week. This was our first trip (for more than just a weekend) with Hope since we've been home. She travelled very well. She was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa when we arrived and I got the slight impression that they may have missed her for the week before. :) We had a night of sleep adjustment trouble, but once we overcame that obstacle, she slept great for the rest of the week. I was also AMAZED at how well Hope did with keeping busy during the week. We don't have a very big vehicle, so after we packed clothes, food, and necessities, we didn't have much room for toys. We were able to bring a few, but nowhere near what Hope is used to having at home. She was so wonderful! She played mostly with her stacking cups (who knew such a simple idea would prompt so much creativity?) and kept busy watching the birds out the window all week. She also had Grandpa at her disposal since he was on crutches and unable to venture out too far. Daddy was hunting on his own for most of the week. No deer for Daddy this year, but he had a lot of fun trekking through the woods.

So, we had a lovely holiday. Yummy turkey was savored by all. We missed Andria this year, but it sure was nice to see Uncle Mark for a few days. Hopefully we'll all be together for Christmas in a couple weeks.

Other big news for the Heutmaker Family??? WE HAVE A NEW NEPHEW!!! Nicholas William was born on Dec. 1, weighs in at 6 lbs. 9 oz., and measures 19 inches long. He is such a blessing. We are all so thankful that Mom and baby are doing well, Daddy is proud as ever, and big brother Mitchell seems to be taking it all in stride. I'll post photos of little Nicholas as soon as we have some...BAD Aunt Beth forgot her camera when we went to the hospital on Sunday. We'll have some soon. Somebody will come though for us. :)

Until then, here are some recent shots of Hope from our week up in the great north woods.

Hope discovered Cheerios with milk. Gone are the days of dry cereal. Everything tastes better with "dip" (a.k.a. milk, katchup, BBQ sauce, syrup, whatever is handy).

Hope's fist view of Lake Superior from the visitor's center just west of Ashland. VERY interesting place to visit if you're ever up in the area. Fun trivia: If I remember correctly, that building is the tallest and only 5 story building in Bayfield county. :)

Hope met Sarah and had fun playing at her house for the afternoon. Hope also met Zoe (Sarah's dog) and tried to give her some apple juice. It was sort of funny because we were warned about Zoe being big and noisy. She barked until we were in view and able to pet her and then her tongue just wouldn't quit. Well, those who know us, know that we have 120 lb. Ella, so Zoe wasn't intimidating in the least. Hope had a great time with her.


Hope also was able to meet Wendy, Kyra, and baby Max. Wendy was one of my college roommates and I just love her dearly. She is also Mom to Kyra and Max. We didn't get to see her husband Mark this time. Hopefully we'll be able to catch him on the next trip. You should have seen the girls play! They had such a blast. It was just a joy to be on the sidelines to watch the show for the night.

Hello? Hope's favorite toys of the week -- Cell phone? Check. Purse? Check. Cups? Check. Other purse? Check. She often tried to carry her ball around with everything too. Pretty cute. :)



How about those Packers?! Pretty fantastic game on Thanksgiving day! It looks in these photos as if Hope has great words of wisdom for the guys on the field. She's taking her football very seriously. :) We don't need to talk about the loss to the Cowboys last week. Let's just look ahead, hope for healthy players and a good end to the season. Go Pack Go!


Hope was sure happy to see Uncle Mark. She had a fun time playing with him and keeping his "cup" full for the weekend.


1st taste of pumpkin pie.

Geocaching - We were on the hunt for #300. I think we actually found 4 that afternoon so we now have a total of 303 caches in our log. Like the orange? No sense taking any chances. :)



Lots of love...Beth

P.S. Stay warm everyone. Sounds like more snow is on the way.