Why do you live in Mexico?

i get asked this question more than any other. here is my explanation. 

my husband's ancestors settled in mexico while  trying to escape the polygamy laws in the usa. the last 4 generations have stayed to farm the 1,000's of acres of land that we inherited. 

my children, if they decide to take over the family farm, will be the 5 generation. 

no...we do not practice polygamy anymore. that ended several generations back , however, there is another colony of Americans (here in mexico) who currently practice polygamy. they are not associated with us in any way.  

so, here we stay to raise our children in a small town while working on the farm. we have the laid back lifestyle of the mexican culture while surrounded by americans. 

yes, the country still honors their daily siestas, and most businesses close down from the hours of 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

so nice to live in a PRO-NAP country!

and yes...it is possible to raise girls to work on the farm. my kids will go out and pull weeds or help pick peaches. we start them young. 

i love having my husband home everyday at 4:00pm and he joins us most days for lunch too. i love how the kids beg to ride in the truck with dad. i love having our farm so close to home. i love getting TONS (literally) of fresh produce every summer.

for all that i can give up nordstrom and the hustle and bustle of a city. there is always online shopping, right?!

American Girl

Yes, American Girl dolls. My girls are of the age to take very good care and these one-of-a-kind dolls. This is their new hobby. These dolls get dressed every morning and brought to the couch for family scripture study. They are now part of the family.

I'd like you to meet Victoria (my twinn) and Molly in their new pajamas that Aunt Carol hand crafted for them. The quality of these clothes are better than the ones you can order online...from the company!

We are so lucky to have her next door! My girls love to go over to her house (several times a day) to have their dolls try on new outfits...

go in for "fittings"...

get their hair brushed and styled...

Yes, Aunt Carol is too good to my girls...and their dolls.

Today...

We slept in again today. It's okay because our school is only a 2 minute drive from home. 

Get dressed.

Make beds.

Say prayers.

Read scriptures as a family.

Eat a hot breakfast.

Do 4 heads of hair.

Grab backpack and GO.

We can master our morning routine in about 30 minutes. We like to push our luck.

Garrett was able to stay home this morning while I ran Tori to school and then went to the High School weight room to work-out.

 

The Girl's P.E. teacher stopped me and asked if I would help with teaching the DANCE unit next week. I love doing that sort of thing.

I stopped by our little market on the way home for some milk, bread and fresh tortillas (I'll have to use them for lunch today). Everyone comes home for lunch...everyday. I love it.

Once I got home I fed the baby, tucked Benton into bed (he is sick today), Alex ran off to Aunt Carol's house to get her new American Girl doll clothes that she perfectly hand made, down to the last detail, and sent Garrett off to work.

Another day...another dollar...

And Adalyn is 4 months!!!

tractors

This is not an uncommon sight here.

Living in a farming community EVERYONE has a tractor...or 12.

I remember the day that Garrett bought this tractor. He was so excited. We almost drove it to church. Ha.

I love being able to have our farms close to our home. Garrett's favorite thing to do is ride the tractor. He considers it one of his hobbies...and we so happen to get paid for this "hobby."

I love having him come home for lunch on those days that he is working on the farm.  

I am so thankful that my husband loves what he does and waking up to go to work is exciting for him, especially at the beginning of planting a new crop.

Don't get me wrong, farming can be very stressful. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature. But it is also very rewarding.

Watching something grow from a seed to a beautiful piece of fruit is a very cool thing.

I always imagined that I would marry a lawyer or a doctor but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being able to raise my kids in this farming community where they learn the meaning of HARD WORK. 

my maid(s)

I have lived in Mexico for 8 years!  Wow, time flies!!

It is common for every household to have a maid. They are very inexpensive and a dime-a-dozen.

I, however, do not have a maid. In the 8 years that I have lived in this country I have been through 8 different maids. 

I don't consider myself a picky person but I do expect my bathrooms to be scrubbed, not just wiped down. My three year old can do that for heaven's sake!

I have had a few of them caught stealing from me...cutting their hours short...leaving me hanging without notice...asking for advances continually...etc.

I once had a tiny, little maid who couldn't weigh more than 80 lbs. and she would break my ironing board and pull my closet door off it's track EVERY SINGLE time she came to work. I don't know how she did it!!

I figure it is not worth employing someone you cannot completely trust and have to clean up after them because they did a shotie job. So, I do not have a maid.

I know there are some great maids out there, and I have had 2 that I absolutely loved, but they were only temporarily available because they worked for the older women in our community so their loyalty was already established.

I figure my odds were stacked against me so I gave up on the quest looking for that perfect maid.  I don't regret it. My kids are learning responsibility and how to properly clean a bathroom, a mop a floor, put away laundry, etc.

I may not have this "Mexican convenience" but my kids are learning life skills because of it.

Pioneer Home

When our dear Aunt Ernie died the home she lived in was left to the family. We were then given the opportunity to live in it. 

This house is an original pioneer home. It is over 100 years old and still has the original windows, hard wood floors and corner stones.

The home used to have a pitched roof and brick exterior. It was remodeled several decades back and now it has a flat roof and the brick has been stuccoed over. I personally do NOT like the remodel. I would have preferred the original exterior.

We love our home and were able to renovate the interior before moving in. There still is a lot to be done but uncovering those original hard wood floors and restoring them was like Christmas morning. Such a treasure!

I would love to make the house look as it did back when the pioneers first settled in the colonies. So I have future plans to re-pitch the roof and scrape off all the stucco (if that is possible) to expose the original brick. 

I love living in a home with character and a story to go with it. 

This home originally had only two bedrooms (now it has 4) and a family of 9 lived in it!!! Many Hatch's have raised their families in this home and now it is my privilege to do the same. 

Mi Casa es Su Casa.

 BEFORE the remodel...

After the remodel...

Please...

Beggars are not an unusual sight here in Mexico. We are not completely surrounded by poverty. There are ALL classes combined in our community. Usually someone will come to the door asking for money to help pay medical bills (more times than not they are a hoax), food to eat, clothing for their children or work. 

I have no problem asking them to wash a car or mow a lawn in exchange for pay but usually they want a quick fix. I no longer give out money but will willingly give food or clothing to those in need.

If you have a dog in the yard it usually keeps the beggars away, because most of the Mexican people are fearful of dogs. And it especially works well when you have a very LARGE dog, which we did.

However, our dog (Great Dane) was stolen and only days away from having Great Dane pups. So our security dog could no longer help us out with the beggars. 

Once you give to one beggar they spread the word that your house is a good one to hit and you will get more of them wanting the same things. 

This happened to me yesterday. I had a father and daughter come to the door asking for money. I told them I don't keep money in the house because it is too dangerous, so they asked for food. I have no problem sharing food, so I handed over two valentine cakes. Then the man asked for clothes. Since I don't have a constant bag of "out-grown" clothing by the door I told him to come back later if he wanted clothes, for I would need to sort through closets. I sent them on their way.

Two minutes later I had a nursing baby, and a toddler by my side, in bed, almost asleep for naps when there was another knock at the door. I had to slide out of bed, without awaking the babies, and see who was there. It was the daughter, this time without her father. She asked me for a water bottle so I gave her one and again, sent her on her way. 

I guess the word got out that I say YES so I was visited by 3 more beggars that day! I haven't had a beggar in almost a year and yesterday I got 4!! 

I feel totally taken advantage of! Some of these people make a living out of begging and that is frustrating when they are perfectly capable of working! 

It would be a different story if they were grateful for the things they are given but 9 times out of 10 there is NO Thank You!

I am now saying NO to all beggars unless I feel prompted to help. Hopefully the word will spread amongst them and I will be left alone...for awhile.