Dear Elder Hatch,

So 19 years ago I was in labor with you and approximately 19 hours from now will be the exact moment you arrived here on planet earth.

I know it probably continues to embarrass you that I persist in talking about your birth, but you are on your mission and will probably not really read this until you have a quiet moment in your fifties or sixties and decide to go back and read that old horse of a blog that Mom wrote while you were growing up.

I have not blogged for weeks because of a reconfiguration of our life and allowing myself time to settle into life as the Mom of a Missionary.  I know sending you those baked goods was probably NOT my best idea, especially when I realized that I should have over nighted them and they probably sat in the MTC mail room for a while before they were delivered to you.

You have been on my mind so much.  I wonder how you are getting along with your companions, how you are dealing with the overcrowding at the MTC.  How you are sleeping, eating, and if you have quiet time to ponder amid the throngs of men and women preparing to go all over the world.

Your cousin Shayla entered the MTC yesterday.  I saw the pictures posted on Lindas Facebook wall.  Will you see her?  Will you bump into her?  I wonder if it is so crowded that these next three weeks will pass by and you won’t even be able to say goodbye.

I have been thinking so much of any advice that I could offer, any help that I can provide.  I know that growth and expansion of your testimony of the divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ  is the thing that is uppermost in my mind. Both for your own sake and for the sake of the people who you will serve in Honduras.

From your letters I can feel that your testimony is already entering deeper territory and that thrills me to no end.  I also was thrilled to hear that you are reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage.  I read that book when I was a young student at BYU and it was a powerful jolt to my testimony.

I suppose it is common for Moms to think about all of the memories from childhood when a child leaves home and I have spent many a happy hour remembering moments from when you were little.  Here are a few pictures that I found in the various nooks and crannies of our old computer:

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I want to publicly express my love to you. My hope that you have a happy birthday, even if you are three hours away from home. And my prayer is that as you go forward you will look for quiet moments when you can connect with your Heavenly Father. He will give you all of the light, love, and energy that you need to accomplish your mission.

Here is a song to enjoy when you are missing Mamas singing:

Love, Mom