Will and Jake at the Dinosaur Exhibit

Emma and Mimi in the herb garden

Will between the butterfly bushes

Me, Marci (aka Martha Ann) and the Kids

Emma and Mia at Will's game

Will "sleeping" on the monkey bars!

Emma taking her morning nap after Mimi and Pop Pop walked with her

Emma after her bath at Mimi and Pop Pops

The Hawkins Grandkids

On Mem. Day, we went to an outdoor Dinosaur exhibit

Emma loves to sit up! She is very close to crawling!

The playground where we went camping

Aunt Marci playing Slap Jack at the camp site

Jake playing at the playground!

We are in a good routine now. I am so happy to have our new home! The boys and Emma are adjusting very well. Every now and then, Jake will say he wants to go play with Miranda (our old neighbor) and I will have to remind him that we moved and Miranda will have to come visit us to play. Poor kid, so much change for such a little mind!
We had a great Memorial Day. We packed up on Friday and headed to the mountains in Alabama to go camping! Yes, Alabama has some beautiful state parks. The one we went to this weekend just happened to be 10 minutes from Matt's parents house in Huntsville. Matt's parents have a camper and we stayed there all weekend. Matt's parents were there as well as Joel and Martha Ann (Matt's bro and his wife). We had a blast. The boys roasted marshmellows and hot dogs. We brought their bikes and so they rode alot. On Saturday, we went to a wonderful park where the boys played and we hiked some there too. It was a beautiful weekend. The weather was perfect. The temps were in the 80's but up in the mountains were more like high 60's low 70's. On Saturday night we cooked chicken fajitas on the open fire with some of Keith and Sherry's camping gadgets. They are camping gurus so they have all this cool camping equipment. Sherry even made homemade peach cobbler over the fire in a dutch oven. One morning for breakfast she made a wonderful breakfast casserole. Just like home!
The boys had a wonderful time and made lots of great memories. That's what it is all about!
Will had a ball tournament tonight. He is really getting the hang of the game. He is making all kinds of friends and just having lots of fun. Paige and Mia came to see him tonight. Mia and Emma had fun hanging out on the blanket. Jake played the entire time with two little friends he has made during the season. Nothing like a cool spring night watching a baseball game. I love it!
Well, I better go. It is time for the nightly ritual Matt and I have....grape juice. Call us crazy, but we drink it every night and watch our favorite shows!
See ya!

This is the morning time crew!

Emma learns to sit up!

Cousin Mia and Emma on their first of many playdates!

Will is on deck "warming up"

Crack kills Emma!

Matt takes the boys to the Home Depot the first Sat. in the month to do a Kids Tool Time!
The boys love it! I think Matt likes it more than they do!

We are finally in our new house! Yippee!! We closed on March 26. We didn't have any furniture or anything out of storage so we slept on our floors! It was fun and something the kids will always remember! Thanks to our families who really helped us get all of our stuff out of storage and put away. We all worked like dogs that weekend!
Since then, I have tried hard to get the kids back into a normal routine. Living with the Grandparents put the scheduling and all the rules on the back-burning for a while. Now, I am ready to inforce rules and stick to my good ol' schedule!
We painted our family room, kitchen and breakfast room this weekend. I wanted a yellow/beige color and it looks great. Amazing what a little paint will do to a room!
Paige and I are going to playdates on Tuesdays. It is a group of girls from church who all have babies the same age as Emma (6-8mo. old). It is a great way to talk to adults and have a good conversation with someone! It also allows me to spend good, quality time with Emma. It seems with the hustle and bustle of these past 8 months, I have let time get the best of me and have forgotten to savor these precious moments. Because I know all too well how fast these young years go! Will is going to kindergarden this year for crying out loud!
Speaking of kindergarden, I took Will to his "new Kindergarden" just up the road from us. I met with the school secretary and she took us on a great tour. It is a brand new school. This is the first year they opened. It's beautiful and so full of bright colors! Will is very excited! He talks about it all the time.
Well, I better go. I need to wind down for the night. Busy weekend we had. Hope all is well with everyone reading this. I will do better posting my blog!

Well, they have begun construction on our new home in Nolensville. They have scheduled the framers on Jan 17. Hopefully this will go up quickly. I cannot wait to get into our new home! Living with the parents makes me really appreciate my own space. Things are actually going fine here, but it just seems like we've been here forever and it's only been since early November.
I took the boys (and Emma!) to the local Community Center today so that Will could practice basketball. He has his first game tomorrow. We signed him up for the church league called Upwards Basketball. We are very excited. He has never played and apparently the little boys he's playing with never have either. It should be very interesting!
After his game at 9am tomorrow, we are heading to Nolensville to spend the night with Paige and Lance. Matt and I wanted to take the boys and Emma to the Spaghetti Factory in downtown Nashville, so we will go there tomorrow night. The boys are so excited. We told them that maybe we could sit in the Caboose! Matt and I haven't been there since college. We used to go there alot b/c I loved the spaghetti! It will be really neat to take our kids there. We plan on going to our church on Sunday and then going to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's and meeting our old neighboors, Rebecca and Jennifer and their kids Miranda and Madeline there. When we lived in Franklin Green (our old neighborhood) we would play every afternoon with Miranda and Madeline. Our kids were like brother and sisters! It was so sad when we left. I have made a promise with Rebecca that we will always stay in contact.
Emma has started rolling over! It is so cute! I can remember the boys doing the exact same thing. My, how time flies! I am trying to cherish every minute with her b/c I know this will be our last baby. It is sad, but I know it is time to call it quits. I think Matt and I could have 10 more kids b/c we love them so much, but my body can't take pregnancy again! I think this pregnancy really did me in. I was so sick and then my thyroid giving me problem.
Oh, can you please be praying for me b/c I have found a little bump on my thyroid. I hope it is nothing, but you never know. I am going on Jan 24 to the Thyroid Dr. I believe my thyroid is just out of whack and it is trying to make too much hormone so it could get bigger on one side. Hopefully and prayerfully it is nothing to worry about. I will keep everyone posted.

Well, I better go! Got to get up bright and early to see Will play basketball!!!!

Steph

Hello!
Well, lots of things have been going on since I wrote last. We sold our home in Franklin within a few weeks, so we had to go live with Mom and Dad in Tullahoma until our new home is finished being built. We originally settled on a beautiful home in Spring Hill. But shortly after we closed on the sell of our Franklin home, Fox Ridge (the builder of the new home) cancelled our contract because they said there wasn't enough profit margin on the home. They were in disagreement with the developer of the community on the amount of the lots and said they could be in negotiations for weeks. We said that we needed a home asap and agreed to cancel the contract for the Spring Hill community. We were devasted to say the least. Here we were with 3 kids and now where to call home. We weren't sure what we were going to do, but the Lord showed us that He was in control and that he was going to answer our prayers and take care of us after-all. Shortly after losing the contract on the new house, we were led to a community in Nolensville called Silver Stream. It is a beautiful community with walking trails and lots of kids for Will, Jake and Emma to play with. It is a new community too, but it is doing much better in sales than the one in Spring Hill. We went to Nolensville many times to meet with the sales people and to pick our new colors and all the other stuff. The great thing about this community is that it is less than 2 miles from Paige and Lance! I believe the Lord literally picked us up from the Spring Hill community and said "I don't care if you pout, I don't want you out here, I want you in this area." So we listened to Him and made a contract on the home in Nolensville. We are on a cul-de-sac that I always wanted and can't wait to get in the new home! They are anticipating us being in around March or April.
We are adjusting well to living with Mom and Dad. It is definately different and takes cooperation on everyone's part to make it easy. Matt is traveling daily to Brentwood. Sometimes he drives with a friend that just happens to work with him who lives in Tullahoma. Kinda weird, Huh? I have learned so much from this experience. Most of all, I have learned to listen to God. He is very loud, but you have to be quiet. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of it all (with 3 kids there's alot of noise!) it's easy to get side-tracked and do what you want to do, but you have to sit still somewhere and just pray and really listen to Him and He will guide you where He wants you. What a great lesson to learn.
Emma is growing so much! It is hard to believe she is 4 months old. I have to say that she is the very best baby on the planet. I would find it hard to believe that there is a better 4 month old out there. She eats well, sleeps great and rarely cries. She is happy ALL THE TIME! God truely blessed me with a little Angel. Will and Jake are the best BIG brothers you could ask for. They really love her from the bottom of ther little hearts. They love to kiss her and play with her and laugh at her when she blows bubbles with her cute slobber!
We are in the middle of preparing for the Christmas Holidays. We are having our yearly Boyles Family Christmas here at the house with all of my Mother's family (about 40-50 people). My Mom usually cooks a turkey and ham and everyone else brings a heavy appitizer and/or dessert. We play dirty Santa and laugh until my Uncle Ronnie rips his pants! Ha Ha!!!!!
On Christmas Eve morning, we have our traditional Spraggins Family Breakfast. My Dad's family comes over bright and early and Mom, Dad and Matt usually fix a down-home country breakfast. We usually have around 20 people for that feast. Christmas time is a wonderful time of the year for both my family and Matt's family. THis year will be somewhat difficult for Matt's family b/c Matt's Grandmother passed away a few weeks ago. She was always a sweet gentle soul everytime you would see her. She passed away from complications from pneumonia and a stroke she had nearly 14 years ago. This was Matt's Mom's Mother. We will truely miss Grandmother this year and all the years to come, but we know she is exactly where she wants to be and that is in Heaven with her Husband and daughter and many other loved ones she treasured. We will go to Matt's parents house on Christmas Day and have Christmas there. Sherry usually cooks a wonderful meal and we sit around and laugh and watch all the kids open gifts and play and make wonderful memories there!
I will go for now. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New 2008!

Love,
Steph

We've been a little busy around here to say the least. Right after Emma was born, Matt and I decided to build a new home in Spring Hill, sell our current home we've been in for seven years and try to raise 3 kids at the same time!@ Im trying not to have a nervous break down, but if I do, people will certainly understand why.
I won't be able to write much now, but wanted everyone to know that Emma is doing great and the boys are adjusting quite well. Emma's cardiology appt. went well last week. The Dr. said the hole has actually gotten smaller! Praise the Lord!
Please continue to pray for us right now. We need strength to get through these next few months. Pray that our house sells quickly and that our family gets through these stressful times soon.

Thanks!
Steph

Emma Louise Hawkins

After about 3 strong pushes....she was OUT! I went into the hospital around 7am and had Miss Emma at 4:05. She is absolutely adorable and looks alot like Will when he was a newborn. She has blondish hair which neither of the boys had at birth. It will be interesting to see if she keeps the blond locks. After the pediatrician looked her over after birth, they noticed a small murmur in her heart. The next day she had an echocardiogram to see if anything was wrong. They have discovered a small hole in her heart called a VSD. They also discovered something called a PDA. Which is something at the top of her heart that needs to be closed and it has remained open. Apparently this heart condition is very common and both of these defects should closed and repair on their own over time. They are NOT life-threatening and shouldn't affect her quality of life. The best case scenerio would be they close and repair on their own. The worst case scenerio would be to surgical repair the defects. We went to the Pediatric Cardiologist yesterday to do another echo on Emma to see if the opening at the top of the heart (PDA) had closed and thankfully it has closed! The little hole in her heart is still 4 mm and the cardiologist was very encouraging to say that she feels it will close on it's own. Apparently 4mm is very small and they are not too worried about this being able to close on its own. CLosing could take weeks to months or even years. But all the docs say this is not life-threatening and will not affect her quality of life in the least. That makes me feel better!
We go back to the cardiologist on Aug. 31 to do another echo so we will update then.
Please continue to pray for her and her little heart. Pray that this will close soon and that she will be a healthy little girl! God has already given Matt and I an extrodinary amount of peace about this. Of course we were worried at first, but we have been praying for peace and for healing.
Emma is a wonderful, peaceful baby. She rarely cries so when she does, Matt and I just look at each other and say..."Oh, how cute her cry is!" HOw long will that last? Not too long Im sure!
Everyone is fine here, just trying to adjust to little sleep and to a new life inside our home. The boys love their sister. Wanting to hold her every chance they get! Well, I better go tuck the boys in their bed. Finally a moments peace in the house! Ha HA!

Love,
STeph

Nana came down and let the boys cool off by eating popscicles on the living room floor!
Matt and the boys went to Home Depot early one Sat. morning to make these tool boxes. Me and the boys painted them to make them extra special.
Jake is really focusing on making his "just right."
Mom painting Baby Emma's room!
I am ready to have this baby girl!

Family Shower for me and Paige
My cousin Dawn is pregnant too! Having a girl in December!
The Yummy cake for our shower!
Will and Jake riding in our neighbors' little red mustang

We spent the night in T-town one weekend and Dad decided to play pregnant too!

Well, one week from today we should have a little girl to welcome to our family! My doctor wants to induce me one week from my actual due date because of my Graves Disease and some high blood pressure issues I had after I had Jake. I went to the Doctor a couple of weeks ago and they estimated her weight by ultrasound and she was weighing 6lbs 10oz. at that time. They estimate she may weigh around 8 lbs -8 1/2 lbs. So I am somewhat relieved that they will be inducing her b/c she could be well over 9 lbs if delivered at my actual due date. That would not be fun! Ha !

I have been feeling pretty good considering it's been 100 degrees outside and 9 months pregnant. The boys and I have been trying to stay inside most of the day. Usually around 6 or 7pm we all go outside and play with the neighborhood kids for a few hours. One of my neighbors, Ashley, was due Monday (8/6). As of today, she hasn't delivered yet. So, we are usually sitting on my porch under the fan with swollen ankles and drinking lots of water watching the kids get red faced and worn out! She should be delivering her baby sometime this week. HOPEFULLY!

I took the boys out one day last week when it was scorching hot to a wonderful inside jumping gym called "Jump Zone" It's only a few minutes from my house and they loved jumping and playing and getting all that energy out. I had fun just sitting around watching them play.

I have to say that I am extremely excited about bringing baby Emma home to this wonderful house. I truly believe that the home that Matt and I have created is just perfect and very happy. I know that she will be loved and have so much fun here. I believe that she is meant to be here. I believe she is a little miracle and can't wait for her to meet her other little miracles called brothers. Will and Jake are getting excited about their little sister. Just the other day Jake said, " Where is baby sister? Is she out yet?" I said , "Not yet. Just a short while and she will be here." He is going to be the more jealous one, I think. He has always been so close to me. Will has too, but it's been different with Jake. Jake has always been more "baby" acting. It's hard to believe he is 3 years old! I know he is going to seem so big when we bring this tiny baby home. Will is going to look like a teenager Im sure! Ha!

I also cannot believe I will be having 3 children. I don't seem old enough or mature enough to have 3 children. Only old people have 3 kids! Ha!!!!!! I guess God thinks I can do this. I hope I don't disappoint Him.

Tomorrow, our friends and good neighbors, Bonnie and Nancy will be taking the boys out for most of the day. They want to give Matt and I one last break before I have this baby! They are going to take the boys to Chick Fil-A and then back to their house to make cookies and play! They just live about 2 blocks over in our neighborhood. They are wonderful friends that we've known for about 6 years now. I've had a couple of baby showers in the last couple of months. Paige gave me one with all my girlfriends and then my Mom gave Paige and I a double shower a couple of weeks ago with all of our family. That was so much fun! Paige was having some contractions that day, so she wasn't having so much fun. She has been having some pre-term contractions b/c of her demanding work schedule and just stress with her job. She was on bed rest for about 4 days and then went back to work. She says she's been feeling much better but she still has a few contractions a day. The Dr. doesn't seem to worry as long as her cervix hasn't dilated or anything. Hopefully she will just rest as soon as she gets in from work and drink lots of water!Mom came up here last week to help paint the nursery and fix up some stuff around the house that I needed help with. The nursery looks so cute with the green walls and all the pink accents around the room. This weekend I will be stenciling her name on the wall above the crib. Mom and I hung some cute wooden/decorative flowers on the wall yesterday when she came up.

Well, I better go see what we are going to have for dinner tonight. It will have to be something with hamburger meat. The boys and Matt have been wanting Sloppy Joes, so I guess I will fix that. YUM YUM!

For those that will read this before I have this child, please say a special prayer that everything will go good during the delivery. Pray that Baby Emma will be born healthy and safe and that I will be healthy and safe too. I am especially nervous about the induction b/c I've never been induced before. I pray that the baby is ready and that I am ready. Just pray that everything goes perfect with this delivery. God had taken good care of me and this baby during the pregnancy, I pray the delivery and afterbirth will be perfect as well.

Steph