Hawkins Family Destin vacation!

The cousins!

Celebrating Amelia's and Jack's Bd while in Destin

The water was cold but beautiful everyday

They buried Matt in the sand!
The cousins resting after a long day at the beach!

It has taken about a day to recoup from our long weekend at the beach. We went to Destin with Matt's family last Friday thru Monday. It was so much fun. We stayed at a very nice house right on the beach. The house was a friend of Amelia and John's. They let us use it since no one else had rented it out. Matt and I rented a mini van to take the long 8 hour excursion with two very busy boys. Thank goodness for DVD players in cars! I tell you what. I don't know what we would have done without one! We left about 9am on Friday and headed to the beach. We arrived in Destin about 4:30. We had a great meal that night. Matt's Dad and John (Amelia's hubby) bought a bunch of shrimp, corn, new potatoes, mushrooms and onions and we had a shrimp boil. It was great. The boys played with their BIG cousins Jack (8yrs old) and Owen (5yrs old) before heading to bed.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday. Matt's parents made a great breakfast with sausage, bacon, eggs and biscuits! Yum! After that, we headed down to the beach where we stayed most the day. Saturday night we had more grilled fish, fried shrimp and the best hushpuppies (thanks Sherry!) ever!
Sunday we went to church at a little chuch their at the beach. It was nice to give praise to God for a wonderful time with our family! We headed back to the beach right after church.
We didn't want to leave on Monday, but we headed back around 1pm. We got back to Franklin around 9pm. The boys had a wonderful time they will never forget. They loved playing with Jack and Owen!
Tuesday I spent most of the day doing laundry and cleaning up after our trip. I have almost finished all the laundry. I wish I could afford to pay someone to come do my laundry!
I am going out to dinner with my girlfriends (Amy, Lex, Jennifer, and Holland) tomorrow night. We are going to J. Alexander's in Cool Springs. I need a little girls night out. We try and get together once a month. These are the girls I hung out with in college. All of our hubbies were in the same fraternity and so naturally all of us girls got to be great friends.
I am feeling very good these days considering my belly is getting bigger and bigger everyday. My Endocrinologist called Monday to say he wants me to lower my dosage of PTU even lower. I only need to take one pill a day. Praise the Lord! God is really watching over me and this child. Thank you for all your prayers. God hears you and is answering our prayers. Please continue to pray for me b/c the Endocrinologist said there is a chance that this can be cured with just taking PTU after the delivery. No radioactive iodine may have to be used. He also encouraged me to breastfeed saying that many women successfully breastfeed while taking PTU. He was very encouraging at this appointment. I pray that God will take this condition away from me and let me be healthy after delivery!
I cooked spaghetti tonight and the boys were full! They like spaghetti especially Jake. You can always tell they've had spaghetti b/c of the red stains around their mouth for days afterwards! Ha!
Last night I went to the grocery stores so that I could get my good deals before they end today. I came home saving almost 50% of my bill. I love that feeling of saving money! I may not work a 9-5 job, but I want to do my part and help save money. I may not MAKE money, but I feel like I can help take some of the burden off of Matt by SAVING money. He appreciates it too. He loves looking at the recepits when I come home and unloading the TRUNK-FULL of groceries out of the car.
Well I better go. I need to get the boys lunch and backpacks ready for the day tomorrow!
Love,
Steph

Will and Jake in their Easter outfits outside at church
Posing for some pics outside after church
Paige and Lance. Yes, Paige is now a brunette!
Another pose!
Pop Pop and Nana Spraggins with their grand-boys!

Well, another day in the books!

Im posting some pics of our Easter weekend. We had a wonderful weekend. Matt's Mom and Dad came up for just the day on Saturday. We went to lunch together with them and Joel and Martha Ann. We didn't do much that day; just came back to our house and talked. On Sunday morning, my Mom and Dad came up early before church to see the boys with their Easter baskets. Matt and I had so much fun with the Easter baskets! Before we went to bed we shredded up cotton balls to make it look like the bunny was shedded fur in the house. Will woke up the next morning and we heard him tell Jake that there was "fur everywhere!" Will was a little nervous before he went to bed that night before the bunny came. He kept telling me and Matt to lock the door and not let the bunny in. He said the bunny could just leave the baskets outside. It was halarious! We kept telling him the bunny has to come in to leave the baskets. He and Jake were so excited Easter morning. It brought back so many memories when I was a kid. I love EASTER!

We have had a great weekend this weekend even though it was wet and cold most of the time. Friday night we all went to our favorite pizza place, Nashville Pizza Co. It is a great local pizza place that is always crowded with all the locals. Saturday, we got up early and headed to the mall to do some shopping. Matt needed a few pairs of nice pants and I needed some maternity shorts and some PJ's. We ate lunch at the food court and then Matt took the boys over to the play area while I shopped. The boys played their hearts out over there! Their faces were so red and sweaty! Because it was rainy and cloudy most of the day, we just rested when we got home. We made sandwiches for supper and put the boys to bed early.

This morning we got up extra early and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We rarely go here with the boys so they thought this was great. They chowed down on the biscuits and pancakes! So did Mom and Dad! We didn't go to church this morning because Jake has had a touch of diarreah. YUCK! I didn't want him to give it to anyone.

I am so excited about our trip to Destin, FL next Friday- Tuesday. We are going with Matt's family. Matt's sister has a friend who is letting us use their beach house for the weekend. It looks like a great house. 7 bedrooms, a private pool and a guest house! The boys are so excited about going to play with their cousins, Jack and Owen. Matt and I have rented a mini-van to travel in b/c we want to have plenty of room for an 8 hr trip with two wild boys! I am busy planning on what we will need and getting all the laundry done.

Paige has been in Memphis all weekend for business. She is feeling a little under the weather lately. She thinks she has a bladder infection. That is pretty common with pregnancy. She also has a head cold and feels just plain bad. I hope she starts feeling better soon. I know it's hard to work and be pregnant at the same time. I worked throughout my pregnancy with Will. I was sick all the time b/c I stayed stressed out at my job. But thanks to God that I am able to stay at home and raise my boys and be pregnant in the comforts of my home. It's still hard, don't get me wrong, but I love my job. That's the difference.

Well,
The day started out totally awesome because we found out today that we will be having a baby GIRL! I could hardly believe it when the ultrasonographer said it! I told her to make sure and so she check 5 different times in several positions. She said that the baby was in perfect position and could tell for sure we will be having a girl! I am still in shock. What in the world will I do with a girl? I suppose I will figure it all out. I have to say that my maternal insticts were telling me we were having a girl. Not b/c I wanted one necessarily, but because I was so sick in the beginning and not to mention all the strawberry slushies I've been craving. Paige and Lance just happened to have a Dr.'s appt. today at 9:15 and my appt. was at 9:30. So she and Lance were there with us when we found out. We all celebrated and went to Logan's for lunch and chowed down on some rolls! My Mom came up today to pick the boys up from school b/c I would have been in the doc still. She was so happy too! Matt's parents are excited as well. When Will and Jake came in from school, Will asked immediately, "Is it a boy or a girl?" I said a GIRL! He just looked at me and smiled and said she could play with all his toys. I told him she is going to want Barbie dolls and pink things. He said, "No, no Barbies...she can play with my toys." Oh boy, here we go! Ha! Jake has not quite gotten the whole jist of the baby thing. The only thing he does is play with my belly button and askes if he can kiss the baby. He is my little sweetie! If none of my other kids take care of me when I get old and gray, Jake will be right there, I just know it!
I have to say that I haven't done much today but sit and thank God for the blessing of a girl. Not only a girl but a healthy baby. The ultrasound results were good. No abnormalities. Sometimes I sit and wonder what in the world I did to deserve such a wonderful and blessed life. Absolutely nothing. That's the whole point of God's grace. He loves us and blesses us and wants the best for us just like we want for our own children. And he doesn't expect anything in return. What an awesome God!
My Mom came up last night and spent the night so that she could be here early for my appt. Paige was craving this pepper steak my Mom used to make all the time. So, Mom had to come up last night and make it for our family and Paige and Lance. Then after supper, we all went to Shoney's and had their Hot Fudge Cake and Strawberry Pies! We were naughty! But it sure was gooooooooooooooood!!!
I just got the boys out of the tub so that Matt doesn't have to do it tonight. He may be tired from working a little late tonight.
Well I better go! I need to start some supper! I have to say, I'm not too hungary b/c Im so excited and happy! But I know the other members of the family are so I guess I need to feed my family!

Here we go hunting for Easter Eggs at the Community Easter Egg Hunt!

Jake loves to hunt eggs!
Found one!
Me and my beautiful boys!
Will found a bunch!
This is our neighbor, Miranda, who came with us to the hunt.

I know it's been a while since I've written, but we've had a busy week. Matt went out of town for a few days and so I was tired every night so I went to bed as soon as the kids did. The boys and I went to the park a couple of times this week since it was so pretty. And of course we play with the neighborhood kids just about everyday in our backyard. Tonight as I was unloading the groceries from the car, one of our neighbors who I don't really know, came up and asked if they could play on our swing set. Of course I said yes, but I thought it was odd that someone whom I do not know well would come and ask that. They played for a while and then went home. I didn't go out back to talk b/c I was fixing supper. It was about 6:45pm when they came over. I wouldn't have the nerve to ask if my kids could play on someone else's swingset, but some people do. That's what makes the world go 'round I guess. Maybe she and I will be good friends one day. She is expecting in June. She alread has one little girl who is 6 years old.
Matt came home on Friday after being gone a few days. He was tired but ready to get busy fixing our columns on our front porch. They are rotting. The wood wasn't treated lumber, so he is having to replace them. He got started on Saturday morning and finished up today. We took the boys to the community Easter Egg hunt on Saturday. It was fun! The boys really love finding all the eggs. Easter will be fun this year. The Bunny was there but Jake didn't like him very much, so he started crying everytime the bunny got near. Will didn't like him either. My kids are very skeptical children. I think that's good. My Dad was going to rent a bunny outfit and come see the kids on Easter morning, but I told him that probably wouldn't be a good idea b/c they don't like the REAL bunny. They like the candy he leaves, but if they see a 7ft white bunny coming close to them, they go into freak mode. Dad dressed up like the bunny last year and it went over real well. He rented the costume and got dressed in the car and then snuck up from the woods and greeted them with candy. Will loved it last year. Jake was too young to cry, but this year is a different story. Oh well, maybe another year for the new baby! Ha! Ha!
Paige wasn't feeling good this morning and so she didn't make it to church. I called her and she said she has a stomach bug. Yuck! I hope she is feeling better soon.
I am also having to dog-sit two dogs that live a couple of houses over. The owners went on a cruise for 8 days and so me and another neighbor are caring for them. I have to go over there twice a day and let them out to pee and poop. Both of the dogs are extremely over weight. I have to pick one of them up and take him outside b/c he is crippled. Both of them are old. Thank good they are small dogs but they are certainly not light. They probably weigh about 25 lbs. I have to do this all week until Sunday. Fun!
Will went to the dentist for the first real time on Thursday. I took him to our dentist that we've been going to for about 8 years. Will did great. He loved the people there. It helped that he watched me first get my teeth cleaned.
Well, I better go. I need to get the boys to bed. They are worn out from playing all weekend outside!
Love,
Steph