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

Hello! What a fun filled week and weekend we have had. The boys were on Spring Break last week, so we went to the park on Monday with our neighbor and then on Wednesday we headed down to Tullahoma to spend with my parents until Friday. Matt was in NJ for business for a few days. He is in the process of meeting with one of their customers and their team about some software they bought from Matt's company. So Matt goes up there and answers questions and teaches them more about the software. He really likes doing this. The travel is not his favorite thing to do b/c he misses the boys so much, but it is not something he does very often, just every now and then.
Me and the boys had a great time in Tullahoma. I like going b/c Dad just totally entertains the kids and I get a good break. Mom and I usually go shopping or just sit around and talk about stuff. Dad took off work on Thursday and Friday to play with the boys and also to finish up putting new boards on their deck. It is time to start replacing all the boards b/c they are like 20 years old. He built new steps leading down to the pool and then made all the railings closer together so the boys or other kids wouldn't slip through them and fall down. Will and Jake really helped my dad the whole time. They love helping and learning new things. Of course they rode the go-carts and played on their bikes too! Friday as it was time to go home, my Dad suggested the boys stay for the weekend and I could go back to Franklin to be with Matt. I said "Okay!" No one had to coax me into anything like that. So I went back to Franklin on Friday afternoon and Matt and I had a nice relaxing weekend--kid free! We went out to eat Friday and Saturday night and met Paige and Lance bright and early Saturday morning at the Craker Barrel for some good eatin'. Saturday, Paige and I went to the mall to look for Easter dresses. I found a really cute one. My belly is really starting to show. I am in full maternity gear now. Paige isn't showing quite yet. She is only about 11 weeks. She can still wear most of her regular clothes. Matt worked out in the yard most of the day on Saturday. He borrowed Lance's truck to go get about 10 bags of mulch. Our yard looks so good. I just need to get out there this next weekend and plant some pretty flowers.
We went to church this morning and then right after church we went to Tullahoma to get the boys. We stayed a few hours to let the boys get some last minute energy out and then we came back home. While we were home, my uncle Ron, from California called to say that my Aunt Patricia had a mild stroke last night. She is in the hospital there in CA and will be there for a few days. She is feeling better and seems to be doing good. Patricia is my Mom's older sister. Please say a prayer for her tonight. Pray she gets better and heals quickly.
The boys were exausted when we were saying prayers and getting into bed. I have to say I am a bit tired too! I am feeling so good. Thank you so much for your prayers for me. I have gotten lots of emails and phone calls from many of you saying you are praying for me and this baby. You'll never know how much that means to me. Keep praying, though, for healing and for this condition to GO AWAY after I deliver. I believe it is possible through Christ. Keep praying for the baby as well.
Time to hit the sack! As my Mom and Dad would say!
Love,
Steph

I have to tell everyone first and foremost, thank you for all your prayers for me and this pregnancy. The Endocrinologist called me today to tell me the results of my blood work I did on Thursday of last week. He wanted to see how the PTU was doing with my Thyroid count. The results were great! He even LOWERED the dose. I have been taking 200 mg of PTU and he wants to go down to just 100 mg. I have to say that I TRULY believe this is GOD telling me that he WILL take care of me and this baby. I have always been a praying person my whole life. However, it hasn't been until recently, with the help of my church, that Ive learn HOW to pray. Don't be afraid to be very specific of your need and tell others to pray for you. I cannot wait to give God the glory of this pregnancy and the healthy baby that awaits in 4 months.
We had a great day today. My friend, Jennifer, across the street called me this morning and asked if we wanted to go to the park with her and Madeline (3yrs) and Logan (5 mo.). Of course we went and had a great time. The boys ran everywhere. We took there soccer balls and they played soccer and played on the playground. After that we just came home. I fixed them their favorite lunch....grilled cheese sandwiches, grapes and cheese puffs. It was a great day.
I got the boys enrolled in swimming lessons this year. Will is going to be going the end of May for 8 days and Jake will be going the end of June for 8 days. They are going to the YMCA.
I have also signed them up for private swim lessons from this lady everyone calls the "Swim Nazi." Apparently your child will know how to swim before the lesson is over. SHe is VERY booked and the boys may not get in until Aug or Sept. I've heared she is well worth the wait. We intend on wait and hoping they get in.
Matt came home fairly early tonight and we grilled out hamburgers. I made homemade fried potatoes like my Mom used to make. The boys loved them and ate so many of them they got full and didn't want their burgers. But we made them eat the burgers!
The boys are in bed and we are winding down for the night.
Matt goes to New Jersey on Wednesday for just one night. Me and the boys are going to Tullahoma to visit my parents and let the boys play on the go cart and all the other things to do there. I hope to visit my friend Annie while Im there. She just had a baby about 8 months ago and is also going through a pretty bad divorce. I feel so bad for her b/c she also lost her Mom to brain cancer about 3 years ago. She's been through alot. But, I have to tell you, she has been an inspiration to me so many times b/c when my day is not going good, I think of Annie and get inspired. I rarely hear her complain and all she wants is the best for her little boy, Logan. I hope to see her this week and catch up.
Well, I better go get ready for bed!
Love,
Steph

Well the boys are fast asleep. We put them in the bed about 10 minutes ago and they are out like a light! They were exausted! Especially Will. He doesn't nap during the day, so going to bed at 9:15 is late for him. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse with Paige and Lance tonight. It was good to visit with them for a while. Paige was "on call" with her work. She got called in as soon as we paid our ticket. She had to go check on a patient at Centennial. She works for a company called Medtronics. She programs pacemakers and defibulators in heart patients. Every now and then she is on call. Once the baby is born, she hopes to stay at home for a year with it. Her job will hold her position for one year. Hopefully it will all work out for her.
We had a good Saturday today. Matt woke up before me and fixed blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon with the boys. He's such a good dad and hubby! Everything was wonderful. I told him I am going to expect this every Saturday! After breakfast we went to Lowes to get some stuff for the yard. We had to go run several other errands and then we came home. Will helped Matt plant a new bush in our yard. The old one died for some reason. Will loves to help. It was cold outside today, so not much was accomplished in the yard today. Maybe tomorrow.
I went to my Endocrinologist on Thursday and then I went to my OB right after that appointment. Both appointments went very well. My endocrinologist said that I would be able to breastfeed my baby! I was so happy about this. Thank you for all your prayers. He did say that the baby would have to be monitored closely (blood work) when I am breastfeeding b/c they didn't want the PTU to affect the baby. He said many women do this and have healthy babies. He took some blood work from me that day to see if the PTU is working on me or if he needs to adjust the dose. We should find out Monday the results. Hopefully we won't have to increase the dose. Let's pray that we don't.
My OB visit went well too. We heard the baby's heartbeat. It was going about 140 bpm. That is very normal and it sounded great. I will have to have ultrasounds more regularly b/c of the Graves Disease. They want to make sure the baby is growing normally and not too small. Please pray the baby is growing good and will be healthy and safe! I felt the baby kicking around for the first time a few days ago! It was amazing! It felt like little butterflies going crazy in there. No matter how many times Im pregnant, the feeling of the life inside you moving around is still so wonderful. I'll never forget this feeling.
Well, I will go so that I can get some rest. Talk later...
Steph

Spring Program at school. Jake is in the back row with Green shirt.
Jake is done and waiting for brother to come out!
Here comes Will!
Will singing, "Im a star!"
Such a great performer...He gets it from me! Ha Ha!!!
Playing by the water!
The boys LOVED having picnics everday!

Jake splashing with a stick.

Mimi and Pop Pop with the boys!

Will loves to throw in the biggest rocks he can find to make a BIG splash!

Matt and his boys take a break from the hike to pose by the water.

Matt and the boys playing inside the camper.

Well, the boys and Matt made it back safe and sound on Sunday from their weekend of camping with their MiMi and Pop Pop Hawkins. Matt said the boys didn't sit down the entire weekend. They parked the camper near a playground and the boys were playing there the whole time. Will and Jake brought their bikes and I believe Will rode his alot. They went walking on a hike on Saturday to a nearby waterfall where they got to rest and throw some rocks in the water. It was a perfect weekend to camp outside. Matt said the weather was beautiful. I'm so glad they had a chance to spend a weekend together with Matt's parents!
I had a wonderful weekend too! I didn't do a darn thing. I slept in both days and went shopping on Saturday to some shops in the downtown Franklin area that I had never had time to go to before. I went out to dinner on Saturday night with my parents and Paige and Lance to an Italian restraunt called Buca Di Peppo in Cool Springs. My Dad LOVES to go here. He loves the wine and garlic bread. He won't eat any red meat so, we always have to order something with Chicken or Fish. It is a family-style restruant so you order about 3 entrees and share it all. It's yummy food. I could tell my parents missed having the boys there. My Dad kept saying..."It's awful quiet without those crazy boys!" But I was quite happy about that! Ha!!!
Matt and the boys got in about 4pm on Sunday. We all rested awhile and headed over to Paige and Lance's house to cookout some burgers and hot dogs. The boys played with their dog Maddox. We hung out their for a while and then headed home.
Monday night I met some of my girlfriends at Carrabbas for dinner. These are some girls I have been good friends with since college and since we have all started families we haven't gotten together as often. But we had a great time talking about everything from how to handle our children to liposuction! It was fun. We vowed to get together monthly. All of our husbands are good friends and they get together often too. So there's no reason why we shouldn't as well.
Last night, Tuesday, was Will and Jake's preschool Spring Program. They got up on stage and sang Bible songs and danced to cute songs. It was great! Will did a GREAT job! He really paid attention and remembered all the words to the songs and followed along great. Jake on the other hand, just stood up there with his thumb in his mouth! He saw me one time and took it out and smiled a big smile and said.."Hey Mommy!" I have to remember he is only 2 and Will did the same thing when he was two too!
Jake came into our room last night around 1 am crying and saying there was bugs in his bed. So, we cuddled him right up and he slept between us all night long. There were no bugs in his bed, if some of you might be wondering.... He and Will have got a phobia of bugs right now b/c we have been outside lately and they are buzzing all around. I keep telling them that bugs are smaller than they are and that the bugs are afraid of you more than you think! I even pick some of them up and let them know they won't hurt you. But It's not working so far. This is becoming somewhat embarrasing especially when the little girls next door come over and play outside and they are comforting my "rough and tough" little boys about bugs! Ha!!!
Well, I better go. Laundry is calling. The boys are dying to play with me.
I go to the doctor tomorrow. Endocrinologist at 10:00am and OB at 11:00. Please pray that everything goes well!
Love,
Steph

What's this? No sound of crazy kids wanting my everlasting attention? No one saying, "Mommy, can you get me something to drink?" or "Mommy, can you play candyland with me?" or "Mommy, Will pushed me!" Yes...Matt has taken the boys on a camping adventure for the weekend with his parents. His parents have bought a small camper that they pull with their truck. They LOVE doing this kinda thing and I think it will be great fun for them and for us as a family! I didn't go b/c I want to wait until it warms up a bit and I also still feel like I need a good nights' rest. That is priceless these days. So, I sent them off with Matt. Matt absolutely loves to go camping. I think that if we had just a tent and a campfire on about 20 acres he would be in 7th heaven. He was born to camp. The boys have never camped out before so this should be interesting. I think they will be fine. Matt's parents are great at making everyone feel comfortable and they always take such good care of the boys. They went to Davy Crocket State Park over in Lawrenceburg, TN. About an hour away from here. They are supposed to stay Friday and Saturday night, but they are calling for scattered showers tomorrow afternoon so they may come back early.
Our friends, Jay and Alexis had their little boy's 4th Birthday party today. So the boys and I went to the party today from 10am-noon. It was at a place called Pump-it-Up. It's an indoor arena with huge inflatable slides and bouncy things and obstacle courses. It wore them out! I stopped and got us a hamburger for lunch and we ate lunch and rested a while until Matt got home around 3:30 and then they headed out around 3:45.
Paige, Lance and I are going to go out to eat tonight at a place called The Mellow Mushroom. It is the best pizza place ever. It is located downtown Franklin in one of the old buildings down there.
Paige said that I could go ahead and tell people that SHE IS PREGNANT!!!!! We are so excited! Particularly b/c she and I will only be 8 weeks apart! We have always dreamed this for each other, to have children at the same time, and here it is! I will cherish these days FOREVER! It is so great to talk to her about pregnancy and I love to answer all the questions she has. She's the nurse, but I'm the Mom! Funny how she comes to me with some of these questions...maybe she's trying to make me feel needed! Ha!!!!
My parents are so excited too! Paige is about 8-9 weeks. Everything is going great for her and Lance. They heard the baby's heart beat yesterday. What a wonderful feeling! I still remember the day I saw Will and Jakes heartbeat. I will never forget the feeling of carrying another life inside of me. Please pray for me and Paige and our pregnancies and for the lives we are carrying inside of ours.
Most of you may know, but I was diagnosed with a condition called Grave's Disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that affects my thyroid. Apparently my body thinks my Thyroid is a foreign object. It's basically a Hyperthyroid. My thyroid is producing too much of this certain hormone. The Docs found this out about a month ago, so I had to go see an Endocrinologist and he gave me some medicine to take. It is called PTU and is safe during pregnancy. The hyperthyroid makes my heartbeat very fast and makes me feel extreamly anxious. This condition could be just a pregnancy thing and may go away after I deliver or it could get worse after I deliver and I may need to take a Radioactive Iodine pill to kill my thyroid. If I do this, I will not be able to breastfeed the baby and will need to be away from my children for a while until the medicine gets out of my system. This all sounds very scary and I was scared at first, but I have been praying and talking to other people who have this disorder and I feel much better about it. This is a completely treatable condition. I just ask anyone that is reading this to please say a special pray for me and this baby. Please pray that this condition goes completely away after deliver or even before. Please pray for the baby's health and that it is completely healthy and safe during all this. Please pray for me and to give me strength to deal with the rapid heart rate and anxiety. I (and my family) would greatly appreciate your continued prayers. I will keep you updated on this.
Anyway.....enough about that....I go back to the Endocrinologist on Thursday, March 15 and I also see my OB/GYN that day for routine checkups. We will be finding out the sex of the baby on April 5! Can you believe that? I will be almost halfway through with the pregnancy! We will also keep you posted on that.
Well, I better start getting ready to meet Paige and Lance! I smell pizza.......
Later,
Steph

Matt made Saturday morning cinnamon rolls and the boys are watching them rise!

Jake helping Mom clean after supper.


Matt took the boys for a super-short haircut.








Will rolling down one of the big hills at the park!






Jake and Dad on the big go-cart at Pop Pop and Na Na's house!
Will is riding his own go-cart that Pop Pop and Na Na got him for Christmas! You should see him drive it! Look out Dale Earnhart, Jr!!!!




Happy 61st Birthday Na Na! Jake wanted to help blow out the candles!




Sorry it's been a while since I blogged, but I must say, Ive been a little tired these past few weeks. So bear with me! This may not be a daily writing, but I will at least shoot for a weekly writing. How's that?
Matt has been traveling alot lately with his job. He was in NJ last week and then Denver this week. He got back late last night from Denver. Only gone for one night. THat was good. He has been very busy at work...I keep telling him that's good work security!
Matt worked from home today. Although that sounds really nice (and it is), he was actually working all day until 4:30 or so. He had to facilitate 4 trainings today via phone. He told me that one of the ladies that listened in heard how "wonderful" he was at this and asked if he could do all 4 of them tomorrow too! I told him that's what he gets for being so knowledgable and easy to get along with. He is such a hard worker and I appreciate his hard work he does at GHX and then comes home and plays with these boys and tucks them in at night after a hard days work! Gotta love him.
It was such a beautiful day today, me and the boys couldn't resist going to the park! Will wanted to take his soccer ball and go play at the "real field." So we did that first and then went and played on the playground. We stopped and got lunch and brought it back home. After lunch, it is Mom's favorite time.....NAP time! So the boys and Mom rested for a few hours and then I started making supper. Matt was done with work by now so we made hamburgers on the grill. They were delicious! After a long winter and not using your outdoor grill, you really miss the taste of a grilled burger (and hotdogs for the boys). Actually they ate a hot dog AND a cheeseburger. These boys are growing more and more everyday. Lately, I have been getting lots of comments on how tall Will is getting. It is really amazing. I'll bet he's grown 3 inches since Christmas! Jake is growing too! He's no longer wearing his 2T clothes. 3 T's are where he's at. My babies are growing up!
Last night, as I was tucking Will into bed...he starting crying really hard.. I asked what was wrong. He said "Mom, when am i going to get BIG? Am I going to be big when I get 6 yrs old?" I asked him who he wanted to be big like and he said, "I want to be big like Jack and Owen." (these are his two older cousins, ages 8 and 5). I told him that Daddy used to be small and then he ate all his veggies and milk and he started growing real fast. He just smiled and said, "I can't wait to be big."
I am also posting some pics of when we all went home to Tullahoma a few weeks ago to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We rode go garts and played until the boys literally passed out in the car on the way home.
There are some pics when we went to the park too and when the boys got their hair cut. Hope you enjoy all of them!

I'll tell you what....I couldn't get much energy up to do much of anything today. I guess I wore myself out from the weekend. I did, however, find the energy to make Will and Jake's class homeade Valentine's for all their little friends and teachers. I was inspired by Martha Stewart. She had a V-day special on Friday and told myself..."that is not hard...I will do that!" It was just cutting out heart and then gluing them together to look like a flower and then using a hole punch to put a hole in the middle of the flower and then sticking a sucker in the middle. It was absolutely adorable. Will helped me make most of his. He wrote his name on all of his and helped glue them together. Jake picked out each sucker for all his friends and then stuck them in the middle of the "flower." It was fun. They enjoyed working on something they helped do to give to their friends.
Most of the day was spent on the Valentines, but we did manage to do some laundry and little things like that. The boys were extremely tired tonight. They played hard today jumping from bean bag to bean bag. They also played in their firetruck tent. I came up to check on them and found Will putting just about every toy he owned inside the firetruck tent. I told him the more he put in there, the more he was going to have to put back in the toy boxes. He looked puzzeled at first and then his expression looked like what I said just "sank in." He said "oh, I better stop now.." It was halarious! After the boys cleaned up the bonus room, I gave them suckers for a job well done.
Matt came home tonight tired too! The weekend was tiring I guess for the both of us. Mainly Matt b/c he painted all weekend. I gave him a good back rub and then he headed upstairs to watch 24 on Fox. This is his version of a soap oprah. He would never admit it though.
Well, better get to bed...I have a Doc appt tomorrow with my OB. Mom is coming up around 12:30. SHe is going to pick the boys up from school for me. She is also going to go to Will's class for his Valentine party at 1:00pm b/c I can't go. His class is decorating Sundae's to eat! That ought to be fun! Mom has a fun day ahead of her! I hope she gets good rest tonight...Speaking of rest...I got to hit the sack.
Talk more later.....
STeph

Well,
I have had several people tell me to get on the ball with this BLOG...apparently there's alot of people who read my nonsense! Thanks for taking the time to read about our day here. It REALLY means alot. I will vow to "get with it!" My Mom and Dad went to listen to a band where they have dessert, etc. while you listen to the music the other night with some friends and they ran into my cousin, Chris Parker and his wife. Chris said his Mom, Betty, wanted me to get back to writing my blog b/c she really misses what Im up to! So I am going to start doing a better job of this thanks to cousin Betty!
As many know, I am pregnant with baby #3. This pregnancy has been extremely different than my last two. I don't know if that means Im having a girl or if it's b/c it's my third pregnancy. Who knows. I have also heard from my Docs that I have a low Thyroid count. I have to go see an endocrinologist on Thursday to see if I need to take some medicine for it. Please say a prayer tonight that this pregnancy goes as well as my last two did. I believe it will. It's just hard for me to get real excited b/c I have felt so bad. But this weekend has been tremendously better. Hardly any nausousness and much more energy. I've been cleaning like never before. This is my Grandma Boyles coming out in me. She must be telling me to get off my booty and stop worrying! Thanks Grandma!
Anyway, this weekend has been great. Maybe Im over all this sickness! Matt and the boys painted the bonus room this weekend. It looks so good! We painted it a yellow color. It looks so much better. I gave the boys a good lecture about "no more crayons on the walls!" I hope they listen! Will really helped Matt alot. Matt said he worked the whole time! Don't call Child Labor Law Dept. just yet.
We have had a fun weekend! Friday night we went to our friends home (Holland and Brad) to eat pizza. They have three boys. Coleman who is almost 4 and twins, Mac and Mason who are 15 months old. The boys played and played! Holland and I snuck out and went to dinner (that was the plan!). We went to a little deli up the road and ate and talked until 9pm! We hurried back to the house to get my crew and we headed home.
Saturday, I went to Lowes to get the paint and all the supplies that go with it. I brought back lunch from Chick fil-A! I love that place now that Im not nauseous. The boys painted while I cleaned the house and did some laundry (does it ever end?). That night, we all met Paige and Lance at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We had a great time. The boys love Paige and Lance. Im so blessed to have my sis just down the road and to share my boys' lives with!
Sunday, today, we got up for church. We haven't been in a couple of weeks b/c of me not feeling good. So, it was so great to be back! Our church seems to be getting bigger and bigger every Sunday. I pray that the whole town of Franklin will go there one day! The three year old class has about 25 kids in it. They have to split that up. Our attendance on Sunday mornings has been around 1000! Matt and I have been going there for almost 6 years and to see the church grow from what it once was, is absolutely amazing! Paige and Lance are members there too, so we always sit with them. Matt's good friend from High School, Anthony, goes there too with his girlfriend, Lindsey. After church we all went to Cracker Barrell (our tradition on Sundays). Jake HAS to have his Mac and Cheese and Pinto beans and of course biscuits! Will loves Mac and Cheese, Okra and Carrots! They ate EVERYTHING on their plate! I thought they were going to get choked b/c they were eating so fast! I guess since I have been feeling lousy, my cooking has dwindled as well. I hope to get up and running again shortly. I have to say, I have been cooking the good ol' Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole for Will and Pinto beans for Jake. I think they are growing tired of Tyson Chicken Nuggets and Fish sticks!
The boys are in there brushing their teeth before bed, so I need to go say prayers and tuck them in with Matt!
I will write more later! (Yes...Cousin Betty....I will!)
Love,
Steph

Today has been the best I have felt in 2 months. I still feel very tired but not as much nausous as I have been. Today was a beautiful January day. It was about 50 degrees out and the sun was shining. So, I put the jackets and shoes on the boys and let them run some energy off! My neighbors saw us out and came over and played until lunch time. It was so good to get outside and get some fresh air; for me and for the boys. I am not going to over-do-it today because I did that the other day and then the next day I was worse off than I have ever been. I still find it hard to believe that I am pregnant again. I rarely find a moment in the day to reflect on the life growing inside me. So at night when I am in bed I think about it and get excited and scared at the same time. How am I going to handle 3 kids and keep my sanity? Will they ALL turn out okay? I start to get overwhelmed and then I start to pray and then after my prayer my worries seem to dissapear and it's as if God tells me right before I go to sleep..."It's all going to be just fine, I will take care of you and your family."
Enough about me.....Matt has been on a healthy lifestyle type thing for about a month. He really enjoys challenging himself like that. It's hard to actually stick to the healthy lifestyle, but he is very dedicated and seems to want to do the best he can with it. Maybe I will join him after I have this baby.
Well I better go so that I can rest some more.

Steph

Wow, I can't believe it's almost a month since I last wrote. Christmas and all the traveling we've been doing for the holidays wore me out! We had a wonderful Christmas this year and have so many things to be thankful for. We began Christmas in Tullahoma with my family. We arrived there the Friday before Christmas and stayed until Christmas day and then headed to Huntsville to visit with Matt's family. We stayed there until Wednesday and then headed back to Franklin to rest up for a few days before traveling to Gatlinburg for the New Year. We left for G-burg on Saturday and stayed until Tuesday. We took the boys and went with Paige and Lance, Joel (Matt's brother) Marci(his wife), Amelia(Matt's sis) and John(her hubby) and their two boys, Jack (7yrs) and Owen(5yrs). We had a great time, but we were ready to come home and recoup.
Some other exciting news and one of the other reasons I have been so tired is b/c two days before Christmas we found out I am pregnant! I was rather shocked to say the least. I have been taking Birth Control pills, but must have skipped a few during the month of October. I went to the Dr. before we went to Gatlinburg. They said I have an extremely high level of HCG. That high level has been contributing to my never-ending nauseousness and vomiting. I never felt like this during the pregnancy of my boys. This is a horrible feeling. I have absolutely no energy and feel very nauseous all day. I have no appitite at all. Poor Matt, he has been taking very good care of me and the boys when he comes home from work. He has been helping with the house chores and getting the boys bathed and in bed. They need to clone him! Thank God I got the one and only! Right now he is playing hide and go seek with the boys! They love their Daddy!
Today the boys went to their Preschool and I laid around and didn't do a darn thing. I feel like I have the flu and the stomach bug. I can't wait until this feeling ends and I can be excited about this pregnancy. I go to the Dr again on Tuesday Jan 16. They will do the full exam on me and do another ultra sound. I have already had one ultrasound to determine when my due date is b/c I wasn't sure when my last period was. They determined my due date is August 24 or there-abouts. I am about 8 weeks pregnant. I would love it if anyone reading this could just pray for us and this preganacy and that the baby and me will be healthy and safe. Thanks!
I'll write more later!

Today is Monday and sorry I haven't written in a while, but with all the last minute Christmas shopping and a stomach virus, things have been a little out of whack. Yes, I said the dreaded word: Stomach virus. I am the only one that had this terrible bug. That leads me to believe that it may not have been a virus afterall and that it was probably something I ate. Well, stomach virus or not, it was terrible and left me out of commission for about 3 days. I was feeling much better on Friday. Friday night me and Matt went out to eat with Brad and Holland. We love spending time with them one on one without the kids. Although the kids would have LOVED to have been together, Mom and Dad's need some time too! We stayed out until around 10pm. We sat at this restaurant for 3 hours talking. Needless to say our poor waiter was getting tired of looking at us! Paige came over that night and babysitted my boys. Lance had to go to his company Christmas party. The boys love aunt Paige. Will said that Paige played hide and go seek and gave then Coke! No wonder they love her!
Saturday, Matt got the boys up bright and early and out the door by 8:30 to do some Christmas shopping! He took the boys alone! What a great Dad! I spent the alone time cleaning the house and then running some much needed errands. When we all came back home, we laid the boys down for some naps and then made plans to go out to dinner with Scott and Amy and their two kids, Luke and Caroline. We met at CozyMels in Cool Springs. We had a great time with them too! Matt and Scott see each other everyday, but Amy and I don't get to see each other often, so we just chatted away! Matt and I are so very blessed to have such good Christian friends to hang around and have our children grow up with. I love talking with them, laughing with them and just watching our kids play together! It is such a blessing from God.
After church on Sunday, Paige and I did some last minute Christmas shopping and then I headed to the grocery store to stock up on some great deals I found.
Thursday is Matt's birthday, so I have arranged a little party with cake and ice cream and some other goodies that he likes with some of our friends and family to come over to the house. Paige and Lance, Joel and Marcie, Scott and Amy and their kids and Holland and Brad and their crew to name a few! It was going to be a surprise, but I just couldn't wait to tell him. He loves having company over and entertaining friends.
Well, I better go and try to get these boys to rest. We just came in from outside and walking on the trail. I can't believe it is 70 degrees in the middle of December! Crazy!

I'll write later!

Today is Monday and sorry I haven't written in a while, but with all the last minute Christmas shopping and a stomach virus, things have been a little out of whack. Yes, I said the dreaded word: Stomach virus. I am the only one that had this terrible bug. That leads me to believe that it may not have been a virus afterall and that it was probably something I ate. Well, stomach virus or not, it was terrible and left me out of commission for about 3 days. I was feeling much better on Friday. Friday night me and Matt went out to eat with Brad and Holland. We love spending time with them one on one without the kids. Although the kids would have LOVED to have been together, Mom and Dad's need some time too! We stayed out until around 10pm. We sat at this restaurant for 3 hours talking. Needless to say our poor waiter was getting tired of looking at us! Paige came over that night and babysitted my boys. Lance had to go to his company Christmas party. The boys love aunt Paige. Will said that Paige played hide and go seek and gave then Coke! No wonder they love her!
Saturday, Matt got the boys up bright and early and out the door by 8:30 to do some Christmas shopping! He took the boys alone! What a great Dad! I spent the alone time cleaning the house and then running some much needed errands. When we all came back home, we laid the boys down for some naps and then made plans to go out to dinner with Scott and Amy and their two kids, Luke and Caroline. We met at CozyMels in Cool Springs. We had a great time with them too! Matt and Scott see each other everyday, but Amy and I don't get to see each other often, so we just chatted away! Matt and I are so very blessed to have such good Christian friends to hang around and have our children grow up with. I love talking with them, laughing with them and just watching our kids play together! It is such a blessing from God.
After church on Sunday, Paige and I did some last minute Christmas shopping and then I headed to the grocery store to stock up on some great deals I found.
Thursday is Matt's birthday, so I have arranged a little party with cake and ice cream and some other goodies that he likes with some of our friends and family to come over to the house. Paige and Lance, Joel and Marcie, Scott and Amy and their kids and Holland and Brad and their crew to name a few! It was going to be a surprise, but I just couldn't wait to tell him. He loves having company over and entertaining friends.
Well, I better go and try to get these boys to rest. We just came in from outside and walking on the trail. I can't believe it is 70 degrees in the middle of December! Crazy!

I'll write later!

Sweet brothers!

Will singing "We three Kings" at his Christmas Program

Jake singing "Jingle Bells" at his school Christmas program...

Dad doing a little painting.

Matt hard at work!

Playing while everyone else was working!

On the go-cart with Pop Pop

Nana and her boys
Well, it's been a little while since I've written. This past week has been somewhat busy so at then end of the day, I just crashed. Matt had a big project due this past Wednesday, so Monday and Tuesday he literally got about 4 hours of sleep b/t the two days. He is a project manager at a healthcare software company called GHX. He and a few other guys developed a special software designed for some the top healthcare leaders in the world...HCA and Johnson and Johnson and a few other spin-off Hospitals of HCA. Wednesday was the day that Matt had to present this program to the group. It was VERY important. Tuesday night he didn't get to bed until 4:30 and then had to be at work at 7am. Needless to say he was exhausted by Wednesday night. And to make things a little more hectic, Tuesday night was Will and Jake's Christmas program at their pre-school. So, of course, Matt wouldn't have missed that for the world. I don't complain to Matt about his long hours sometimes for work, b/c it is because of his hard work and dedication to this job that makes me able to stay at home with my boys. I thought that Matt needed a little break to be by himself and to just relax so, the boys and I headed to Tullahoma on Thursday. We just intended on staying until Saturday morning, but I talked to Matt on Saturday morning and he said he wanted to come up. So, we ended up staying until tonight (Sunday). My parents are re-doing all their molding in their living room. Changing them from oak to white, so my cousin Tommy and his son, Jonathan came over every night of the week and all day Saturday and Sunday working on this project. Of course Matt helped out on Saturday and Sunday. When power tools are involved, Matt can't help himself! My Mom and I spent most of the day on Saturday Christmas shopping in Murfreesboro. We had a great time. On Friday night, before Matt got there, my uncle Ron suggested going to a little restaurant called Miller's Grocery in Christiana, TN. It is between Shelbyville and Murfreesboro. It took about 25 minutes from Tullahoma. It used to be an old filling station and then a little grocery store. It was finally turned into a restaurant a few years ago. It had a write up about it in a magazine that Ron was reading and he was dying to take us there. Another couple of my parents friends went too. Miller's had a live Bluegrass band that was awesome! The boys loved the place. They hung out by the band the whole time! Miller's Grocery had great home-cooked food and wonderful display of the building's history. It was a cozy place to be on such a cold night! We all had a blast.
Not much exciting happened in Tullahoma. The boys chased the cats around and rode the go-cart and played outside in the rocks most days. We went to the Mexican restaurant last night and saw my Aunt and cousins.
We are so excited about Christmas! We talk about it all the time. My Mom is planning on hosting her family Christmas party on the Saturday before Christmas. Her family is quite large. Their will be about 40 people there. We are doing it a little different this year. We are having each family bring either a dessert or an appetizer and Mom will have a smoked turkey with rolls. We haven't had this party in about 5 years. We quit doing it after Grandma and Uncle Bobby died. It just hasn't been the same since we stopped doing the Christmas party. We all miss seeing and having fun with our family. So, me, Paige and my cousin Faith decided to get it together again. We plan on playing Dirty Santa that night too. On Christmas Eve morning we always have a BIG Christmas breakfast for my Dad's side of the family. That's alot of people too! About 35. Matt's family always has a great traditions too! We go to his house in Huntsville on Christmas Day. His Mom fixes Mexican food for dinner! Sounds crazy, but it is sooooo goood! It's a nice break from the traditional Turkey/Dressing. Matt's family is always so much fun too. Lot's of talking and telling old traditions and stories. So, you can see why I am so excited about Christmas!
The boys went to see Santa on Wednesday. We took him their lists and they sat on his lap and told him all what they wanted. Even Jake told him he wanted a dinosaur. They both looked so amazed as they were sitting close to this big old guy in a red suit. Will asked where Rudolph was....Santa said he was tied up outside. The weird thing is I can remember like it was yesterday, sitting on Santa's lap telling him all what I wanted. What a wonderful memory it is. I only hope the boys have such precious memories. I know they will!
Maybe I can write more this week. Talk more later!