I Love Camping.

I love camping. I really do. You see, camping and I have a love/hate relationship. I love the outdoors. It hates me.  Let me explain:  upon getting to my most recent destination Chehaw Park, with my parents and Little Man, I jumped out of the truck, anxious for our new adventure (and the first camping trip with Isaiah).  Then, a swarm of gnats gathered around my newly showered body.  They didn't just swarm me for a few minutes... oh no... this went on for the entire evening. The swarming and buzzing only died down at dark. And, let me put it this way: bugs and I have a hate/hate relationship-I hate them, and they hate me.  The swarming led to this:

Notice the Chick-Fil-A cups?! Oh yes. We ate out. And got bug spray and citronella. It helped... a little. I still managed to come home with red dots all over my feet (thank you fire ants).  Then, I stubbed my manicured toe and my toenail broke.  Oh, but I won that battle.  The firewood is now a pile of ashes.  I might be overexaggerating just a little... my toes are only manicured by me, and the firewood was burned up by my father... but the swarm of gnats... that's literal.

Little Man managed to step in a pile of fire ants. That was fun.  But, remember, I love camping. I really do.  The evening was nice. After getting Isaiah to sleep in the camper, we sat outside and read. It was so relaxing... until I went inside the camper to sleep on my table-that-makes-into-twin-bed-I'm-glad-I'm-only-five feet-one-inch-lest-I-fit...  It wasn't that uncomfortable, but my parents (Maw maw and Pappy) decided that the air needed to set on 50 degrees and run all night even though its only 55 degrees outside. I had a blanket that didn't reach my toes... and a little sheet. I woke up with my jacket on and cold toes.  I am still loving camping.

Day two: Camping Day Success. We went to this little wildlife zoo located right in our campsite. It was fun. And it was nice. Isaiah loved it. We fed alligators. We really did. This was probably the most exciting part of our trip. 

If you can see the small orange and yellow thing in front of the bob cat, that is actually
Isaiah's candy corn. He thought he would feed them. Shhhh... don't tell.  But the bob cat
did indeed eat that piece of candy corn. Feel special cat, candy corn is Isaiah's favorite candy.

The bear that posed for us.  These animals are only separated by a small fence.
In fact, there was nothing to stop the bob cats from jumping out of their cages...

Two dozen gators in this swamp... glad we were on the board walk. This was when
we were getting ready to feed them.

Feeding the alligators. Isaiah caught onto what was happening, and realized
that you throw the dry fish in to them... and he took all of mommy's gator food.  He loved it.

Day Two continued:  As we ended our walk through the wildlife park, we went to the petting zoo and rode the train.  Isaiah loved the petting zoo.  He tried to get in the fence with the miniature ponies... so sweet.  Isaiah enjoyed the train... very much I might add.  He even got his picture taken with Old Man Conductor... who was a very kind old man by the way.

Old Man Conductor... Thank you for the wonderful train ride!!!

Day Two ended with a campfire, marshmallows, and more reading for mommy.  We had a good time. I really do love camping. I sometimes like to exaggerate how bad things are... when they are not really that bad.  And, I really do love being outside.  And, I also really do hate bugs.  Happy Camping!

Oh, and I might add that mommy and Isaiah played on the playground. Maw maw played too.  The playground was huge, and fun, and perfect for Isaiah.

Little Man was excited!

Little Man also loves slides.

and tunnels...

And Little Man loves his Pappy.

Surprise!

Great Grandma's 88th Birthday Surprise took place in Maryland on July 21st 2011. Family who attended: 

Great Grandma Hawkins (or if you're Isaiah or Mason, Great, Great Grandma Hawkins)

Papa Hawkins

Grandma Hawkins

Uncle Greg

Aunt Tracey

Cousin Aaron

Cousin Paige

Cousin Mark

Uncle Steve

Aunt Brie

Cousin Sammy

Cousin Delia

My Mom (Pam)

My Dad (Ed)

Matthew

Cari

Baby Mason (Six Weeks Old)

Luke (or Uncle Ukey if you're Isaiah)

Hannah (Myself)

Isaiah (17 months old)

And Matt (my husband...) in spirit

We all had a great time! And we got some great family pictures.  There are now five generations in our family. See pictures below.  Oh, and Great Grandma was super surprised and enjoyed her party!  It was fun just watching her have fun.

Surprise! We all waited for Great Grandma's arrival, brought to you
 by Uncle Steve, Aunt Brie, Sammy (pictured) and Delia.

Surprise continued...

Five Generations.  Great, Great Grandma Hawkins, Great Papa Hawkins,
Grandma Hamlin (Hawkins), Hannah West (Hamlin... daughter of Pam or Grandmama),
Matthew Hamlin (son of Pam or Grandmama), Baby Mason (Matthew's son), and
Isaiah (Hannah's son).  Wow!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Brie
Sammy and Delia

Uncle Greg and Aunt Tracey
Aaron, Paige, and Mark

Matthew and Cari
with Baby Mason

Myself and Isaiah
with Hubby Matt in spirit (notice the bright orb... lol)

EVERYONE!  Who would have thought that Great Great Grandma's only son,
Tom (my Papa Hawkins), would multiply this much?  Almost as bad
as Abraham (minus the concubine)...

All of the Grandkids and Great Grandkids to Papa and Grandma Hawkins

Mi Familia...
Mom, Dad, Brother Matthew and Wife Cari with Baby Mason,
Brother Luke, Myself and my son Isaiah.

Happy 88th Birthday Great Great Grandma.
We love you!

"Grandma's Hands"

Dear Matt,

We miss you so much.  And we cannot wait for you to come home! Isaiah is getting so big.  He looks just like his daddy (except for his blonde fuzz head-he gets that from mommy).  Words he says now include: Mommy, Mathew, Barb, Maw maw, Pappy, Papa, Dixie, Liberty, Jackie, Luke, Maggie, Maddie, hi, bye, cookie, Mason, baby, paci (pacifier), drink, juice, ball, play, fall, sit, stay, no (probably his favorite), go, church, Jesus, truck, teeth, nose, toes, walk, night-night, cracker, bath, moon, moo, ruff, dog, Sal-Sal (Sally), home, phone, spoon (sometimes), eat, and Daddy. I'm sure there are tons more words in his vocabulary, but either I can't think of them or can't understand them yet. One of his favorite things to do is to sing "Jesus Loves Me".  His rendition of this song goes something like this: "Jesus... Jeeeeesuuussss... Jesus... Jesus..." He also likes to pray. He says "amen" at the end of the prayer, or if you're praying too long, he says "amen" right in the middle.  We pray for you every morning. Mommy prays for you all the time.  Isaiah has also gotten into the habit of coming to get you to play with him. If I am washing dishes, he comes over to the sink and grabs my shirt and pulls me to the living room. At least he thinks he's pulling me. Really I am just following him because I love him so much!  He loves his work bench.  He hammers everything with his hammer. He also likes his blocks. He just started building with them in the last few weeks. He recognizes pictures of family too. Today at church, he kept saying, "Zoey, Zoey, Zoey..." over and over. I guess he misses her. We'll have to invite her over to play one day.  Isaiah is an entertainer. He loves to try to make people laugh. He's good at it too.  Well, Matt, we love you.  And hope you are having a good day today.  Come home to us soon!  XOXO

Love,
Your Wife and Son.

Five Minute Craft.

So, I found this super cool summer craft/pool toy idea. It takes 5 minutes. Seriously. And the kiddos in your life are sure to enjoy it!  Also works as a decoration for parties.  So, here goes my first tutorial:

Step 1:  Get yourself some sponges. I found mine at the dollar store... 4/$1.  You will need three sponges for one ball.  Therefore, I have enough to make two.  That's only .50 cents each!  Cheap enough.

Step 2: Cut each sponge in half lengthwise right down the center. Then, cut each half in half. So, you should cut four pieces from one sponge.  Like this:

Cut in half once...



And cut each piece in half again.

Step 3: You need twelve strips for one ball, so keep cutting.  Here are my sponge strips:

Step 4: Arrange your strips in a bundle of twelve in the color combination of your choice. 

Step 5:  Tie the bundle tightly together (right in the middle) using dental floss. Be sure to tie them tightly. I wrapped and knotted the floss around my stack a few times to be sure the pieces are securely in place.  Fluff your sponge into a ball. Add some water. And some kids. And, you have just made the pool a little more fun. 

See That Man?

See the man pictured above? That is none other than my husband. In five short days, we will be married three years!  And it has been the best three years of my life.  My husband is incredible. He is not in the U.S. at the moment, so I can blog about him all I want... He can't do anything about it!  When I first married my husband, the honeymoon was awesome. Then, we came home, and a week later, I wanted to go home!!!!  I wondered what in the world I got myself into.  Living with a man is a HUGE change.  You see, Matt and I are completely DIFFERENT.  I mean, completely.  We don't like the same t.v. shows. I read. He reads his Bible and magazines. I like to craft. He would rather go out to eat. I like coffee. He doesn't. He loves cars/trucks/anything with wheels. If it gets me from A to B, I could care less. He's male. I'm female. We don't even think the same.  With all that said, he is more than I had ever hoped for. 

I love him because he is different than me. I love him because he is a man. Because he goes on hunting trips in the middle of Alaska, without showers, internet, or cell phones.  I love him because he loves that! If you would have asked me if I like this at the beginning of our  marriage, I would have said, NO WAY. I wanted him to like the things I liked, do the things I liked to do. But, the bottom line is, that is not who he is.  But, God knows better than any of us, and he blessed me with a man's man. A man who could sit around in the same flannel shirt for 50 years and care less if that was the style. But, most importantly, God gave me a Christian man. A man with morals and values.  A man who is completely devoted to his wife and his family. A man who would do anything for you. A man who wouldn't leave my side when our son was born. Who was probably more stressed out about the delivery than I was. I am so thankful for my husband. Here's why:

1. I can trust him.
2. He has high moral standards.
3. He loves me for who I am.
4. I can wake him up at midnight and ask him to look at my latest sewing project.
5. He encourages me in everything I do.
6. He loves Isaiah, and he is a great father to our son.
7. He is committed to our marriage.
8. While he's not a romantic, I do get flowers and cards on occasion.
9. He stands up for his family and his beliefs.
10. He doesn't follow the crowd. He does what is right.
11. He always compliments me.
12. He is kind. Not only to his family, but to others as well.
13. He makes me laugh.
14. When he comes home from work, he doesn't seem to see all the toys on the floor, or the laundry that needs washed.  He sees me and hugs me before he does anything else. While, he is not here to do this now, I'm looking forward to this in the future!
15. He treats me like I am the most important person in the world. He treats me like royalty.

I could go on and on. But, the bottom line is, I have a great husband.  I am so looking forward to the day he comes home from Afghanistan.  Now, God, please let me be the wife he deserves!