Unexpected Stop in New York!

Allen and I headed back overseas on Saturday. Allen's parents took us to the airport in Charlotte, where our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed somemore due to weather in New York. By the time we got to New York, we had missed our plane by about an hour. Unfortunately, flights to our country only go out every 48 hours. So, we got a little extended vacation in New York. Besides wearing the same clothes for 72 hours and looking very natural with no make-up, we had a great time in New York! We are back home now, and experiencing a little jet lag. I woke up at 2:30 this morning wide awake! So, I thought I would catch up on the blog. Here are pics from our time in New York.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Where did two weeks go?

I can't believe that I am sitting here back in my living room after two whirlwind weeks in the states! We had a great time seeing family and friends. What a special, memorable Christmas! We brought back lots of baby things for little Ben. Lots of precious things from friends, family and grandparents! Thank you all for a wonderful two weeks!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Coming to the States!!!

I woke up early this morning and I am just so excited!! In two days, I will be in the states!!! YEAH! We had a doctors appointment this past Sunday and Ben is doing great. I got strick instructions from my doctor about traveling and all the things to do on the plane. While I was getting weighed and BP checked, the doctor gave Allen a little lecture about making sure I get up and walk and drink plenty of water. We are so blessed that I have had a great pregnancy and little Ben is doing well. The checked everything and I am ok to fly!! I do not know what I would have done if they had told me I couldn't fly.

Ben is now 650 gms, which means he is almost a pound and a half. He has long little legs, he must get those from the Ostendorff side of the family or most probably the Hawkins. We have such a great doctor here, he continually takes such great care of us.

I am a little amazed that we are coming home for Christmas. Last Christmas Joe and Ashleigh came and visited and this Christmas we will be with out family! Our Father is so good to us.

I was laying in the bed this morning thinking of what I am excited about...
1) Seeing my family and friends. And what a better time to go home than Christmas AND we are expecting our first little one.
2) Getting to go to our home fellowship! It is so neat that we will be able to be in Cola for a Sunday. Can't wait to just be a part and hear the music!
3) Being around all the Christmas decorations and music. I know you have had it up since October but for us we see very little of it.
4) Going to Target! And Walmart and the dollar tree and an outlet mall and restaurants...Krispy Kreme, Chipotle, oh the list goes on.... Allen continually thinks of another restaurant he wants to go to.
5) Buying maternity clothes and baby stuff! I have had fun looking online but it isn't the same as going and looking around and of course buying...

Love you and Can't wait to see you all!!!

Gingerbread Men

A friend of mine, Sue, two of her boys, and one of their friends from school came over this week to decorate Gingerbread Men. Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon and evening. The boys were so excited! It was fun to get to spend the time with them and introduce them to new traditions. I had a bowl full of ornaments and they decided I should have them on my tree and not in the bowl. I think next year we will have them over to decorate the tree.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving day we went over to our friends, John and Angela's apartment. We had thanksgiving with them last year so it is beginning to be a tradition. Allen's and John's language tutor also came for Thanksgiving lunch. He has been around Americans and enjoys our food. So, he and his wife and their precious little daughter joined us for the day. We had a great time eating and enjoying each others company. We sat for awhile and reflected on this past year and all we have to be Thankful for! We are truly blessed. Here are some pictures from the day...check out that big belly.

Allen with his language tutor and John.

Allen loves a baby! Here he is with Mei.

Allen and John upset about doing dishes. I think they are asking Santa for a dishwasher...

Thanksgiving #1

This weekend we went out of town to visit some friends and celebrate Thanksgiving early with them. We had a great time being out of the city and eating wonderful food! We were able to go on a little hike to see some Nabatean ruins and enjoy the beautiful views.

Allen exploring

Unbelievable!

I am amazed at the great medical care I have recieved here for little Benjamin. We had our 20 week indepth ultrasound two weeks ago. A friend of ours came with us. She was an ultrasound tech in the states, it was great to get to share the experience with her. Thanks Tracy! We have almost 30 minutes on DVD of our little guy. He is moving a lot and looks very tall! I wonder where he gets that from? Not the Ostendorff side of the family!

Friday Market and Saturday Hunting...

Y'all, I just have to share my great news! I found three pairs of maternity pants yesterday and some great shirts the day before! Friday we have market in our city. Basically table after table of second hand clothes from Europe and the states. We see lots of goodwill tags on clothes and other second hand stores. Anyways, I went there on friday and found two great shirts to fit over my ever expanding belly and a red sweatshirt to wear around the house as it gets cold.

Then yesterday, Allen and I went down to Italian street where there is shop after shop of second hand clothes. Same thing as the friday market but here they are hanging up and a little easier to find. I was on the hunt for maternity pants. I had tried all the maternity stores and they were either ridiculously expensive or I would never go out in public wearing what they had! We thought we would give Italian street a shot. The second shop we went in had only one pair of maternity pants! They were khaki cordoroy. The cool things is that I had told the Father a couple of weeks ago how fun it would be to have a pair of cordoroy's during the winter to keep Ben and I warm. I tried them on and they fit perfectly!!!! YEAH! We went in a bunch more stores, one little store was like a dungeon with this little old man. I asked him if he had any pregnancy pants and he pulled out a pair of LizLange pants from Target. They are brand new! I also got another pair of jeans. So, with the pair of jeans Ashleigh sent and these, little Ben will be comfie and covered for a long while!!! Thank you, Father!

Allen has been wanting a hoodie sweatshirt. It gets REALLY cold here! Eventually we will be able to see our breath in our house 24 hours a day! Did I say it gets REALLY cold! So, Allen had decided that the best way to stay warm would be to have a hoodie. We have a friend in Cola that loves to wear hoodie sweatshirts at night. We thought there might be something to it. He found a big brown hoodie yesterday. We also found a Texas A&M sweatshirt but it was too small and had a whole in it. So Sad! But if we EVER find something from Clemson, we will definately buy it. I washed it yesterday and he was so excited to put it on last night!

Need Some Mommy Advice!

Do any of you mommy's out there recommend a certain brand of bottles or pacifiers? Or do you have any other "must have" baby items that I should know about.

Allen and I are coming home in December (just for Christmas, not for good!) and so I am trying to register for some basics for my family and friends. I talked to my sister about a lot of things but could use any advice you all might have. Everything here is pretty expensive so we are trying to get some good basics while we are in the states. A friend here gave me a bunch of clothes from 0-18 months which is GREAT!

So, if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them. I am registering at Target and Babies R Us, so if something isn't available at those stores let me know.

Thank you!!!

So Thankful!!

We are so excited to be over here doing what we do and yet being pregnant has definately made me miss home. I miss my mommy and my sister and all my friends. I know that most of it is hormones but I had to share with you all how great our Father is and how He cares for us. When you get married, you want people there to share in the joy and excitement and the same is true of being pregnant. You want people around you that are excited for you and celebrate with you. I have been so blessed to share the joy and excitement of this celebration with my new family here and my family/friends back in the states.

In the picture, you will see a white maternity shirt. When my mom was here back in the spring she left the shirt with Allen. After we took the third pregnancy test and Allen was convinvced that I was pregnant, he gave it to me. So, even though we are far away my mom gave me my first maternity clothes. She also left me with a blue kikoy, which is a piece of material from Kenya!

Then, my sweet friend here bought a crystal rattle for her and myself for us to remember to pray for this little one everyday. It will be his first ornament! And her daughter gave me a book for the baby's first year. She did not know it was going to be a boy but it just "happened" to be blue!

My other sweet friend here gave me my first diapers and then this week when we found out it was a little boy she gave me my his first blue onsies.

Trudy, my mother-in-law, has sent several fun bibs (because we did not know if this was a boy or girl), a little onsie, and a baby story book.

Ashleigh was sweet and sent me maternity jeans from Target! I am so thankful for them. Right now I can still wear my regular jeans with a Belly Band that she sent. However, I know the day is coming when I will live in those jeans. Maternity clothes here are not the greatest.

My sister, Jenny, was able to go to a fall rumage sale and get me some baby things and maternity things for great deals.

Anyways, thought I should share how I am so thankful for how our Father has blessed and encouraged me. Thank you all for your generousity and being a part of this very special time.

Hungry for Candy Corn?

I had some extra time last week and was walking around one of our grocery stores here that has American products. This is a dangerous thing for a pregnant lady to do! I got so excited when I saw Candy Corn. I love Candy Corn!!! I think I could eat a whole bag by myself. Anyways, when I saw the price my heart sank. They wanted $10 for ONE bag of Candy Corn!! Can you believe that?! TEN DOLLARS!! The 6.99 is our currency here.

It's a Boy!!!!

Introducing Benjamin Roy Hawkins:

This picture is of his beautiful head.

This picture is of his...um...rocket. Our Arab doctor only referred to it as a "rocket" the entire visit. It was funny.

Of Benjamin he said, "The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God
surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders."

Deuteronomy 33:12 ESV

We will call him "Ben".

(Benjamin's middle name is the middle name of his Great Grandfather James Roy Hawkins)

17 Weeks!

Here is the belly at 17 weeks. I really feel a WHOLE lot bigger than this pictures looks.

We find out Sunday if our little one is a boy or girl...stay posted to find out his or her name!!

Never thought I would long for the Desert!

So, I have longed for desserts before but never the desert! However, our life has been a little crazy the past month and a half. We have had too much on our plate but slowly things are beginning to slow down. So...Allen and I are going to go away this weekend. We are going to a new place out in the desert. It is a lodge that is run solely on solar panels and no lights at night, only candles! Oh, I am so excited to get out of the city! We can do lots of hiking and exploring along with resting of course. We will take lots of pictures and post when we get back. Our weekend her is Friday and Saturday, which is great because Sunday we get to find out what this little one is! I am so excited I can hardly believe it!

The Weekend Project!

I am really excited about my weekend project. A couple of weeks ago we bought this really cool chairs that were really old and yucky from some friends landlord. We looked into having them professionally recovered but it was going to be a little more money than we wanted to invest. So, after much encouragement from Allen, I decided to try and recover them myself. I was pretty excited that it actually came together and looks good. (Thanks mom for all those sewing lessons growing up!) This past summer we also bought some safari/directors chairs from some people who were leaving, except all of the fabric had dry rotted. So, I also made new seat cover and back for one of them. Allen even tried his hand at the sewing maching before the day was over. We had a great time!

Before...

And After!

Allen sewing!

The Smell of Rain!

I love the smell of rain! We have not had rain since March...so needless to say everything is really dry, dusty, and brown. So this past week we have had clouds in the sky and everywhere you go there was talk of rain, the taxi drivers, our landlord, etc. Yesterday, a friend called me from her house and said she had gotten a few sprinkles. Then later, Allen went out on our balcony and it was misting. This morning I woke up to the smell of rain. Oh, I love that smell. Now, I am not talking about a rain storm, it really is just a light misting of rain, but any water from the sky, I will take. The sidewalks are wet, the trees look greener, and the dust will start to settle down.

More than anything, it reminds me that we need rain and water. Our world is so perfectly designed by a wonderful Creator! I am continually amazed how even in the desert things thrive with just a little rain. So, this morning as I wait for the coffee to brew, I am so thankful that our Father has sent us rain! THANK YOU!

Where did the year go...

A week or so ago, Allen and I were introducing ourselves to some people here. They asked how long we had been here and I said 9 months. Allen later said, "Sara do you realize we have been here almost a year!?" Somehow, my mind can't grasp that time is flying so quickly! Where has the year gone. So, I thought you all might enjoy some photo highlights of this past year. What a great year it has been. We are so blessed to have had some wonderful times and memories!

Allen's folks, my folks, and my sister, Jenny, James and Hamilton and Luke, came to say goodbye to us after we finished some orientation required by our company.

Our first stop was the UK for some more training! It was a great time and of course, we had to get a little Krispy Kreme at the train station one night!

We arrived in our new home and have loved traveling. The desert is beautiful! The sunsets especially!

We had a great party at Christmas to share with the guys friends here why Americans have Christmas Trees and Candy Canes and all those other wonderful traditions that we have. They all love TV, so our language tutor was so excited when he saw our Christmas Tree, he said, "that is the first tree I have seen beside on TV."

We had a great Christmas treat to have the Dickersons with us! We never would have dreamed that our first Christmas away from the states we would have such dear friends visit. We are truely blessed!

We were blown away when we got a foot of snow in January! I have never been so cold in my life. Our houses are all made of stone, so the heat does nto really stay in them. Thanks Jimmy and Trudy for the long johns! We wore them every day. Somedays Allen did not even take his pj's off, he just wore them under his jeans. BUT it was beautiful!!!

Where are Allen's feet? That is how deep it was. Wish that we could have skiied somewhere...

Needless to say we were thankful for the spring and a chance to be outside! So, before this post gets too long and I loose it I will go ahead and post. Part two will come shortly!

12 weeks, 2 days and an exact replica of Dad!

So, we went to the doctor today. In the last 12 weeks, we have had 3 ultrasounds. It is great to see our little one and know that he/she is growing! We will have another more indepth one this Sunday for Down Syndrome screening. We are so blessed to be able to have such great medical care.

I know some of you are wondering what kind of doctor and hospital I am going to deliver in. It is great. We are so blessed to have a wonderful doctor here. He has delivered over 25,000 babies since he started practicing. And the best part is, he still has such a passion and love for babies. Every visit he has been so careful to tell us what is happening at each stage and what to expect in the next one. I am really excited and thankful for him. Plus, he is really calm which I think will be great for Allen. If you start to mention the delivery, Allen gets this overwhelmed and VERY scared look on his face. I am confident taht he will do great when that day comes.

Allen thinks the baby looks exactly like him!


Thanks for being a part of this huge blessing!

9 Weeks Prego

This picture is for Trudy! Here I am at 9 weeks pregnant. Besides a little nausea and a whole lot of hormones not much has changed. We will take more as time goes on.

Our Little One at 6 wks, 6 days

This is our very first picture of our precious little one!

We are so very excited! We will have another ultrasound this Sunday.

They misspelled our name, "Hawtins"!

We will definately have that fixed by the time this one comes along.

Our House

Click on a picture to see it larger!

Our Dining Room and Front Door

More Dining Room

Living Room

Our Bedroom

The Guest Room/Office

The Debut of our Blog and our Home

I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a long time now....but to be honest I am not very good at this kind of stuff. All of you that know me would agree! So, it goes. I really wanted you all in the states to be able to see our life here. I know it is important to both of us for you to be able to visualize life where we are. So, I thought I would start off by posting some pictures of our home. Just last Friday we had the walls painted. That was quite the adventure! We tried 7 different colors and three different paint stores before finding one that actually matched the sample swatch! They do no calibrate their machines here very often!