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