The Hawkins

This is a long post but stick with it till the end!

As I was putting away our stuff from Christmas, I am amazed at His goodness to us! We were able to go to Anderson, SC and Little Rock, AR this Christmas!! What a huge blessing and gift to be able to see our families and for them to get to meet Ben. It was a whirl wind trip in some aspects but at the same time there were great times of sitting around drinking coffee, talking about life, playing the Wii, and so much more. Of course, there was shopping in there as well!

We flew into Charlotte first where Allen's folks met us. Our first stop on the way to Anderson was Cracker Barrel. YUM! After a long flight and yucky airplane food it was great to sip some sweet tea and eat great biscuits. We then headed to Anderson where we stayed with Brian and Ashley (the middle brother) and their little one, Emma. We had a great time with them and love their new home!! All three Hawkins brothers had babies this year. So, it was really fun to have the three little ones together, Lillie Ann, Emma and Ben. We had fun catching up with Gary and Kristin too. The years to come will be full of fun with three cousins all the same age!

After Anderson we headed to Little Rock, AR. The major purpose of the trip was to see my Grandma. She has recently be diagnosed with Alzhiemers and at 90 years old, we have no idea what the future holds. So, it was a really special time with her and having her hold and play with Ben. Super sweet memories that will last a life time!

We were also able to meet Lauren, who is dating my brother Daniel! Oh my!! I don't know what to do with my little brother holding a girls hand!! Ok, he isn't so little at 26 but it is still an adjustment. Well, we love Lauren and she was so gracious to come up to Little Rock for a couple days to meet us and spend time getting to know us. It is really cute and fun to see my brother SOOOO twitter pated! I love it!

Ok, so the biggest bummer of the trip was the Hawkerson Reunion that didn't happen!! Why did DC have to get the largest winter storm in who knows how long the same weekend the Dickerson's were to come to Little Rock?! I can't believe Grayson is going to be a year and a half before we get to see him!! We had fun talking on sype with them and will have to save the Hawkerson Reunion for another time. Miss you guys!

Jenny, James, Luke and Hamilton came from Columbia, SC on Christmas Eve. We had a great time together and it is so fun to see the boys growing up. I don't think that Hamilton quite knew what to do with Ben. Ben was very fascinated by Hamilton and basically followed him EVERYWHER. Hamilton eventually warmed up and my sister got some great pictures of them together. I didn't get them before we left so they will be added to another post.

Daniel and David are living at home so it was great to get some good time hanging out with them and hearing what is going on in their lives. My parents bought a Wii and all the guys had a great time playing and perfecting the different sports. It was really fun to see them all together having fun.

Ben did awesome on the flights! On our way home we had four flights that lasted over 24 hours. I am so proud of the little guy. Especially since we all had colds.

Of course the greatest thing about going home was being able to tell our families in person that we are expecting our second child!!! YEAH! I am almost 14 weeks pregnant and due July 5. We are super excited and it was fun to get to tell them all in person. If you look closely at Bens shirt in some of the pictures, it says "I'm a big brother" which he wore off the plane in Charlotte and in Little Rock.