2008 a Good Year.

Well, It's just about time to say goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009. I thought that all in all 2008 was a good year for me and my family. In March we moved into a new bigger house that's practically across the street from where I work. I had a beautiful baby girl in May whom I can't imagine my life without. Henry made it to 2 without me strangling him (let's see if he makes it to 3! LOL)There were bad things too like every year but let's dwell on the good!! Please watch my video of 2008 at the Hawkins house, it's less than 5 minutes long. Happy New Year everyone!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Merry Christmas from the Hawkins

Merry Christmas, here is our virtual Christmas card below.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's snowing on my blog!!

What do you think of my new widget?? Pretty cool huh? If you want snow on your blog get it here.

How to eat during the holidays

I got this from my friend and fellow blogger Mindi Leah. It is her holiday eating philosophy and I am thinking about adopting it for myself!!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy . Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.Remember this motto to live by:"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Happy Birthday Mom

I just wanted to wish my mother a happy birthday! You are a great mom. I love you!!


My mom and I

Music, the international language

Blog Frog

I just had to share my new discovery with all my blogging friends... www.theblogfrog.com it connects you with other bloggers with similar interests. it also has widgets and newsfeeds of all your blogger friends. Go sign up for it! you know you want to!

Christmas cookies

Today I started making Christmas cookies. Henry helped make some gingersnaps, and we made a pound cake that did not turn out so good. I also made gingerbread dough. I plan on rolling it out and making gingerbread cookies tomorrow after church. I also made a chocolate cake that I am going to use to make cake balls. I've never made them before but they sound delicious!

Henry loved helping me add ingredients and stir. He also liked sampling!! Here are a couple pics. There is also a video because Henry decided to be scared of my mixer today and he claimed it was because it was loud and would wake up Zoe. The video is him trying to explain why he doesn't want to help.

Here's Henry modeling his apron and cookie smile

Henry sampling some cake batter

Decorating the tree with a two-year-old.

Well, we got a tree today and I was very excited about decorating it with Henry. First I brought the tree in and gave it some water in a pitcher. There was some water left over that Henry decided to pour on the floor (he was trying to give the tree water.) After cleaning that up, we went out to the garage to get ornaments. I set a box in the driveway and went back in to get more. As I came out I see Henry smashing a crimson ornament on top of an already smashed orange ornament. "Henry! What are you doing?" I exclaimed. I didn't get mad at him, I chalked it up to him being a curious 2-year-old. I explained to him that you are not supposed to do that and if he breaks anymore mommy is going to be mad. Well, let's see, how should I put this?? I got mad several times!! The whole experience was disastrous. I'll post a picture of some of Henry's destruction. I hope that decorating the tree with a three year old (Henry) will be a more pleasant experience!!

Henry Falling

Henry has been playing a new game this weekend, he pretends to fall off of something and then gets back up and does it again. Here is a video of him doing it.

Page 56

I got this from my Friend Deb

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.


My submission:

It was impossible to understand any of them!

Jesus Freaks - DC Talk and the voice of the martyrs

Pardoning The Turkey Cute or Annoying?

I was curious about the history of pardoning the turkey and came across This article. This year is the 20th anniversary of the presidential pardoning of the turkey. According the the article, President Kennedy was the first president to pardon the turkey given to him as a "gift" to eat for his thanksgiving dinner. President Bush in 1988 was the first to start the tradition that Clinton and George W carried on and recently it has been 2 turkeys, the original turkey and the first runner up ("in case the first turkey is unable to carry out their turkey duties") I guess it's cute that they "pardon" the turkey. Does that mean that they go without Turkey on Thanksgiving or do they eat a different turkey? I bet they eat another turkey!! I think that the first time it happened it was probably cute but now I think it's kind of an annoying tradition. But, the presidents are now destined til eternity to pardon the turkey on Thanksgiving because who wants to be the first president to eat the turkey instead of letting it live on? That would be bad PR!! almost as bad as Sarah Palin's interview in front of a turkey being slaughtered after her pardoning. So what do you think? Annoying or Cute?

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am thankful to God for my Husband and children, my health, and a job. I am thankful to live in a country where I am free to worship as I choose and not be persecuted for it. I am thankful for the uncountable blessings that God has bestowed upon me and my family this year. What are you thankful for?

Our new tradition

Over the last couple months Henry and I have started a new tradition. I only work half a day on Friday so when I get home from work we eat lunch and go to the library. It gives Henry and I some alone time and it is a good opportunity for Henry to get some new books to read. He loves to look at all the books and pick one out to read. I'll pull one off the shelf and say "how about this one?' and he'll say "ok mommy!" then he'll run to the couch they have in the seating area so that we can read it. I can usually gauge wether he likes the book or not. If I think (or know) that he liked it we check it out. We usually get 3 or 4 books and a dvd for him to watch. I usually have to remind him to be quiet because he gets so excited. One of the best things about our new tradition is that it's free. Libraries are awesome!

Zoe Thinks Henry is Hilarious

Henry was pretending to "get me" with a toy snake and Zoe was laughing at him.

Make your own "Babylegs"

Babylegs are so cute but at 12 to 22 bucks a pair were a bit frivolous for my budget. I made some for Zoe out of tube socks that cost (in this case) $1 a pair at Wal-Mart. They were so easy! All you need is a pair of tube socks (similar to the ones pictured below), a pair of scissors, a sewing machine and thread.

This is the two pairs of babylegs I made today.

Step one: cut the sock in half at the heel. Cut the heel and toe off of the sock. Discard the toe and heel. (Unless you can think of something to do with them)

Turn the foot part of the sock inside itself as shown with the "good" side showing.

Put the top part of the sock inside the foot part of the sock. All the rough edges should line up.

Now, comes the sewing part. I did not pin but if it makes you feel better pin the rough edges together around the sock then sew the three edges together. I used a zig-zag stitch to make it easier to stretch. fold the bottom part down and Voila! You're done!

Here is Zoe modeling her "Babylegs"

I voted

Everyone go vote. It is your right that many men and women have fought for you to have!

Pumpkin Carving!

Henry and I carved our pumpkins today. He loved helping me get the guts and the seeds out. Here are some pictures of the jack-o-lanterns and the kiddos. Happy Halloween everyone!

I asked Henry to put Zoe's hood back on her head... :)

Zoe LOVES Henry

I just wanted to share the joy that I feel when Zoe smiles at Henry. They have such a connection and Zoe is only 5 months old. Everytime Henry talks or sings to Zoe she lights up. Her eyes sparkle and she has the biggest smile on her face. I don't even have that affect on her and I'm her Mama! I hope that they are always close and always good friends. Henry loves to tell Zoe things, "did you see the dog Zoe?" "look at the cow Zoe! It says Mooo" I can't wait til she can actually talk back to him and have a conversation.

Write a novel!

November is National Novel Writers month . Go to this website to write your own novel of 50,000 words in one month! http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I just might try it.

Noodle Necklace!

Henry and I did our latest arts and crafts activity this weekend. For this project yopu need:

newspaper
yarn
Rigatoni or Ziti noodles
Acrylic paint
scissors
craft paint brushes
paper plate (to put the paint on)
old clothes (in case you ou your child gets pint on them)
cup of water ( to wash brushes)

I set up newspaper on the table and taped it over the edge to prevent sliding. I let Henry paint his noodles lots of different colors. I showed him that if you mix certain colors together it makes new colors (red and white make pink, blue and red make purple etc.) After we painted We set the noodles aside to dry. We finally got a chance last night to make his necklace. I tied one noodle to the end of the yarn, threaded the noodles on and tied a noodle to the other end with a little bit of space to put the noodle on the other end through for the "clasp". He was so proud of his necklace when I put it on him last night. Here are some pictures and videos (click the links) of him:

Painting his noodles:

He kept saying that the noodles were "beautiful" so I wanted to get him on camera saying it.

Lacing his necklace: (I had to help him a little bit)

Henry modeling his neclace

Meatloaf

I made meatloaf Sunday night and it was delicious. I am usually not a fan of meatloaf but for some reason I had a hankerin' for meatloaf Sunday and this recipe was fast and it was very moist and flavorful. I thought I would share it with my readers because I definitely recommend it!

All American Mini Meatloaves

17 Saltines crushed fine
¼ cup whole milk
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 large egg
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ lbs meatloaf mix*
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Glaze
½ cup Ketchup
¼ cup light brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar

*Walmart did not have meatloaf mix so I bought a pound of 90% lean ground beef and 1 ½ lbs ground pork and mixed them together and took out what looked like ¾ lb. And put it in the freezer for next time.

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees and put oven rack in the middle position.

2. Mix saltines, milk, parsley, wors. Sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder and meat together. I used my hands to make sure it got incorporated well. Shape the meat into 4 oval loaves.

3. Heat the oil in a nonstick 12 inch skillet and brown the meatloaves on one side for about 5 minutes then carefully flip them over to brown the other side. Neaten up the edges with a spatula. In the meantime, while the meat is browning mix the glaze.

4. If your skillet is oven safe, top the meatloaves with glaze and place in the oven until the center of the loaves reach 160 degrees, this takes about 15 minutes. My skillet was not oven safe so I rubbed the bottom of a casserole dish with vegetable oil and placed the meatloaves in there before glazing them. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

If you try it let me know what you think!

Henry singing

Believers for Barack? Oxymoron if you ask me!

Barack Obama has rolled out new Believers for Barack merchandise. This sickens me! how a christian can defend someone who thinks it's ok to kill babies puzzles me. I guess people put their pocket books and their "Hope" for "change" above human lives and what God wants. God does not create life just so that it can be destroyed. This man disgusts me! I really hope that he does not become president.

You know I really struggled with wether I should post this or not because I don't want to offend people but, I felt like sometimes you need to stand up for what you believe in. So sorry if I offended you but I can't let this go unspoken for.

Why?

Henry's new favorite word, although he still likes "no" a lot too. Almost everything I told Henry this weekend he would respond to with "why?" So cute and annoying at the same time.

Finger Painting

Henry and I finger painted today and he loved it. I got some washable fingerpaints for him at the store last week and have just been waiting to do some painting with him. He loved it! He kept saying "We're Painting! We're painting!" Here are some pics I took and a short video of one of his painting techniques. :)

Beautiful boy!

Painting

one of his masterpieces

He painted his socks too, good thing it's washable!

paint on his face

video

Learning to read

So, I am teaching Henry how to read and I am shocked by how well he is doing. He knows almost all his letter sounds. He even quizzes me, he says "what letter says buh buh" and I'll say, "I don't know what letter makes that sound?" and he'll say "b". He also knows about 30 "sight words" and a few other words like mommy, daddy, Henry, Zoe, Abner, and Buster. I am worried a little that once he gets to Kindergarten he will already know how to read and he will be bored so I am trying to figure out what to do about that (he already knows his colors, shapes, and numbers too). He loves learning how to read (well he loves learning period). After I am done with our "session" for the day he begs me to keep going, I love that! I feel like I should stop before he gets bored with it though so that he will keep that desire to learn. My friend Lisa gave me access to a website that she paid for to help her 6 year old to read so I am looking forward to trying it with Henry this weekend. I think that Henry is going to be smarter than me soon and that scares me!!! I want him to reach his full potential and I hope that I can help him do that without pushing him too hard. I also hope that I will not expect too much from Zoe. I know that Henry is a special case and that not all my children will be as smart as him. I hope that I can help her reach her full potential without any preconceived notions of how she should be based on Henry. Who Knows? maybe she'll be SMARTER than Henry! After all she is a girl! ;)

Henry's birthday party

Yesterday was Henry's birthday party. I thought is was a huge success. I think that it was fun for all. I didn't feel stressed one time either which is always a plus. Henry's grandma, grammie and both papas came. Also Aunt toot-toot, bubba and kelly, uncle will, and cousins Clara, Lindy, Charlie and Leilani. Of course mom, dad and Zoe were there too. It was a sesame street theme and my mom made the cutest cupcakes and cake for it. (see pictures below) Henry got lots of presents! Aunt toot toot made him a cute hooded towel, Aunt Kelly got him some coloring books, an aquadoodle and an outfit, Grammie Hawkins got him a thomas the train set, Grandma Cox got him some playdoh toys and a Panthers sweatsuit, Aunt bubba got him some playdoh. I had some games planned for the kids but they were entertaining themselves just fine so I let them just play. Thank you to everyone who came!!

Here are some pictures:

OK, photo overload!!!

The Decor:

The Cake / Cupcakes

The food: The party was at 4:30 so we just did snacks instead of a meal. The sandwiches are ala peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we also had carrots and dip (which are not in the photo)

My sisters

My sisters, my mom, and my nieces

My mom and my niece

Henry and his cake.

Henry's first cupcake

Henry's THIRD cupcake! LOL He basically just ate the icing.

Henry playing with his train, chugga chugga choo choo!

Henry with his towel

Zoe looking pretty!

Matt's blog

I've got another new link. My husband Matt decided to write a blog. Check it out!

http://hawkbass.blogspot.com/

new link

If you click on my portrait of the day you can see all of them...

Fish Tank

We set up the fishtank and got Henry some fish for his birthday. He loves them. He loves to feed them and watch them swim. He said that the tank was "beautiful" he also at first called it a "tankfish" instead of fishtank. He is also so sweet to Zoe, she will look at the fish tank and Henry says "look at my fish Zoe" I love to see him interacting with his little sister. I hope that as she grows they will play good together and Henry will teach her lots of stuff.

Here is a picture of Henry with his fishtank before we put fish in it. He was playing "dress up" on this day. I need to tie the wires up in the back better.

Picnic

Henry, Zoe and I had a picnic in the backyard today. We ate PB&J sandwiches and crackers and Zoe sat in her carseat. I told him that we had to get a blanket to sit on and he came walking in the kitchen with the blanket off of his bed. He is too funny! Here are some pics of our picnic.

Dance like no one is watching

There is a little girl who lives across the street from me. I would guess that she is around 12-14 years old. She entertains Matt and me so much! She comes outside with her headphones on and dances like she is giving a concert to thousands. She puts her whole heart and soul into her dance moves. Matt will just have to say "we've got a show goin' on out here" and I know what he's talking about. I would put a video of her but I wouldn't want to embarrass her. I wish that I could have the guts to go out in my front yard and dance like she does. She seems to have a blast doing it. Maybe one day I'll go over and dance with her!

Wednesday's Word

This week's scripture comes from Luke 12:15-31

God is in control and he will take care of you. Do not worry!! These verses really spoke to me this week.

15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Zoe's Garden Mural

I got to work on the mural in Zoe's room today. I thought I would share some pics.

Wednesday's Word

Today’s word is from:

Luke 6:27-36 (Jesus Speaking)

27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Just a good reminder for everyone!

New Job

I've taken on a new role at work and it is non-stop all day. I am more tired than usual this week. I haven't had the time or energy to post a blog but wanted to let my millions of readers know that I am still alive and well. I'll try to post a new blog soon.

Olympics, Wow!!

If you watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics you know what I mean by wow! I just kept saying over and over "this is awesome!" the 400 ft. lcd screen and the precision of the drummers and tai chi masters and the costumes, amazing! If you missed it try to find a way to see it. you will be amazed!

Wednesday's Word

Every Wednesday look for a Word from God's Word.


Verse of the day: Psalm 36:5-7

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,your faithfulness to the skies.6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,your justice like the great deep.O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Praise God today for his love and faithfulness when have you “found refuge in the shadow of His wings”?

Yearbook yourself!

I found a neat-o new website www.yearbookyourself.com Here I am in my 1960 and 1968 yearbook.