Oklahoma.

We are still Oklahoma residents and embracing life fully (or as fully as completely devoted chick-fil-a people can). We are doing things like wearing cowgirl boots to work... wait, i did this is south carolina, and probably would have worn them to the hospital if they would have let me... But we did spend our saturday night listening to The Sons of the San Joaquin . They are the real deal... not your tim mcgraw or carrie underwood, or even willie nelson... more authentic... haha...Jay has been walking around singing "out ridin' the trail with charlie and the boys." I think its all he remembers from our very cultural experience. Apart from our learning to sing about the american cowboy, we have been so blessed by our sweet friends the McDonalds. Joe and Karen, who introduce themselves to others as our oklahoma parents have been wonderful.
They have gone out of their way to make us feel like oklahoma is home. Their passion for people is infectious, and their love of travel and new experiences is so admirable. I think they have lived in 18 different places throughout their career with the air force, so they understand what it means to be in a new place far from family. I hope that God allows Jay and I to one day be as welcoming and hospitable to others who are journey through the life challenges that we have faced. They have introduced us to Henderson Hills Baptist Church, they opened their home to us at Christmas, and introduced us to the above featured band. What more can you ask for? They truly are one of the biggest blessings in our Oklahoma Adventure.

God has taught us so much through this time in the west! I heard a quote this weekend that instantly spoke to my heart... "God's stretching separates fear from faith." God has stretched Jay and I continually since we said I do. We have endured more than I ever would have imagined as I stood in my wedding dress that october morning, but i can say without a doubt that I woke up loving my sweet husband more today than I did on our wedding day. God has stretched us, and there has been some fear along the way, but man there have been huge steps of Faith! I am praying that the stretching doesn't stop and the adventures never stop because I want faith that stop an oklahoma blizzard :)

Oh, and here is a picture of The Hawkins with John Wayne, our dear western friend.

The Start of Something New.

The first ever blog post for the Hawkins. On the 1st of January 2010 I made a list of goals for this upcoming year. It has been an encouragement to me to spend time actually doing things I have set my mind out to do. One of these goals was to start a blog. I have always thought to myself," who would want to spend their personal time reading about my life?", but then I realized how much I enjoy keeping up with others through their blogs, and how much I rely on blogs for new recipes. Jay and I have had so many changes and challenges since we got married... so much excitement as well, and our story is just beginning. My goal is to record our adventures (and numerous comical experiences) here so that in several months / years we can look back at how we felt about our life as we were living in. So, here is the start of something new.