Shut Down

The last two days have been exhausting. We've been busy just meeting people we will be ministering with. Then, last night, Rob and I were in counsel with Bryan until 2 am. It was recharging and refreshing, yet challenging. We definitely know we have some work to do to get ready for what God is calling us to do. Needless to say, we are tired and need some rest.

Tonight, we are at Virginia Military Institute for the fireworks. They have all kinds of hot air balloons. The kids have enjoyed watching them. The church brought a group to pass out tracks and evangelize to the thousands of people here. Meanwhile, someone became offended and we have now been SHUT DOWN. While we are disappointed, we know it is Satan at his best! But the battle was not lost. Hundreds heard the message, and two made decisions to accept Christ! Praise God! This was just getting us warmed up for the week ahead. Please pray for the people who heard His message today. Also please pray for rest so we can be prepared for what Satan is gonna throw at us this week.

Ready to Get Started

We finally arrived at the Volpes yesterday at 5:00. We went to their church to participate in their youth basement program. The boys played flag football and the girls just hung out. We had a great time and a few youth made decisions. We got to spend some time talking about the mission ahead of us. It is so good to be back here. The people here are so sweet. We have definitely made some friends. We have a busy day ahead. We are going to a BBQ and then to a birthday party. Tomorrow is church and then tomorrow night we will be going to Virginia Military Institute for the big festivities for the fourth. We will be evangelizing and passing out flyers there. It will be a great way to get in the groove for the task ahead of us starting Monday.

Thank you for your encouragement and prayers. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity!

Up and Running

We finally decided to stop in SC this morning at 4:00. We slept in a little later this morning so Rob could rest, because the rest of us were well-rested...HA! After some breakfast, we are now on the road. Hopefully we will be there soon, but not soon enough. SG is dying to see Shiney and Cade can't wait to see Brooke (oooooh):).

On the road....

We are finally on the road! I snapped this picture the first time we left our driveway. After that, we returned to get my dress I left laying on the couch, drove out again, headed the wrong direction, then said "let's eat!" so we went to Cracker Barrell not too far from our house. It is now 10:36 pm and we are finally on the interstate. We are definitely starting out in typical Vaughn fashion:)

If you know me well, you know it is way past my bedtime. Poor Rob....he's gonna be on his own in a few minutes. Please pray that he stays alert while the rest of us get our beauty sleep:)

I am blogging from my phone for the first time, so this is going to be an adjustment. Yall know I can talk way faster than I can type on this thing, so I'm going to have to keep it short from here on out. The Lord's already doing a work in me....HA!

Thanks again for all of the encouraging emails we have received. It's a real blessing to have so many Christian friends who we love so dearly.

Happy Trails!

Goin' on a Mission.....

We are rarin' to go! Rob and I are so excited about our upcoming mission trip to West Virginia. We will be leaving (all four of us) Friday morning, to meet up with the Volpes and head to the Appalachian Trail. We will be doing VBS with a church in Meadowbridge. This is our first home missions trip, and the kids very first mission trip. I am super excited to share this experience as a family.

Since our first mission trip, Cade has been very interested in missions, and helping others who have less than we do. We have been to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Before our Costa Rica trip, we practiced our Rosetta Stone Spanish, and Cade loved to hear us try to say these Spanish words with our country accent. When he found out that he was going with us, here is the conversation that followed:

Cade: Mom! I am so excited!! I have worked so hard on my Spanish this year. I can talk to the kids in West Virginia, and they will be able to understand me. Won't that be cool?

Me: Well, Cade, where we are going, the kids speak English.

Cade: But they spoke Spanish in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Me: Yeah, but WV is in America, and we speak English in America.

Cade: Then why is Disney World in America? They speak Spanish!

It was the cutest thing. He was so excited. So here's praying for at least one Spanish-speaking child that can talk to Cade and he can use his Spanish:)

You know, Satan has a way of trying to discourage you, especially when you are gearing up to do the Lord's work. These last few weeks have been extremely trying in our house. Then to top it all off, I wrecked my car a little, and have to replace 2 tires before we can leave. But as I was reminded by a dear friend, the Bible promises that Satan will attack us, discourage us, and leave us for dead. That we know is true. So if that part is true, we have to know that it is also true that God will never leave us or forsake us. He always prevails.

I am going to do my best to update daily while we are there. Please pray for the people of Meadowbridge, WV. That their hearts will be opened to the message of the love of Christ. Please also pray for our mission team, and our families, as I am sure this is going to be quite the experience:) And pray for us as we travel many hours with 2 young children, because you know where the Vaughn's are, there is always a story to follow!!

I want to thank all of our friends who have blessed us beyond measure to help us go into the world and preach the gospel. You are such an encouragement to us, and we couldn't do it without you.

Thanks for your prayers!!

Biggest Loser Update!

Well, it's time to update you on my Biggest Loser status. I haven't updated in a while, because frankly, I haven't lost many pounds. However the inches are coming off!!! But....Nate just took my 4 month (3 1/2 month) pictures and sent them to me. He was very impressed! Impressed because I have only lost 2 POUNDS! I have been so discouraged, but the pictures show so much more.

When I got them, my first emotion was how proud I was of myself. I know I still have a way to go, but I have come really far. Then I thought it would be a great idea to post them on my blog....but then I thought differently seeing that I am only in a sports bra and shorts (GROSS!!!!) and my flabby belly is WHITE!

However, after much encouragement from my husband and best friend, I have decided to post them. I need to celebrate small victories, and be proud of how far I have come. I will continue to press forward in hopes of getting rid of all of that FLAB!!!

So, without further ado, here goes nothing:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Now I know I desperately need a TAN, and you may not sleep for several nights after seeing this, but I just had to be proud of myself for a small minute:) Keep in mind, there is only a 2 pound difference in those pictures.

I would like to add that if you are interested in Nate's fitness program, you can visit his website at www.ufrevolution.com. If you talk to him, tell him I sent you because I get really cool gifts for referring people.....just sayin'.

Kiss Gets Married......FINALLY!

This post is a couple of weeks overdue, but I wanted to share pictures of my sister's (Christen-better known as Kiss) wedding. This was a second wedding for both she and Jacob. They decided on a garden wedding at my Granny's house. It was BEAUTIFUL!

I have to preface the photos with the fact we ended up with only one photo of my handsome boy, because he is now WAY TOO COOL to get pictures. He spent his time playing with all of the boys, while SG hammed it up for the camera.

The tables were set throughout the garden area. They were beautiful.



The cake was made by "Yours Truly." It really was an honor.



The bride and groom looked MAHVALOUS! The day was so much fun. We spent it with both families making lots of memories.




My two precious angels!



Doesn't Cade look handsome in his Guy Harvey pirate shirt? It is definitely a favorite! Beas and Jah brought that back for him when they went on their cruise.

Aunt Kiss and Gracie- Kiss says this is one of her favorite pictures of the day!


Remember me saying that SG hammed it up? Here are a few of the many faces of SaraGrace from the day:

I know I am little biased, but does she not look like the cutest little thing? How can you be mad at that face?



Waiting between photo sessions:



"Look at me! I insisted that my mommy put makeup on me so I could be like the big girls."



The girl loves her some gum.



CHEESE!

To end this post about an awesome day, I have to show you that SG got caught doing what she does best.......exactly what she is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.

"I think I can climb in Granny's really expensive Italian fountain and go 'fwimming'."


"It's not too cold."

"Here goes nothing! I'm going in."